At Acorn Regulatory, we’re proud to share the stories of the people who make our company what it is. In this edition, our Founder and Managing Director, Dr Gemma Robinson, sits down with her colleague and friend, Christine McGrath, to discuss Christine’s career journey. Their conversation offers a genuine insight into career growth, continuous learning, and the collaborative spirit that defines life at Acorn Regulatory.
1.Let’s start at the beginning, what did you study in college, and what drew you to that path?
My primary degree is in Applied biology with Quality Management, which I studied straight after completing my leaving cert. After 15 years working in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, in a number of different QC related roles, I returned to college and studied a masters in Pharmaceutical technology which broadened my horizons and opened the world to many other career progress options within the Pharma world.
2. Did you always see yourself working in Quality, or did that evolve over time?
My main interest, following my degree course, was very much Laboratory orientated. It wasn’t until I worked in a manufacturing environment that I realised there was so much more to the world of science, outside of the Lab.
3. Before joining Acorn Regulatory, what kind of roles and experiences shaped your career?
Before joining Acorn, I worked in a generic Antibiotic manufacturing facility, the majority of my 15 years there were spent in the QC laboratory, starting on the bench and over a number of years progressing to QC manager. As part of the manager role, I liaised with Quality, manufacturing and supply chain and this broadened my knowledge immensely and gave me a great overview of the manufacturing process from supply chain to release of the medicines.
In my final year at the facility, I moved into continuous improvement which involved looking at the Lab/manufacturing processes and identifying efficiencies throughout the plant.
With the experienced I gained my interest moved towards further education to progress my career and that lead me to undertaking the MSc in Pharmaceutical technology.
4.When did you join Acorn Regulatory
I joined Acorn 9 years ago, in July 2016
5.What have you learned since joining Acorn Regulatory
Joining Acorn was a big undertaking for me as I had no previous experience in Regulatory Affairs, but my Quality and manufacturing background was very beneficial and helped me grasp the dossier content and understanding of compliance easily. I had a basic introduction to Reg Affairs module as part of my MSc and that sparked my curiosity as I found the topic very interesting. Since joining Acorn I have gained so much knowledge and experience in Compliance and Medicine Regulation. I have learned that it is such an important part of the Pharma industry and is crucial for patient safety. Another learning is that you will always be learning in this job as regulations and guidelines are updated frequently in the ever-changing landscape of regulatory compliance.
6. You manage a team and work with several clients — how do you balance it all?
Time management is a crucial part of the Job as it’s so important to manage and support the team but also to maintain good working relationships with your various clients. For me, I find having regular check-ins and catch-up meetings with my direct reports and the larger team meetings is crucial for maintaining the communication. This can be challenging as our team is hybrid with both office based and home based workers but making the time is very important to ensure whether you are office based or working from home that everyone gets the same information at the same time. I use the same approach with clients, monthly meetings are standard to provide updates and to discuss budgets and task status. Blocking off time in the calendar for management and client work allows me to manage my time effectively.
7. What do you enjoy most about working at Acorn Regulatory?
I really enjoy our team dynamic, we have such a great team, who work really well together, which in turn makes the job easier. I also enjoy the diversity of the work we do. With consultancy we are always researching and learning to ensure we are compliant with current Regs for clients to provide the best service we can.
8. If you could give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Career wise, I would say don’t be in a rush to choose your career path. Take some time to work in different environments and keep learning to broaden your options. From a personal perspective I would say travel more and explore!
9. What do you think is the secret to the success of your regulatory team?
A huge contributor to our success as a regulatory team, in my opinion, is the fact that each team member has different experience and expertise they bring to the table and at Acorn we embrace this and openly put or heads together and share our knowledge allowing us to give our clients a diverse and wide pool of experience.
Christine’s reflections are a reminder that curiosity and a willingness to embrace new challenges can lead to a truly rewarding career path. Her story also highlights the value of strong professional relationships and teamwork, qualities that are at the heart of Acorn Regulatory. A warm thank you to Christine for sharing her journey.
