Pursuing a Career in Regulatory Science and Drug Development

Career Story by David McMillan, Ph.D., Toxicologist at U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Academia, industry and government: I was always aware of the three career tracks available to biomedical scientists, but as with most fledgling graduate students, I didn’t really know what differentiated them. Pursuit of an academic career was still somewhat en vogue when I started graduate school and it was the only path with which I was familiar. As industry was concerned, I at least understood the distinction between “industry” and “pharma”, but “government” remained elusive. What does it mean to be a government scientist?  Do they do bench research? If so, do they write grants? Who do they report to? How does the government monitor clinical trials for pharmaceuticals and ensure patient safety? Who sets policies on environmental toxicant exposure and how are these policies determined? And what exactly does “regulatory” mean?

Diversify Yourself and Your Work Experiences

Career Story by Elizabeth Schiavoni, MS, Life Sciences Writing Solutions LLC 

I am excited to share my science and medicine communications and outreach career story with biomedical PhD students exploring broad training experiences at the University of Rochester Medical Center at noon on May 17^th in the Northeastern Room (1-9525).

Get Prepared to Become a Successful Statistician in a Collaborative Research Environment

Career Story by Aiyi Liu, PhD, Senior Investigator, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Branch

Statistics is perhaps one of the few professions that have seen steady job growth in the past 30 years or so, and the need for statisticians continues to grow today. Due to the applied nature of statistics, graduate students often find themselves landing on a job in a highly collaborative environment (e.g., medicine, public health) that requires not only good training in statistics, but also a fair understanding of subject matter, and perhaps more importantly, skills needed to be able to collaborate as a team member with non-statisticians. Most likely these important skills are not taught in classrooms and could potentially hinder the career growth of a statistician. 

March Your Own Science Path

Career Story by Alex Huang, Ph.D., Associate Director & Senior Scientist, Genentech

My career path, though not academic, is hardly “alternative”. With constant soul-searching along the way, I have managed to stick with science and marched in the space of drug discovery and development in pharmaceutical industry.  It is definitely not a straightforward path, contrary to what people often perceive.  There were numerous moments of uncertainties. Nevertheless, it has been a rewarding journey so far.

Inaugural Meet Up of UR’s Thinkers and Drinkers

News Article by Heather Natola, PhD Candidate

If science happens at a bench, and no one ever hears about it, did it really happen? The students in Thinkers and Drinkers, don’t think so, and they embarked on a journey to tell the people of Rochester what kind of science is happening in their backyard.  With stylish, matching T-shirts, these scientists put themselves on the frontline to defend science and add the human angle that is often missing from articles published about science.