Oxitec People: Hellen Abreu, Regulatory Affairs Manager, Brazil
Oxitec People: Hellen Abreu, Regulatory Affairs Manager, Brazil
Can you tell us about your role at Oxitec and what it entails?
As a Regulatory Affairs Manager, I help Oxitec comply with the laws and regulatory standards of the countries where it operates, enabling the registration, marketing, and freedom to operate of our products. This means I need to study and understand the legislation that affects our business in each of these countries, and handle a lot of paperwork, preparing dossiers, reports, and documents to be sent to governmental agencies. As part of my work, I also interface with regulatory agencies.
In Brazil, I’m responsible for the Health and Safety Department, where we help Oxitec comply with legal standards but, above all, ensure our people have safe and healthy working conditions.
What motivated you to join Oxitec’s mission?
Definitely the challenge of working with innovative products that have such an impact on people's lives!
What do you enjoy about your role?
What I enjoy most is interacting and working with people from almost every area of the company and learning lots of new things. I care deeply about people, so working in Health and Safety – understanding working conditions and how to improve them – is something that makes me happy.
What advice would you give to others wanting to pursue your area of work?
To work with governments around the world requires resilience, patience, and the ability to think strategically. A solid academic background always helps, as do strong communication skills. Attention to detail is also very important. If you want to pursue this field, it’s important to learn about legislation, connect it to the technical and critical aspects of our products, and start reading about how to engage with authorities. On Health and Safety work, I’d say much the same: knowing the legislation is essential, but so is communication – especially listening to people. Leadership skills are always crucial in this area too!