Christelle spent years working in biology, studying genetics, understanding the microscopic machinery of life. But as her career progressed, she kept hitting the same wall: too much data, not enough people who knew what to do with it.
“Clinical data was piling up,” Christelle explains. “The volume was enormous, and we weren’t extracting even 10% of its value.”
She wanted to bridge that gap. Not abandon biology, but add data science as a tool. So in April 2024, she enrolled in Le Wagon’s Data Science and AI bootcamp, the intensive two-month version.
“I wrote my first line of Python in February,” Christelle admits. “By April, I was in the bootcamp. I was terrified I wouldn’t have the level required.”
But Le Wagon’s prep sessions eased her into it. By the first day of class, she felt ready.
The Data Science and AI bootcamp moved fast. Something new every day, exhausting but rewarding. The buddy system helped Christelle, who’s naturally shy, connect with the 62 other people in her cohort.
“Meeting someone new every day felt smooth, not forced,” she says. “There was so much energy in the room.”
She went from zero Python knowledge to building a computer vision project in just a few weeks. That moment, seeing her code recognise images, felt like magic.
“It was something I thought was obscure and impossible,” Christelle recalls. “And suddenly I was doing it.”
Now she works as a data scientist at a pharmaceutical company, designing therapeutic molecules in silico. Her days blend genetics with data science, pandas with deep learning, NLP with traditional biology.
“I love that my job lets me use both skill sets,” Christelle says. “Some days are more data science, some days more genetics.”
She codes constantly now, keeping her algorithms updated, adding new functions, enriching her analysis. Pandas, which felt overwhelming at first, has become her favourite tool.
“There are so many possibilities with pandas,” she explains. “At first it was hard to find them, but now I use it all the time.”
The bootcamp gave her more than technical skills. It gave her confidence. She arrived scared she’d be behind, and left knowing she could hold her own in a technical role.
The biotech bubble burst after Covid, and companies started cutting research budgets. But the firms using AI and data science kept growing. Christelle saw where the field was heading and made her move.
“I wanted to evolve into a new role,” she says. “Still in biotech, but with data science as my tool.”
The Data Science and AI bootcamp made that transition possible. She’s using the same genetics expertise she always had, but now she can analyse millions of data points to find therapeutic targets no one would’ve spotted manually.
“It’s the same goal,” Christelle reflects. “Just a better way of getting there.”
Data Science and AI Full-Time (9 weeks)
This workshop aims at showcasing the basics of react and discuss when choosing it most
I started with Le Wagon’s Web Development bootcamp – I had such an amazing experience
In the world of software development, two roles that frequently come up for comparison are
As a web consultant, Dylan used to work in various fields, from marketing to web
Most journalists know how to dig for a story. Alice Palussière wanted to dig into
A few weeks back I graduated from Le Wagon Montreal and after demo day I
