Welcome back to Team Insights, where we offer you an opportunity to get to know a bit more about our team at Microbiome Insights. We hope to show you the faces of the people you will be working with and the human element behind the now virtual interaction. For this Team Insights, we want you to meet Iryna Borzilova, a senior member of our sales team.
If you would like to connect with Iryna on LinkedIn, you can do so here.
Hello Iryna, it’s a pleasure chatting with you today. Let’s start off with an easy question: When did you start working at Microbiome Insights?
A: July 2019.
What do you do at MBI? Describe your role?
A: I am an Account Manager at Microbiome Insights. I am the first point of contact for our clients and help accomplish their scientific goals.
How would you describe that to a bunch of five-year-olds?
A: I am the one who takes your hand, walks you into the school, shows you around, introduces you to your teachers and classmates.
What interests you most about the area of the microbiome?
A: I am fascinated by the gut-brain connection and recent research on Parkinson's disease and microbiome.
What’s your secret talent that no one knows about?
A: I speak four languages fluently.
That’s really interesting, you don’t get many people who are that multilingual. What do you speak and how did you get proficient?
A: I was born and lived in Ukraine for 18 years and Russian is my mother tongue. I started learning French as a second foreign language back in school. It can get a little rusty at times, living on the west coast, so I’m always looking for some French practice.
What other passions do you have outside of work?
A: Skiing in the winter, tennis in the summer, as well as photography.
As we’re almost a year into the pandemic, how have you made the most of your time working from home?
A: I’ve started experimenting with new meals in the kitchen way more often that I used to.
To end things off, seeing as how we are getting close to International Women's day, what would the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers?
A: Most importantly, International Women’s Day is about freedom of choice to me. I would like as many women as possible to remember that they’re capable of doing anything they’d like, anything that makes them happy.
Thank you again, Iryna, for taking the time to answer these questions and share a bit about yourself. To our readers, we hope you enjoyed this Team Insights segment. If you happen to meet Iryna while working on a project with us, be sure to help her practice her French!