In January of this year, PhD student, Annika Gilmore started at Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) as a Technology Leadership Development Program (TLDP) Senior Engineer. BD is one of the largest global manufacturers of medical devices and has many areas of interest in life science products, medical, and interventional devices. The BD Sandy, UT facility has long been a preferred location for 
Utah BME students: undergraduates are regularly selected for internships there, and BS, MS and PhD graduates have taken permanent positions there. The renowned BD TLD Program provides carefully selected participants challenging assignments within the BD global organization to guide experiences and progress for future leaders in BD’s Research and Development. The program requires a commitment of approximately 5-6 years during which TLDP participants complete three rotations. They craft their rotation proposal based on their preferences for nourishing their technical and leadership skills and ambitions through the guidance of seasoned BD mentors. Potential project rotations include: early benchtop discoveries, scouting potential new products, testing technologies in preclinical models, interacting with customers to understand their needs, and maintaining, improving, and connecting the company’s current product portfolio. Out of the hundreds of applicants, only 8 made it to the final interview rounds with 2 participants being selected to join the program.
Gilmore places this opportunity in relationship to her current doctoral work in the Utah BME program. She claims, “My advisor, Dustin Williams, has heavily influenced me to value translational science. His Bone and Biofilm Lab, which I have been fortunate to be a part of, is primarily concerned with developing drug delivery products to manage orthopedic infections. My dissertation concerns the creation of a ‘heavy-duty’ antimicrobial wound protectant for open fracture injuries sustained in austere environments. I was able to work on topical antimicrobial gel development with industry colleagues at DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson Company. This experience taught me how much I value being a part of a team. I then led a preclinical study of the gel in a sheep traumatic injury model. In a few years, I’ve helped an idea go from benchtop assays to excelling in a large animal model.
The technical expertise I have gained at the U includes working with a diverse group of people (veterinarians, technicians, surgeons, academics, engineers, etc.), independently managing a preclinical study, competency in microbiology and biofilm growth techniques, and improved communication skills, including presenting and writing technical reports and manuscripts. Throughout my interviews, I leaned heavily into these technical aspects of my Utah BME graduate school experience.
I was most impressed by the positivity every BD employee brought to the TLPD interviews. I felt valued throughout the intense interview experience and really enjoyed talking with everyone involved. I’m so excited to join the BD team and continue to advance healthcare!”
Gilmore highly anticipates the select BD TLPD experience to position her well for her future career opportunities. Going forward, she hopes to continue working in many areas of medical device R&D before selecting where she would like to spend more of her career.