Erwin Idoux, a Neuroscientist at McKinsey

Erwin Idoux (Class of 1999 – Biology) works at McKinsey & Company, where he has been supporting pharmaceutical laboratories for five years. This life sciences enthusiast boldly transitioned into consulting after a career in research, driven by audacity and determination.

Accepted simultaneously at ENS Lyon and ENS Paris-Saclay, Erwin chose the latter due to his passion for biochemistry, a discipline he particularly enjoys. He switched to neuroscience in his second year of his Master's program and pursued a PhD on gaze stabilization, a specialized subject at the interface of biology, physics, and mathematics.

Reading on the Bus

"Your eyes are very slow detectors: the image must remain stable on the retina to see. My goal was to understand the properties of the neurons responsible for stabilizing gaze in relation to head movements, such as when you read on the bus," explains Erwin Idoux. He defended his thesis at UPMC in 2007, then completed two post-docs. The first was at Boston University, on a subject he conceived and executed from start to finish after his initially planned American lab director backed out at the last minute. "Overnight, I had to propose a new project to another laboratory and secure its funding, which I obtained from the European Commission." There, Erwin developed a nonlinear optical tool to control intracellular calcium concentration in real time. This both filled a gap in the available neuroscience tools and satisfied his passion for interdisciplinarity.

A Change of Direction

Back in France, Erwin undertook a second postdoc, this time funded by CNES. "Space sickness, which astronauts suffer from, is caused by the system involved in gaze stabilization." Frustrated by the slow pace of the French research system, Erwin pondered what motivated him most—problem-solving. He then made a seemingly radical decision: exit research, enter consulting. "This is a transition that many PhDs commonly make in other countries, notably in the United States, where friends had taken this step."

Research and Consulting: Same Approach?

"Consulting and research indeed share the same reductionist approach to problems," Erwin says. "In both cases, you face a complex problem, break it down into simpler sub-problems to solve independently, and then synthesize the solution to the complex problem from each resolved sub-problem." The only differences are the subjects and the timeline. "In consulting, instead of three years, you have three weeks. You also need to quickly assert plausible solutions once you understand 80% of the problem, unlike in research, where you aim for 99.99% understanding."

Erwin began his consulting career at Cepton, a strategy boutique focused on life sciences, where he stayed for four years. He then joined McKinsey's Life Sciences Competence Center to accelerate pharmaceutical R&D, particularly through artificial intelligence. "We provide pharmaceutical industry researchers with algorithms and methods that speed up their work without quality loss, even allowing them to explore previously inaccessible areas. Thus, researchers can refocus their efforts where they add real value."

The Influence of ENS Paris-Saclay

His time at ENS Paris-Saclay equipped Erwin Idoux with a versatile knowledge base in biology, crucial for quickly diving into specialized content and interacting with his interlocutors. "I offer innovative and relevant solutions based on the latest research advances because my training at ENS taught me how to find and communicate information to diverse audiences." He continues to evolve thinking on research and AI issues through writing white papers, an intellectual pursuit encouraged by McKinsey.

Erwin maintains a strong connection with ENS Paris-Saclay, regularly encouraging students to see their education as highly relevant for thriving in a consulting career. "The training they receive is more than adequate for flourishing in a consulting career!" he asserts.