Brian Hopkins, a PhD research scientist and project leader at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, joined the Cambridge, Mass., company in May 2002 partly because he liked its DOS (diversity-oriented synthesis) chemistry platform. Working with a leader like Infinity's founder, president, and CEO, Steven H. Holtzman, also appealed to him. Plus, he says, it was a chance to get involved in a company from its start, put a lot of creativity and energy into it, and "really start to see something transform in front of [my] eyes."
At Raven Biotechnologies in South San Francisco, it's the mission that resonated with research associate Mary Ann Santos, who joined the company in March 2003. "Even though I'm not in the trenches treating cancer patients or anything like that, I feel like I'm contributing to their well-being," she says. Although she doesn't have a PhD, management continues to extend opportunities for her to gain experience outside ...
