Title: Quality Operations Analyst
Employer: Illumina

Sal graduated in 2020 with a degree in Integrative Biology and was also a former IB292 student. He was active in the IB community, working as an SIB Student Ambassador and presenting his own independent research project at the IB Symposium. He learned about his current role at Illumina through conversations with IB mentors Steve Caldwell, Andrea Baldwin, and DaTeng Lin in the IB292 class. If you’re interested in careers relating to research and healthcare, the Illumina group is a great way to learn more and grow your network!

At Illumina-Madison, Sal gets to be a professional scavenger hunter. He hunts through the records of the materials and products that Illumina manufactures on site to make sure that only the highest quality products are released for genetic sequencing purposes in both the research and clinical worlds. He makes sure the quality of the product is in regulation with regulating bodies around the globe such as the FDA and ISO. He also inspects incoming materials from other companies like IDT and Thermo-Fisher to make sure they can be used in Illumina products. He likes to think of himself and his team as the gatekeepers that keep defective products from reaching consumers and patients. One of his favorite aspects of Illumina, beyond the large and direct impact on human health, is the community. He is already active in two clubs and feels incredibly supported by his colleagues and managers.

Sal is a great person to talk to about getting a job out of undergrad, careers in biomedical sciences, the different roles at Illumina (he knows all of them because of his job!), or undergraduate research. Contact Christina Swanson at alumnimentor@sib.illinois.edu if you would like to connect with Sal.