David Cornejo remembers his experience with GSK’s Science in the Summer™ fondly. It was where he gained insight into the breadth and depth of how Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) touches so many parts of our lives. Today, Science in the Summer’s free hands-on activities continue to reach tens of thousands of children across the country every year.
The program works because you’re introducing STEM lessons through these easy-to-understand experiments,” Cornejo said. “It was really exciting because they brought in scientists who performed these demonstrations that really left an impression on us. You’re around other children, school is out. It was a great time!”
You will forgive Cornejo if he can’t recall every detail; it was more than 20 years ago. Still GSK feels like home to this father of three. It only makes sense because he is a second-generation GSK employee. As a child, he spent days blissfully soaking up the architecture of the old Burroughs Welcome building and shadowing his father around the office.
His father started in research and development technology then shifted to commercial technology – totaling more than 30 years with GSK.
After graduating from UNC-Greensboro with degrees in economics and math, a master’s in economics from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Operations from NC State, Cornejo followed in his father’s footsteps.
“I was intrigued by the groundbreaking programming and scale of what my father was doing,” said Cornejo. “That early exposure to computer systems and programming got me interested in data science. It’s the new version of the technology lens that my father had. GSK has a tremendous history in the space that I work in in terms of using data and analytics to drive the business forward.”
Now this native North Carolinian has his own GSK ID badge, serving as director of Portfolio Data Science.
These days Cornejo keeps busy leading a data science team in Research and Development Portfolio and Analytics. This laser-focused group helps support investment decisions for the company’s portfolio of scientific products. They’re tasked with ensuring the right data is presented to the decision makers working to expedite treatments to patients.
Cornejo is pleased to see GSK continuing Science in the Summer, now in its 38th year.
“The fact that GSK continues to invest in the communities they’re part of makes me proud to be part of this organization,” remarks Cornejo. “We have an impact on patients but we also have an impact and presence in the communities where we live and work. We’re able to create opportunities that didn’t exist before.”
Maybe one day, Cornejo’s children will take a page from his career playbook. He’s nurturing a love of the outdoors and science, striving to get to those same aha moments he had at Science in the Summer.
