Meet Three Boston Scientific Employees Dedicated to Helping People With Parkinson’s Disease
Boston Scientific employees across the globe are dedicated to transforming lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. For those who support our deep brain stimulation (DBS) products, the focus is on offering effective care options to the millions of people worldwide who are affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD).
DBS uses a small, surgically implanted device to send signals to a targeted portion of the brain. The stimulation can improve motor function by reducing disease symptoms. In general, DBS is designed to help people living with PD decrease their medications and experience fewer side effects, such as uncontrolled movements.1
For Parkinson’s Awareness Month, we sat down with three employees whose passion for working on DBS products has a deeply personal connection.
Finding inspiration from her sons
For Nicky Nault, caring for others is a way of life. As a clinical specialist based out of Boston, Massachusetts, she works with patients and physicians to raise awareness of DBS therapy, how it works and the latest technology available.
Recently, Nicky met with a patient who had just received a new, rechargeable Boston Scientific battery for her DBS device. “Afterward, I asked her to write her name with the stimulation off, and she couldn’t due to her tremors,” Nicky says. “But after switching the therapy on, she smiled as she clearly wrote out each letter. It was incredible to witness.”*
At home, Nicky is a devoted mother. Her daughter Janessa is pursuing a career in the medical device industry and is part of the Boston Scientific BOOST program, which focuses on building career opportunities for Black students and professionals. She hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps in health care. Janessa and Nicky know on a deeply personal level the importance of patient care. They shared in the experience of caring for Nicky’s two sons, Avery and Isaiah, who despite fighting difficult battles with mitochondrial disease showed tremendous courage and optimism. Sadly, Avery and Isaiah passed away in 2016 and 2021 respectively, but their memories continue to be a guiding light for the family.
“I see my boys in the patients I work with every day,” says Nicky. “I’m grateful to know and be a part of their stories, and when I go to bed at night I know I did my best to help them. Tomorrow, I’ll do even better.”
Working to honor her grandmother
Like Nicky, transforming lives carries personal meaning for Celine Constant. As a senior multi-channel specialist based in southern France, she uses analytics and digital marketing to identify and connect with PD patients who may benefit from DBS therapy.
Celine witnessed the debilitating symptoms of PD firsthand as a teenager, when her grandmother was diagnosed with the illness. “I was very close with my grandmother and saw all the challenges she faced seeing many different specialists and trying a myriad of treatments.” It was during that time Celine decided she wanted to work in health care.
Celine joined the Neuromodulation business in 2015 with a goal of making a meaningful impact for patients like her grandmother. “For me, it’s about providing patients with education and tools, and empowering them to find the best solution for their needs,” says Celine. “If I can help lessen the burden of this disease for even one patient and their family, I know I’m living my purpose.”
Following in his family’s footsteps
When R&D manager Benny Yeh was a child, he dreamed of helping others. He knew he wanted a career related to health care but wasn’t sure if it would mean following in his grandfather’s footsteps as a doctor who treated patients or supporting the development of therapies designed to help those patients. As a young adult in college, he found his answer.
Benny was always drawn to problem-solving. It’s how he ended up studying electrical and biomedical engineering, eventually landing an internship at Boston Scientific.
Since joining the company in 2006, he has progressed through the engineering ranks and now leads a team in the R&D division. Benny’s team is responsible for creating and sustaining the automated test equipment that ensures every DBS product Boston Scientific manufactures meets the highest quality standards.
“We play a role in testing the stimulators, the remote controls, the batteries — everything that makes up the DBS therapy,” Benny says. While he primarily works from the R&D area at the Valencia, California, site, he recalls a few unforgettable occasions in which he was able to meet some of the patients who use the products he helps test.
“When you’re in the weeds of the process and the individual pieces that make up something like a DBS device, sometimes you can lose sight of the big picture,” he says. “But to go to the hospital or medical facility and see the real people and their families — it’s an emotional reminder of why we do this, and why our commitment to quality is so important.”
To learn more about careers and apply for a job at Boston Scientific, visit our careers site. For more information about deep brain stimulation therapy, visit the DBS & Me.
*Individual results with any therapy will vary. A patient may not experience the results reflected herein. Discuss treatment with your healthcare professional.
1. Timmermann L, Jain R, Chen L, et al. Multiple-source current steering in subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease (the VANTAGE study): a non-randomised, prospective, multicentre, open-label study. Lancet Neurol. 2015;14:693-701. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(15)00087-3.
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