Bayer Scientist Grew Up in Branford

It was a love of animals that drew Nicole Barucci to science. “I wanted to understand cats and dogs,” says Nicole, 32, a senior associate scientist at Bayer Pharmaceutical in West Haven, Conn. “I wanted to figure out what was ailing them when they were sick, even though they couldn’t speak.”

Nicole grew up in the Stony Creek section of Branford, with a brother, a sister, a Lhaso Apso named Sheba and and a lop-eared bunny named Oreo. Her dad is a mechanical contractor. Her mom worked as a hairdresser and travel agent before owning a restaurant in Waterbury.

Nicole attended Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden, where her studies included French as well as calculus and honors courses in chemistry and biology. “I got a good foundation,” Nicole says. “I think it helped that Sacred Heart was an all-girls school. There were no distractions! It was possible to excel in science and mathematics without being intimidated. As a result, women there did well in all scientific disciplines, math included.”

Nicole lettered in track while in high school and was named all-conference in discus. Summers and after class she worked for a local veterinarian.

In 1990 she was off to the University of Connecticut at Storrs, the first in her family to attend a four-year college right out of high school. She studied – no surprise – animal science and pre-veterinary medicine, graduating with a B.S. degree in 1994.

Her studies at UConn were very focused on science. A pre-vet major is like a pre-med major in that respect. At college, Nicole continued playing soccer and volleyball, but at the intramural level. She had less time for French.

Still, she knew she was on the right track. She fondly remembers the time she helped to birth calves as part of a reproductive physiology course. “The whole course was awesome,” she says. “It amazes me how smoothly and efficiently so many biological systems work together to produce new life. The body knows just what to do when the time comes!”

While at college Nicole continued working with animals summers and weekends. In her senior year, she got a job at the Yale University School of Medicine as a primate infant care specialist. Among other things, she hand reared and monitored the well being of baby Rhesus monkeys.

While working at Yale, Nicole met Dr. Gerald Shulman, who was doing pioneering research into insulin resistance in Type II diabetes. Nicole decided to join Dr. Shulman’s lab, and she continued there the next six years. During this period Dr. Shulman, who won many prestigious awards in endocrinology and metabolism, was named a fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Yale.

As part of Dr. Shulman’s team, Nicole was responsible for the overall functioning and organization of an animal research facility specializing in the study of diabetes. She scheduled and performed weekly research activities for six investigators. And she worked extensively with rodents, becoming proficient in rodent microsurgery and diabetic rodent model development.

“The lab was a great opportunity not only to do work involving animal research, but also to be included as an author of research publications,” Nicole says. She is the co-author of several studies published in Diabetes and the American Journal of Physiology.

While at Yale, Nicole also found time for a bit of theater. She toured with an off-Broadway production on weekends for six years, playing the title character in “Joey and Maria’s Comedy Wedding,” a high-energy improvisational comedy.

After several years at the Hughes Institute, Nicole was ready for a change. She interviewed for a position in West Haven at Bayer Pharmaceutical, which has drug discovery programs in the area of Type II diabetes. “In the New Haven are there’s a healthy symbiotic relationship between commercial and academic science,” Nicole says. “I found my academic laboratory background was good preparation for the job at Bayer.”

Nicole was hired by Bayer in 2000 as a senior associate scientist. She works there evaluating potential drug candidates for pre-clinical drug discovery in the area of Type II diabetes. Among other things, she performs both in vivo and in vitro assays; collects, statistically analyzes, interprets, and presents data; and performs independent efficacy and pharmacokinetic studies on various types of rodent models.

Nicole spent three weeks at a lab in Wuppertal, Germany, helping to link the metabolic programs at Bayer West Haven and Bayer Wuppertal. Nicole has also been involved in local community projects.

“It is so important to encourage scientific thought among students, especially in a hands-on fashion,” Nicole says. “Without positive role models and mentors, it is difficult to succeed in life. As a woman with a passion for science, I feel it is my responsibility to give back to the community – and hopefully to inspire and motivate future young scientists.”

She is currently the president of the Bayer Science Forum, a group of Bayer scientists who provide hands-on inquiry-based science projects to students in neighboring communities. Through the Bayer Science Forum’s “Making Science Make Sense” program, over 5000 are affected annually by programs sponsored by Bayer.

In 2001 Nicole was named as one of the “top 40 under 40” by The New Haven Business Times.

And at home in Guilford, where she now lives with her husband Jon, there’s always time for Leon, their spunky mastiff puppy.

“Science was definitely the right career choice for me,” Nicole says. “I’m doing what I love. At the same time I feel I’m part of a larger process, doing things that are really going to make a difference to other people. That, to me, is what is important.”