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Meet Evren Karayel

1.    Tell me in 5 words who is Evren Karayel?
Curiosity, enthusiasm, eager to learn, arts, food.

2.    What made you join CeMM?
I met Giulio-Superti Furga and Tilmann Bürckstümmer in a selection committee for the PhD program “CCHD” of MedUni Vienna. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with them. Extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, sharp, but also very human! At the time, CeMM was basically one lab on the third floor of Lazarettgasse 19 and some other labs scattered around the city. When Giulio told me about the future of CeMM, I fell in love with the vision!

3.    What is it about science that interests you the most?
That the unknown hides all the answers we need to have to cure diseases, improve our lives. The solutions are there for us to grab, but you must find the right road to reveal it. Another aspect is Ethics in Science: What is the responsibility of science in the world? In which science should we invest and in which not? Can science do harm? How can we ensure that we are doing the right science that makes us better and not worse?

4.    What is the best career advice you ever received, or you can give to the CeMM community?
“If you don’t like it, change it”. “It is better to repent having done something rather than regret not having done it”.

5.    Tell us what happened to you after you left CeMM?
I moved to Italy where I did my MBA at Bocconi, then I entered to the medical department of Novartis, moved to marketing and changed to Amgen. Currently, I am responsible for Oncology Sales of Amgen in Austria. In between, a couple of other roles and a lot of theater and music.

6.    What book do you have on your night table at the moment?
Michel Butor – La Modificazione.

7.    What is the last song you heard?
“Perfect day” of Lou Reed covered by Soap&Skin at the Donaufestival Krems.

8.    Any message you would like to give to the CeMMies or a former colleague?
Stay connected! And come to the Alumni Event! You will meet many intelligent, funny people with empathy who might become your next friend or business partner! 

After doing his PhD in the laboratory of CeMM Scientific Director Giulio Superti-Furga on innate immunity, Evren Karayel moved to Italy to do an MBA at the Bocconi University in Milan. He worked for Novartis and Amgen in different functions in the medical and commercial departments in Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Currently, he is National Sales Manager in Amgen Austria.