Adam Krisko Nygaard

“We, as employees, have the opportunity to help shape the future of the company.”

Job Title: Senior Statistical Programmer

Other involvement: Employee-elected Board Member

After his bachelor’s studies in Political Science and Economics in Hungary, Adam moved to Denmark to pursue a master’s degree in technological and socio-economic planning. After this, he began a second master’s in Economics and Business Administration followed by a PhD candidate position in Financial Accounting.

“During my studies, I discovered a strong interest in finance and statistics but during my PhD, I realized that academic research within social science was not my calling.”

However, research still inspired Adam. So, when he was offered a position at a larger pharmaceutical company, he decided to embark on a new journey in clinical research and statistical programming.

The transition was smooth for Adam, because he found that the statistical tools and research methods used in biometrics were very similar to those used in econometrics.

“I often tell people that a statistical programmer is like an accountant, but instead of working with financial data, we work with clinical research data.”

Finding Zealand

Before joining Zealand, Adam worked at a smaller biotech company focused on pediatric oncology, and he completed further graduate studies in Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Stanford University School of Medicine.

“Zealand had been on my radar since I started my career in pharmaceutical development. The company’s strong dedication to people living with rare diseases appealed to me because helping patients and their families is why I go to work every day.”

Today, Adam works at Zealand Pharma as a Senior Statistical Programmer, cleaning, organizing, tabulating, and analyzing clinical trial data.

For Adam, it is exciting to see the results of his work in action.

“I write programs that are used to create tables, figures, and listings for regulatory submissions, key results meetings, conference posters, and more. I also make sure it is possible for the agencies in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products – e.g. FDA or EMA – to check and trace the data presented in the clinical trial reports back to the raw data.”

Unique opportunities and great people

At Zealand, there are always new things to learn and discover. For example, Adam is involved from the very beginning to the very end of the clinical trial process.

“We’re a smaller team, so I’m often involved in many different projects, but to me that’s a good thing. It gives me a unique view of the process and the chance to collaborate with many functions and colleagues.”

Working like this can be challenging, but it has shown Adam that at Zealand, there is true team spirit, and people are willing to jump in and help when the team is under pressure.

“I definitely enjoy coming to work. I’m surrounded by so many wonderful people, on both a professional and personal level, who I genuinely enjoy spending time with and learning from.”

“We, as employees, have the opportunity to help shape the future of the company.”

When Adam had been with Zealand for a year, he ran for a position as an employee-elected Board Member.

“I wanted to take on more responsibilities and create more value by serving the entire Zealand family as a Board Member. So, when I received the call that I had been elected, I really felt the trust from my colleagues.”

He wants to make a difference and being on the Board provides a great opportunity to share “bottom up” input.

"There is a lot of meaningful work happening at Zealand and we, as employees, have the opportunity to help shape the future of the company.”