Dana Aftab, now head of R&D at Exelixis, credits an 8th-grade documentary on human conception for sparking his interest in science. He previously identified as a 'class clown' and felt imposter syndrome, proving that scientific passion doesn't always stem from a nerdy childhood.
Aftab's decision to attend UC Santa Barbara was driven by its location and scenery, not its academic offerings. This 'happy accident' led him to the only undergraduate pharmacology program in the country at the time, a pivotal moment that shaped his entire career in drug discovery.
During his PhD, Aftab invented a high-throughput screening method primarily because he was 'impatient and lazy' and wanted to avoid tedious, repetitive work. This mindset, focused on efficiency, led to a highly-cited paper and became a key drug discovery skill.
Aftab's move to biotech wasn't a philosophical shift but a practical one. After a five-year postdoc and with a new baby at home, he took the only job offer he received. This highlights that major career transitions are often dictated by life circumstances rather than pure ambition.
Aftab joined a startup despite colleagues warning him about its 'dysfunctional' reputation. He trusted the strong, immediate connection he felt with the founders, a decision that led directly to his 27+ year career at Exelixis after an acquisition. Personal alignment trumped hearsay.
Aftab attributes his career longevity and advancement to a simple rule: never say no when asked to do something new. This willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges, like building a pharmacology department from scratch, turns unexpected requests into significant growth opportunities.
To soften his direct feedback style, Aftab learned to aim for what felt overly nuanced to him. He realized that for his message to be heard as balanced (pendulum in the middle), he had to deliver it from a place that felt unnaturally gentle to himself (pendulum to the left).
The blockbuster drug cabozantinib was dropped by both GSK and BMS. Exelixis persisted because they saw compelling data in niche indications that larger partners deemed too small or uninteresting. This demonstrates how a smaller biotech's focused conviction can triumph where big pharma loses interest.
To survive, Exelixis made the difficult decision to shut down its entire drug discovery operation, the company's historical foundation. This strategic move conserved cash and focused all resources on two late-stage clinical trials, betting the company's future on their success.
During a massive restructuring after a failed trial, Dana Aftab volunteered to be laid off. Believing he wasn't essential for the company's immediate goal—getting two other trials to readout—he prioritized the mission's survival over his own job, defining true leadership.
For founders, simply explaining an idea in plain English is not enough. The key is to tell an amazing story with a clear beginning, a hero, and a compelling conclusion. Effective science communication is about storytelling that captures the imagination, not just conveying facts.
Given that 90% of drugs fail in the clinic, the most critical innovation isn't a single brilliant idea. It's building a company with the operational efficiency and financial runway to conduct all ten necessary experiments to find the one that will succeed.