- October 30, 2024
- Employee Spotlight
Meet Chirine, Sr. Director, Quality Audits & Compliance. Chirine is a seasoned professional with a rich background in quality operations and auditing. With a career spanning continents and industries, Chirine joined Acadia in November 2019.
Describe your career path and what led you to Acadia
I have spent 85 percent of my career as an auditor, but my journey began as a lab technician and quality control specialist in Montréal. I then moved to New Jersey, where I spent the next 25 years gaining experience in quality operations across contract research organizations and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies. Most of my career was in nonclinical research, clinical, and pharmacovigilance. These experiences have given me a comprehensive understanding of the drug development process, from inception to market. Witnessing a drug candidate successfully navigate clinical trials is akin to watching a child grow into adulthood.
Why Acadia?
Having worked at several companies, Acadia’s unique approach to caring for its employees resonates with me. For example, I am participating in an initiative to increase employee engagement and overall satisfaction in the workplace. I see this as an opportunity to put Gandhi’s words into practice: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The care with which Acadia treats its employees translates into the dedication we provide to our patients and aligns with our mission.
Tell us about your role at Acadia. What is an accomplishment you are proud of?
I oversee the audit program for our clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, and nonclinical regulated studies and pipeline, ensuring the quality and standard of audits.
I am proud of expanding our audit program in a short time with limited staff and building a QA team that supports this growth. We continually modify our processes and adjust the audits so we can identify problems earlier. I am proud of our clinical, pharmacovigilance and nonclinical operation departments’ dedication to quality and accepting our audit findings as a mean to raising the bar in quality and compliance.
Who inspires you and why?
Michael J. Fox inspires me for maintaining his sense of humor despite his challenges. His ability to make others laugh demonstrates resilience and a powerful mind. Acadia’s work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation inspired me to watch “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”. Although I found it sad, it was also inspiring, encouraging us to never give up and keep making people smile.
Outside of your work at Acadia, what is an outlet that helps you recharge and get inspired?
One of the simple ways I recharge is by listening to audiobooks on my commute to and from work. When I’m not in the office, I love traveling, dancing, watching historical films and tending to my garden. There’s something incredibly rewarding about nurturing a plant from a tiny seed and watching it flourish over time. At the moment, I’m growing African violets and rose geraniums in my office, and enjoy sharing this passion through plant cuttings with my colleagues. I also cherish spending time with my family and our dog Zizou, especially when we’re watching FC Barcelona play (Visca el Barça!). In fact the name Zizou is in reference to a great soccer player which only avid soccer fans would know who that is!
