Leading from the bench: Yevgeniya's landmark discovery

Senior Scientist Yevgeniya O. recently made a landmark discovery—one that put her name on several patents. Her exciting story is a case study in how your own passion and curiosity can positively impact the lives of patients when you join J&J.

"Something special"

As a “bench"—or lab-based—scientist, Yevgeniya first began investigating the therapeutic potential of inhibiting “cytokines” more than two decades ago. These small proteins are important in cell signaling, and they can play a role in the body’s inflammatory and immune responses as well.

Her long-range vision at the time? Developing new treatment options for immune-mediated diseases with significant unmet medical needs.

But Yevgeniya’s research at J&J soon brought that vision into 20/20 focus. Dialing in on plaque psoriasis, the most common form of psoriasis, she wondered: Might there be a way to treat plaque psoriasis by inhibiting the activity of harmful, proinflammatory cytokines?

To answer that, Yevgeniya studied interleukins 12 and 23 (IL-12, IL-23). In particular, she was interested in exploring the mechanism of action for therapies targeting both IL-12 and IL-23, such as STELARA®, or just IL-23 specifically—and subsequent studies showed that she was really onto something. In fact, Yevgeniya and several colleagues were eventually honored with the Johnson Medal, our most prestigious research and development award, in recognition of their discoveries.

Meanwhile, around the same time as these investigations, lightning struck again for Yevgeniya: One of her experiments yielded a therapeutic solution that specifically targeted IL-23—and delivered more impressive results than alternatives targeting both IL-12 and IL-23.

As her colleague Navin Rao recounted, “Yevgeniya was the first person on our team to run an experiment showing that targeting IL-23 specifically was truly something special.’”

For Yevgeniya, it was another Eureka! moment—one that would set in motion a cascade of events, culminating more than a decade later with the release of TREMFYA®, a groundbreaking drug.

“Where the data is generated, discovery happens”

Even with all her accolades, contributing to early immunology discovery efforts remains the most important thing, according to Yevgeniya.

“Now, I’m focusing more on pathway-oriented discovery now, and addressing unmet needs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis is another priority,” she said of her latest interests.

Most workdays, indeed, you’ll continue to find Yevgeniya in the lab. She wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I love working on the bench, because where the data is generated, discovery happens—and nothing happens without that data!” she enthused.

Join the bench scientists and immunologists at J&J

We’re transforming the future of health and leading from the bench every single day—but we can’t do it without compassionate, driven, outside-of-the-box thinkers like you.

Ready to grow in your career, pursue your interests and create your own path forward? Explore job openings at J&J—and apply now.