Meet Yuri Belov

Meet Yuri Belov

“It is one hundred percent true that Phenomenex is an innovative company,” said Yuri. “We have a great culture, and it has been a place where I’ve completed some of my most impactful work. Our top priority is to create high-quality products. Our customers value the quality of our products along with our expertise and partnership. We excel at helping them solve their most pressing challenges—and we do so by never compromising on quality.”

Born and raised in Russia, Yuri Belov always knew that he wanted to go into organic chemistry. After earning his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, in Moscow, Yuri came to the United States (U.S.). It was shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In his first several years in the U.S., Yuri continued his research and studies working at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH. Following those chapters, he dove into a research chemist role focused on creating new chiral columns for gas chromatography before taking his expertise to ChromBA, Inc., where he created award-winning multicapillary columns for liquid chromatography and sample preparation.

Passionate about innovation, Yuri eventually found himself drawn to Phenomenex for its rich culture and out-of-the-box approach to research and development. Today, Yuri creates columns in Phenomenex's GC lab and has brought to life several novel columns for the analysis of chlorinated pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, fatty acids, residual solvents, and various volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds.

Yuri seeks out opportunities to grow and address complex challenges, which is something he finds on a daily basis at Phenomenex. His role is accompanied by a true sense of fulfillment. Yuri shared, “Most of the time, when I communicate with my colleagues, we discuss how we can improve, how can we reduce failures, and how can we improve the yield on the sole source.”

Part of Phenomenex’s mission is to promote growth by providing high-quality products for customers.

“We have provided the same exceptional service ever since I joined the company, and we have continued to make higher quality products each year. I’m proud to work among like-minded individuals who are always striving to improve.”

Yuri enjoys the meaningful relationships he has forged with his colleagues over the years. For Yuri, those memorable moments started on day one. His manager at the time, Jim, left him in a conference room to complete an onboarding task. Jim told Yuri to find him once he finished, which he tried to do. “I went to look for Jim but got lost, so I asked a colleague, ‘Where is Jim?’ She said, ‘We don’t have a gym here.’ I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t have a Jim?’” They went back and forth a few times before realizing she had mistaken his question as a search for a gymnasium. Yuri shares that a few moments such as that one have occurred during his time with Phenomenex. English is not his first language, but his colleagues are always polite and helpful, and it has allowed him to share many laughs over the years.

Another favorite part of Yuri’s experience at Phenomenex is the day-to-day meetings he has with colleagues. “While meetings at other companies can be formal and dry, we try to host meetings in a fun, collaborative way,” said Yuri. “Even when discussing serious content, we ensure that the dialogue is open, inclusive, and welcoming to everyone involved. We work hard but have fun while we do it, which has a very positive impact on all team members.”

Yuri enjoys challenging his mind and body outside of work. “From my youth until recently, I’ve always played many different sports,” said Yuri. “It has become more challenging to stay active, but I continue to play chess—and nobody at Phenomenex has beaten me so far.”

Yuri lives near a large community composed of people from the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's important to him to give back and be involved in this community: “I try my best to help people who are in bad situations make changes in their lives. It keeps my spirits high when I can help others and make a contribution to my community.”