Profile - Delara Karkan

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

My Career

I have always had an interest in discovering new scientific ideas. I am a creative person and I love the idea of innovation and invention. Throughout my career, what I've always liked about my work is how it has allowed me to find new ways to help and treat diseases.

I did not necessarily have a clear direction of what I wanted to do when I started out but I think my work experience provided me with that insight. As I was advancing in my career and learning how to design better and more effective pharmaceutical products, I began to understand that therapeutic products based on new technology were difficult to produce. I also began to understand that once the products were produced, it was very important to ensure they were regulated.

For some technologies such as nanotechnology, their application is very dependent on the ethical and regulatory decisions made by governments. I became interested in public health and how we can regulate and use therapeutics to help mass population. This was a beginning and a trigger to find out more about working for the government. Here's the story of how my career evolved:

Current Position

Title: Senior Science Advisor, Nanotechnology Products, Health Products and Food Branch
Education: Ph.D Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Number of Years in the Workforce: 13
Number of Years at Health Canada: 5

My Experience at Health Canada

My job at Health Canada has given me the opportunity to look at the big picture and contribute directly to Canadians and their health. A great thing about my job is how it has allowed me to explore different types of work beyond the realm of science.

During my time at Health Canada, I have explored work in policy, management, strategic planning and communication. I would recommend Health Canada to anyone who wants to make a contribution with their work.

Career Timeline

Job Profile	The Story
1990 Visiting Fellow Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, UK	As a visiting fellow, I was primarily responsible for scientific research.
1991 Research Assistant Glaxco Wellcome Toronto, Ontario	At Glaxo Wellcome, I provided support for various types of discovery research activities.
1999 Group Leader, Pharmacology Synapse Pharmaceutical Vancouver	As a group leader at Synapse Pharmaceutical, I supervised a group of scientists in the field of pharmacology, drug metabolism and bioanalysis. Here I developed a proficiency for writing patents and grant requests.
2000 Group Leader, Pharmacology Cantest Inc. Vancouver	At Cantest, I established governmental laboratory contracts concerning drug tests in racing horses.
2002 Associate Director (Preclinical Research and Development) Labopharm Pharma Inc, Montreal	As an Associate Director at Labopharm Pharma, I developed activities related to emerging nanotechnologies. I also developed a multi-million dollar production budget and supervised work related to the early stages of drug development.
2004 Clinical Reviewer (Group Lead) Canadian agency for Drug and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Ottawa	As a group leader at the CADTH, I was responsible for the cost benefit analysis of biologic drugs and drug assessment protocols. I also worked directly with doctors, provincial governments and with various patient and consumer associations across Canada.
2005 Deputy Director, Center for Evaluation of Biologics and Genetic therapy Health Canada Ottawa	This was my first job at Health Canada. Here I provided strategic plans and innovative solutions to reduce a drug submission backlog. I was also responsible for financial planning, resource management and policy development related to radiopharmaceuticals.
February 2007 Senior Science Policy Advisor Health Canada Ottawa	Working in the Departmental Office of Biotechnology as a senior advisor, I was responsible for establishing and maintaining a number of critical working relationships related to nanotechnology. I worked very closely with other government departments, non governmental organizations and academia.
October 2007 Senior Science Policy Advisor (Nanotechnology Products) Health Canada Ottawa	In my current position I am responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of Health Canada's nanotechnology framework, as well as several corporate, inter-governmental and international files.