BioBuzz’s Buzzin’ Brood Student Spotlight series celebrates the future generation of life sciences talent — and the programs, institutions, and organizations investing in them.
Name: Elias Zell
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Institution: University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Role: Statistics and Process Analysis Technology Intern, Afton Scientific (Summer)
What do the semi-automated offside technology of the World Cup and the sterile manufacturing lines of a pharmaceutical plant have in common? For Elias Zell, they are both driven by the exact same thing: data, statistics, and systems-level problem solving.
Elias is a Systems and Information Engineering student at the University of Virginia (UVA), where he balances a rigorous academic load with minors in Applied Mathematics and Engineering Business. He’s putting those skills to the test as an undergraduate research assistant for the Design Timeline Research Team and as a project manager for BAPS at UVA, a systems engineering consultancy solving technical problems for local organizations. But his leadership doesn’t stop at academics; he also serves as president and captain of UVA Men’s Club Soccer and is a ministry team member for the Reformed University Fellowship.
This summer, Elias took his systems-thinking approach into the life sciences ecosystem as a statistics and process analysis technology intern at Afton Scientific. There, he is applying the mathematical modeling and data analytics skills he honed in the classroom to real-world pharmaceutical manufacturing, helping identify trends and drive company decisions.
We sat down with Elias to talk about his path into systems engineering, what’s exciting him right now, and where he sees himself headed next.
How did you get here?
I’ve loved problem-solving, building, and learning from a young age. In high school, these interests really took shape through a school engineering project. Living through every step of the engineering process, from initial idea to fully formed final product, was incredibly engaging and fulfilling, and it’s what led me to pursue engineering in college.
During the first-year engineering curriculum, I found myself drawn to math, programming, and systems-level problem solving more than other aspects of the discipline, which led me to major in systems engineering. The systems engineering curriculum, along with extracurricular research opportunities and clubs, exposed me to data analytics, mathematical modeling, and statistics, and fostered a real interest in each.
I found my current internship at Afton Scientific through a university job forum and was immediately drawn to both the type of work the role entailed and the industry the company operates in. It’s been a fantastic experience. I’ve learned so much about the pharmaceutical space and pharmaceutical manufacturing, and I’ve been able to apply the skills I developed at school to real-world data and use them to help drive real company decisions.
What is currently blowing your mind right now?
This summer, I’ve become fascinated by how central data analytics and statistics are to nearly every industry, a realization that first hit me while watching the World Cup. As a soccer player, I was blown away by how much technology goes into the modern game. Digging into how the game momentum tracker is calculated and how semi-automated offside technology works showed me just how far data-driven insight extends into a sport I thought I already understood.
“Seeing the same underlying skill set impact decisions in both a soccer stadium and a manufacturing plant showed me how broadly applicable these skills really are,” said Elias Zell, statistics and process analysis technology intern at Afton Scientific.
That idea kept showing up in my internship this summer as well, where I saw firsthand how essential data analytics and statistics are to pharmaceutical manufacturing. They help identify trends and catch problems that might otherwise go unseen, and they let a company quantify its own performance and progress. Seeing the same underlying skill set impact decisions in both a soccer stadium and a manufacturing plant showed me how broadly applicable these skills really are.
If you could explain yourself right now in only emojis, what would those be?
🛠📚💻📈🎤👏🏼⚽🏃
These emojis capture a lot of my life right now. The toolkit and books represent my love of problem-solving and learning new things, both of which I’ve gotten to do a lot this summer. The computer and graph represent my passion for statistics and data analytics, skills I’ve developed over the course of my internship and am excited to keep building on going into the new school year.
Outside of work and school, I enjoy listening to live music. I’ve gotten to see a few good concerts this summer and have more planned for the fall. I also enjoy playing soccer and running, both of which are great outlets to stay in shape and have fun with friends.
If you could travel 10 years into the future, what does your LinkedIn headline say?
Systems Engineer | Problem Solver | Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Expert
I hope to continue building a career in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Successfully running large-scale manufacturing operations offers the perfect blend of technical skill, industry knowledge, and people-focused work that I’m seeking. Through opportunities like Afton Scientific, Cville Biohub, and BioBuzz, I’ve gotten my first taste of the biotechnology space and am excited to keep growing in it.
What is your favorite quote and why?
Often, though perhaps falsely, attributed to William Shakespeare, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one” is my current favorite quote. Though first put to ink in the 17th century, I think this idea is more pertinent now than ever, so much so that I wrote one of my college application essays about it.
In an increasingly interconnected world, where AI can handle more and more of the technical work, having a diverse skill set is incredibly important. Mastering a single technical skill can become obsolete in a matter of years, but the ability to see how industries affect each other, to anticipate how decisions ripple through a system, to communicate effectively, and to derive meaning and insight from information: these are what let you mold yourself into whatever niche your industry demands.
