Dave Williamson

Although it’s been some time since he has worked in a lab, Abzena’s CIO Dave Williamson has always been fascinated by science.

A chemist by training, his career began with a stint in the US Army, which paid for his university studies — an experience that allowed him to travel the world and “go on many different adventures”. 

“I was always the one for hiking, camping and that sort of thing,” Dave begins. “So when I left the military I wanted to continue to use science. I’ve always been fascinated by science, how things work.”

This prompted his move into the pharmaceutical industry, where he has spent the rest of his career to date. In roles across pharmaceuticals, generics and biotech, Dave has been working at the intersection of technology and healthcare for decades, helping with progressing medicines that benefit those underserved.

“It’s very interesting to me how we discover and develop therapies, seeing what companies are doing to address societal issues and costs involved in unmet needs,” he says. “If people are sick and all you're doing is treating the symptoms, you're not treating the root cause or understanding why they have become sick. This is why I love working with smart people who are trying to solve big problems. 
“Working at a company like Abzena, I work with a lot of bright people and often feel in awe. For example, our Cambridge facility is made up of professionals, more than 70% of which have PhDs. I have to work out how I fit in. It’s really interesting to learn.”

Abzena’s workforce is spread across eight timezones — although this provides an enriched, diverse workforce, this can prove a challenge to Dave as CIO. 

“Our research centre is in Cambridge, UK, but our manufacturing lab centre is outside Philadelphia on the east coast of the US,” he explains. “Then, we have our large-scale manufacturing and labs in San Diego, California — where I sit. Time zones are always a challenge. There’s a lot of cultural differences, with people working from all over the world — folk from east Asia to Europe to the Americas — which means people potentially misunderstanding each other or working differently. 

“But from an IT standpoint, another challenge is the rapid pace of innovation and technology.”

With the explosion of AI in the public domain in recent years, concerns around cybersecurity and the like have become an additional obstacle for Dave and his teams. This means the deployment of resources and time has not only been something to work out, but the timely nature of their work can often be business-critical.

“Where does it make sense for myself or my team and our resources to spend time piloting or learning about a new technology?,” he asks. “That encompasses most of the challenge — balancing how we stay paced with technology while understanding how we can use it. AI is an example of something we have spent quite a bit of time in the last year — investigating, trying different pilots, trying to understand where we felt it could provide the most value for Abzena and how we should invest and utilise the technology.”

 To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.

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