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A day in the life

Svetlana Saveljeva

Principal Pharmacologist
15 February 2022   |  
X minutes
In this series, we spotlight different people in our team and learn what a typical day at Healx is like for them.

06:20

“The first thing I do after I wake up is do my Ashtanga yoga practice. Yoga has been an important part of my life since my PhD – it is my way to cope with stress and anxiety. My morning practice is a peaceful time to tune in with myself, meditate and prepare for a busy day. After I finish my practice, I cook breakfast with my husband/convince my daughter Vlada to dress up/manage morning chaos while sipping my yerba-maté.”

10.00

“Throughout the day I attend various meetings on rare disease project progress. Even though they are all quite different they all have a shared aim: how can we better support each other and accelerate our projects to reach patients.  I also spend some time working on internal projects such as evaluating rare disease biology and models. I joined Healx because I’m passionate about using my scientific knowledge to bring real change to patients – something that’s easy to remember, since it’s a feeling shared by everyone I work with.”

12.00

“At lunchtime I often call friends who live abroad – sometimes while having a walk – or just relax and watch a cheesy TV show. Every other Friday I join a virtual bootcamp class with my colleagues.”

14:00

“In the afternoon I catch up with the progress of preclinical testing and update my project reports. Currently I am evaluating the mechanism of action (MOA) of drugs predicted in one of our rare disease projects. It’s very exciting since every drug is a potential treatment option that we can progress to the clinic – if it proves successful in our preclinical testing. Afternoon is also my reading time – I need to be up to date with new discoveries in rare disease biology and treatments, so I carve out dedicated time to stay on top of that.”

17:00

“On an average day I finish working around 5 and pick up Vlada from the childminder. Depending on the weather, we either go for a walk or spend time reading and playing games.”

20:00

“After Vlada is asleep it’s party time: I get to read my Nature Briefing! I am a complete science nerd and enjoy filling my brain with random scientific facts – which my husband and friends have to listen to afterwards.”

Careers

We’re a diverse team of talented people working to revolutionise the way rare disease treatments are discovered and developed.

Our team has a broad range of expertise, experience, and perspectives but what unites us is our drive to make a positive difference to rare disease patients and their families.

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