Page 30 - Harnett Life Summer 2020

Haley Judd Pulito

making a difference as a scientist producing medicines

Pharmaceutical research wasn’t the plan when Pulito gradu-
ated from Lee County High School. At first, she enrolled in a
university to study marine biology, but that field wasn’t exactly
what she thought it would be. So, she returned home to Sanford
and CCCC to complete some university prerequisites and chart
a new course.

When she arrived in Dr. Rodney Powell’s chemistry class, that
direction became clear. “He opened my eyes to chemistry and
how much fun it actually was,” she recalled. “I started picking
his brain after class and decided to focus my career in chem-
istry.” But she didn’t leave her earlier interest behind. Biology
teacher Dr. Terry Miller also impressed Pulito with his knowl-
edge and enthusiasm. So when both teachers asked her to be-
come a student tutor, there was no turning back.

After finishing her associate degree, Pulito moved to UNC-
Greensboro to take advantage of a well-developed research
Central Carolina Community College graduate Haley Judd program that allowed her to complete a research internship
Pulito is now making a difference in the world at Thermo with Dr. Terry Nile, helping synthesize molecules used to treat
Fisher Scientific. cancer. It must have seemed like destiny.
As everyone grapples with COVID-19, the disease caused by “I was always interested in how everything worked, especially
the new coronavirus, the spotlight has suddenly shifted to peo- in nature — what plants and animals need to survive and how
ple who once worked in relative obscurity: research scientists they utilized these nutrients,” she said. “Then, I started getting
producing vaccines and medicines to treat disease.
interested in how humans worked at a chemical level. We’re
basically machines. We have all of these different pathways
Haley Judd Pulito is one of them. She earned her Associate in and all of those are so interconnected.
Science at Central Carolina Community College in Sanford be-
fore completing undergraduate work at the University of North “It’s all intricate and I wanted to know how all of these work
Carolina at Greensboro. After moving quickly through some
entry-level positions, she landed at Thermo Fisher Scientific, together. I always loved biology and chemistry, so it was per-
a Fortune 500 biotechnology company, where she is a senior fect harmonization.”
scientist for research and development.
Her rise to senior research scientist has been fairly fast. Sau-
janya Gosangari, R&D formulations manager at Thermo Fish-
Pulito now lives in Greensboro and works in a laboratory not
far away in High Point, where she formulates medications, tak- er Scientific, says Pulito is currently the lead scientist on two
ing chemical compounds that actively treat a disease and com- important formulation development projects and provides sup-
port for the company’s internal proof-of-concept programs, the
bining them with other substances needed to create the final process to show that a new drug is effective and safe.
product.
Gosangari believes Pulito’s success is grounded in a research
It’s not as simple as it sounds. Pulito formulates drugs that
are taken as soft gelatin capsules, which means there are all environment rich with expert professionals and complex proj-
ects that provide an opportunity to learn. But then there are
sorts of variables to consider. “You have a lot of restrictions Pulito’s personal characteristics, as well — intelligence, mo-
and parameters you need to work with and work around,” she tivation and the abilities to work effectively with people and
said. “You need to have a drug that is therapeutically effective
and also must be stable, because it’s sitting on shelves in drug solve problems using “out-of-the-box thinking.”
stores and at home. All of the chemical interactions need to “Her learning curve has been rather fast. She has been able to
have their proper impact in the end.”

Page 30 Harnett Life ~ Summer 2020