Science–IT Partnership Consulting
The scientific advisor in the room when a translational project meets the client's scientists.
Fractional scientific-advisor support for larger consulting firms staffing translational programs.
For project leads & partners at consulting firms
A scientist who can hold both conversations
When your engagement puts business analysts and engineers on one side and the client's research scientists on the other, the project needs someone who is fluent in both rooms. This is a subcontract scientific-advisor role that supports your team — not direct-to-pharma IT consulting, and not a research-IT leadership pitch.
Three things this role has done before
Drawn from three years as a Business Relationship Manager inside a major pharmaceutical company's Research IT organization. Framing matters here — read each one closely.
- Translating between scientists and builders. Was an integral part of the team that enabled internal development of a federated query engine — the capability that let scientists query everything collected on a given molecule on the fly. The contribution was translation: turning what scientists needed into terms the IT team could build against. Not a coding or build role.
- Planning and budgeting with the business. Worked with scientific functions through annual IT business planning and budgeting — helping them articulate their goals clearly enough to secure the budget behind them.
- Keeping the line open year-round. Held steady, year-round communication between IT and business partners on progress and delays, so scientific timelines were protected by information rather than surprised by it. This was a communication-conduit role — not project management or timeline ownership.
How the role plugs in
Shaped to sit inside your engagement structure. Typical forms:
Embedded scientific advisor
A set number of days into your project team as the scientific voice across requirements, design reviews, and client sessions.
Requirements translation
Turning scientific workflows and needs into language your analysts and engineers can scope and build against.
Client-scientist communication support
Helping the engagement keep a steady, credible line open with the client's research stakeholders.
Workshop facilitation
Running working sessions where scientists and technical staff need a shared vocabulary to move forward.
Staffing a translational project that needs a scientific advisor?
Let's talk about how the role would fit your engagement.