Let’s start with an introduction!

I am Madhushree Sinha, originally from India. I am currently pursuing my Masters degree in Business Analytics. Before, I worked in the data science domain and continued to pursue it in my studies. In my second semester I applied to the Roche Healthcare Xplorers, and that’s how I ended up in Roche.

When did you first hear about Roche?

So I did not know much about Roche before the Healthcare Xplorer challenge. Our professor was the one who introduced me and my class to the challenge and to Roche. He was really encouraging and mentioned this was a great way to test your skills.  So I looked into the website and chose a challenge that most interested me. I was so excited to be provided with a platform where I can implement my skills in a real world scenario, which motivated me further to apply.

What was your challenge question about?

The challenge was about incorporating Natural Language Processing (NLP) Workflows into an open-source genomics cancer portal. In this challenge the aim is to include results from natural language processing that are able to provide further evidence for molecular guided therapy options into the platform. Part of the task was to understand the architectural setup in order to derive options on how to best integrate NLP results.

How was the Xplorers camp?

The camp was completely virtual. So when I applied, I had to submit my proposal and if chosen, I could join the Xplorer camp where I can present my proposal to a panel of six experts including my current mentor, Markus Bundschus. I explained why I went with my approach and the components behind it. After that they provided feedback to each Xplorer, and I found out soon after the event that I was selected for the programme. I was so excited that the first thing I did was email my professor and thanked him for sharing this challenge!

What was Roche like? Was it as you expected?

As an intern or employee, whenever I go into a company I tend to research a lot beforehand. Every platform I checked about Roche I see that it has given high grades. The work environment is really cool, colleagues are very skilled and everyone is happy to help you. And when I actually joined that was exactly my experience. I found it very grateful that I applied for this challenge and got the chance to be here and experience it.

What are you working on now?

So in my internship my focus is the challenge I had applied for. When I started working on this I decided how to store the data and how it should be visualized. To my surprise, my opinion and advice was taken so I am still working on that. As part of my thesis, I am working on another portion of the project which I was not involved in before in my internship so here I am also attempting to build the component.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

As far as the future is concerned, I want to complete my masters thesis, and then look for a job. I feel the experience and knowledge I have gained here in Roche will help me land a full time role in the future. The hope is to become a full time data scientist.

Would you recommend Healthcare Xplorers? Why or why not?

Definitely. I even really encouraged my classmates to also go and apply for it – it is really worth it, so I have already recommended it!