What does it take to become a successful geneticist?  In a way, this occupation is like any other.  David Paetkau, President and Molecular Artificer at Wildlife Genetics International (WGI), says that their success is ”100% reputation.”  WGI, a Nelson-based company, analyzes ”genetic markers to assess biological questions.”  Questions range from determination of gender to population inventories.  At the end of May 2010, lab technicians were working on caribou in Atlin BC, Tennessee white tail deer, and sheep from Kootenay National Park. 

Since WGI opened its lab in 1999, they have completed 1,800 projects.  The majority of their work has been on bears, caribou and muskox.  

Because of the flexibility of the Internet, WGI chose Nelson to establish their business.  Two of the four original stakeholders lived in the West Kootenays; this location provides an exceptional lifestyle for employees and a competitive edge for the company because of lower overhead costs.  The company employs 7 full-time and 2 part-time employees.  Lab technicians spend the majority of their time in front of their computer work stations, doing the technical aspects such as DNA purification as well as recording the results.  Being able to spend many hours doing detail work is a key characteristic for this career.
The process begins in the wild.  Field workers gather wildlife samples, and send it to WGI for analysis.  Using non-invasive sampling such as Hair Traps ensures that the animals experience low stress. 

The germination of WGI’s success began when Paetkau was at grad school; there he developed techniques and statistical methods that are used at WGI and other laboratories around the world.  Paetkau has produced many publications, solidifying his reputation within the field.  What it takes to become a success he says is threefold:  having ”something interesting to say,” persistence (working 12 hour days), and plenty of writing. 

Paetkau’s favourite part of his work is being ”involved in great projects.”  He enjoys being part of an important contribution for wildlife, and ensuring that WGI produces quality work, which ultimately creates satisfied customers.   The biggest challenge in the work is managing e-mails.

For people embarking on their careers, Paetkau suggests that they go to university and ”study the stuff that interests them.”  Paetkau chose genetics while he was at university because it offered him the most options. 

As for WGI, the future will continue to be focused on data quality, responding to customer requests, and then ”see where that takes us.”  For sure, central to any ventures will be WGI’s reputation.