Hosted by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research
This summer, we will be featuring blog posts written by PhD students who participated in Career Services’ Career Exploration Fellowship (CEF), a program that helps doctoral candidates explore their career interests through networking opportunities with advanced degree professionals. Click here to learn more about CEF.
Describe your experience working with your host.
During my 5th year as a Cell & Molecular Biology PhD Candidate, I was a CEF fellow mentored by Dr. Elisia Clark from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. I learned about her role as Associate Director within the Research Tools Division. In her role, Dr. Clark functions almost like an academic or industry PI, interacting with researchers across the field to determine which reagents, animal models, or new assays may be most beneficial to the Parkinson’s research community, then employs others to generate them for broad and free use. I learned so much from Dr. Clark in her sharing about her experiences in academic and nonprofit science. She also connected me with multiple scientists in her field and recommended numerous organizations I should consider for future employment based on my research interests. I appreciate Dr. Clark’s support of my career endeavors and thoroughly enjoyed my CEF experience with her.
What did you learn from this opportunity (about yourself, potential career fields, the job search, etc.)?
I learned a lot about positions in nonprofit science, which taught me a lot about myself as well. I know I enjoy hands-on benchwork and learned about non-bench positions that I believe I would excel in. I realized that the research-heavy work (not at the bench) still sounded appealing to me; I should be more open-minded about what types of positions or organizations would allow me to ask creative questions and push subject knowledge further, perhaps without doing bench experiments myself or in my own lab. These positions may be difficult to find or know about, so I also learned where to look for them or how to identify from job descriptions whether the emphasis of a nonprofit scientist role would be research-based or another type of responsibility.
How did your CEF experience benefit your future career plans?
My CEF experience made me more confident about which careers I see myself being interested in and excelling in after I complete my PhD. Some of the scientists I spoke with during informational interviews had clinical or industry experience, in addition to academic and nonprofit science. Hearing about their interests and discussing my research interests and experiences in science with Dr. Clark helped me strengthen my motivations for pursuing research-based positions after my PhD. I also feel more confident about the timing of applying and which types of institutions share my mission and approach to science.
What was the most valuable part of your CEF experience?
This experience offered me my first interactions with scientists working in nonprofit organizations. Previously, I was unaware of roles within nonprofit science that involved research without hands-on benchwork. The roles I am more familiar with primarily have grant managing or C-suite responsibilities, so I benefitted from informational interviews with multiple scientists in the Discovery & Translational Research Division at MJFF and at other organizations. It was reassuring to hear about the diversity of career trajectories that led to the same institution or research team. Through this CEF experience, I identified which responsibilities of scientists within nonprofit fields appeal to me most.
Top reason PhD students should apply to the CEF program?
I learned so much from my mentor about the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, how and when she made decisions to leave academic science, and how to effectively interview during informational interviews. I enjoyed meeting Penn students who are at similar career stages in thinking about types of positions to apply to and learning from those already applying to jobs. I am considering a scientific career with future options including research in or outside of academia, so my CEF experience helps me feel more confident about my decisions for whichever direction I take next.
