Lindsay Watts is accelerating her career

Back to school for biotech

Following the pandemic, Lindsay Watts grew increasingly fascinated by the biotechnology industry. She had always gravitated toward healthcare, earning a bachelor’s degree in medical biology at the University of New England in 2019 and launching her career as a quality control technician at Abbott, a global diagnostics leader, in Scarborough.

Soon after beginning her work at Abbott, Watts was inspired to pursue a graduate degree that aligned with her passion. She decided to take the leap and enroll in the Roux’s part-time master’s in biotechnology program in fall 2020. 

What drew her to the Roux

Balancing work and her studies proved challenging, but the Roux made it all manageable: “All the classes worked with my schedule. The Roux offers a flexible hybrid model that is easy to integrate into a busy lifestyle,” she says.  

To fulfill her program’s experiential learning requirement, Watts completed an industry project at Abbott. Her project explored how to address leaking reagent bottles, and she gained invaluable experience around validating equipment and in project management. The experience of learning and applying those skills to a real project at work made the pieces of the puzzle fit together. “At work, I get to immediately apply what I’ve learned in school, which makes it easier to understand what otherwise would be abstract concepts,” she explains.  

Fast-track promotion

In April 2022, after just one and a half years at the Roux, Abbott promoted Watts to product transfer scientist, where she manages experiment execution, facilitates process improvements for on-market products, and analyzes tracking and trending data for investigation. “I didn’t know I’d move into this role so quickly,” she says. She knows her Roux education will advance her career. “My knowledge will help me continue to grow within the company. This degree will open up more opportunities.”  

“Roux is awesome especially if you don’t have much experience in industry because co-op helps people gain that experience, or like in my case, expand your skillset through working on a project outside your typical responsibilities,” she says.