The Best of Both Worlds—Insights Toward Establishing an Academic Center and a Biotech Company, from One Perspective

Career Story Blog Post By Joseph F. Petrosino, PhD, Associate Professor of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Director of the Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research at Baylor College of Medicine, and Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Diversigen, Inc.

In anticipation of my visit to UR, I’ve been asked to share my experiences in what brought me to where I am today as a director of a strategic research center at Baylor College of Medicine and as the founder and CSO of a metagenomics sequencing and analysis company, Diversigen, Inc.

A Day in the Life of a Scientific Jack-of-all-Trades

Career Story Blog Post By Christine (Crisy) Sanfilippo, PhD, Manager, Pharmaceutical Medical Affairs at Bausch & Lomb, a division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals

What exactly does a job in Medical Affairs entail? I had the same question when approached by a colleague at Bausch + Lomb, wondering if I would be interested in an open position in that department. So when asked to write this blog post, I figured I’d share with fellow scientists my view of Medical Affairs and the tasks performed during an “atypical” typical day at my job.

Scientific Careers: The Big Picture

Career Story Blog Post By Donald Moir, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Microbiotix, Inc.

I’ve been asked to reflect a bit on my career and to share some stories.  These are some of my experiences from a career at small biotech companies.  I hope these anecdotes and suggestions will be helpful, at least as starting points for a larger discussion about scientific careers.  

Your Career: A Work in Progress

By Melony Sorbero, PhD, Policy Researcher at RAND Corporation

Life with a PhD is not easy. You’ve voluntarily selected a life where the hours are long, and the hours are too long to move forward without some degree of passion.  So somewhere along the way you need to figure out what drives you - what revs you up? 

I want to be a change agent for our children

By Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, Executive Director for the Children's Environmental Health Network

I want to be a change agent for equality, general decency, and overall protection of our most vulnerable...our children! I have had this same calling since I can remember...

On June 4, 2012, my dear Uncle, Professor Emmanuel Obot, was killed along with all other passengers in the Dana Airlines crash in Lagos, Nigeria. That tragedy has had a huge impact on our family and my view of my purpose in life. My uncle ran all of the 6 nature conservatories in Nigeria and was an internationally recognized environmental health leader, researcher, and advocate. His passing has provided me with an even stronger passion and desire to do all that I can to protect children from harm and uplift them to their full potential.