When you’re in charge of bulk manufacturing, it helps to be the kind of person who finds it thrilling to take a stroll through the plant as it whirs and thrums with activity.
“It's so cool to walk past the big shiny tanks and the piping and the amazing equipment that it takes to turn plasma donations into a medicinal product to help people,” said Jill Allen, CSL’s Senior Director for Bulk Manufacturing at Broadmeadows, a manufacturing site near Melbourne, Australia.
Global biotech leader CSL specializes in medicines for people with rare and serious diseases as well as influenza vaccines that protect the public. The company is among the world’s largest collectors of plasma and CSL medicines and vaccines are used in more than 100 countries. Plasma, a component of blood, is a critical ingredient in therapies needed to treat conditions such as primary immunodeficiency and hemophilia.
“I'm responsible for a number of different manufacturing facilities across the site where we take in plasma donations and we turn them into very special medicines that help very sick people,” said Allen who’s been with CSL for 22 years.
Allen has found a high level of collaboration among colleagues and says it sets CSL apart. Cooperation is a must among scientists, engineers and experts so that manufactured products reliably meet high regulatory standards.
“It's a complicated biological process – and you need a lot of people thinking very clearly about how we do this,” Allen said.
In her spare time, you can find Allen immersed in the art world, unwinding by walking through museums instead of the manufacturing floor.
“I'm more drawn to contemporary art at the moment because it's more reflective of our culture right now. It's always interesting to understand where you come from, but I like exploring new ideas.”
Learn more about Jill in the video above.
We interviewed her as part of our Everyday Trailblazers series, a chance to celebrate CSL scientists and learn more about their unique talents and abilities outside of work. Today’s scientists are pioneers who are willing to take risks and forge a path where none currently exits. Trailblazers are innovative thinkers who challenge the status quo, opening new frontiers for others to follow. They’re also everyday people – parents, partners and friends with eclectic personal interests and passions that contribute to the creative spark needed to drive new and better medical solutions.
In that spirit, CSL launched this campaign to spotlight eight of its scientists based in Australia, where the global biotech was born more than 100 years ago. The campaign – which will take various forms, including billboards – features Jill and other trailblazers like Shailee Patel and Saw Yen Ow.
