Life Science Careers

This book is written for the many Life Science PhD students who may pursue careers outside of academic research. Even though the biggest portion of students will ultimately pursue other paths, university education trains them mostly for the academic track. Students often miss information, resources, contacts, or opportunities to explore other options. In response, the editors assembled a diverse group of authors from all fields related to Life Science research. The chapters offer a peek behind the curtain of each industry and offer guidance on how to move towards such roles.

Through a high level of uniformity, students will get a plethora of career stories, each providing job opportunities, job descriptions, resources, and useful contact information. The purpose of this volume is to illustrate the many excellent opportunities that are available to life science PhDs, which will still allow them to make significant contributions to science.

Dr. Jasna Markovac comes from a family of scientists; both her parents were scientists themselves. She earned her doctorate in human genetics at the University of Michigan and pursued postdoctoral training in molecular biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Following her training, she held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. For 20 years, she served as an editor, journals director, and vice president at major scientific publishing firms before returning to academia as a manager of a learning design and publishing team that provides editorial and consulting services to faculty, staff, and students. Today, she continues her work in academia while maintaining her own consulting firm where her clients include the University of Michigan and Yale University. Markovac has been an active contributor to several professional societies, including the American Physiological Society (APS), Society for Developmental Biology, the Society for Neuroscience, and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). She is the Founding Editor of FASEB BioAdvances, and guest editor of several journal special issues on topics related to careers beyond the bench, as well as biomedical and medical education.

Dr. Kim E. Barrett is originally from the United Kingdom, and earned both her B.Sc. (Medicinal Chemistry) and her Ph.D. (Biological Chemistry) from University College London, England as the first in her family to pursue post-secondary education. She continued her training with a postdoc at the U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and then held a faculty position at the University of California San Diego, where she rose to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Medicine and also served as Dean of the Graduate Division. She is currently Vice Dean for Research and Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Membrane Biology in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Barrett is an internationally recognized scholar in gastrointestinal physiology, and she has received numerous honors and awards for her research, teaching, mentoring, and service activities, including the Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Scientist and Mentor Award from APS and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science from the American Gastroenterological Association. Her perspective on bioscience careers was broadened by her service as APS President and as the rotating Director of the Division of Graduate Education at the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Howard Garrison earned his doctorate in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After that, he conducted research on employment and training issues while a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University and an analyst at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. An opportunity to work at the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) on a study of national needs for biomedical and behavioral science research led to a career-long interest in the biological sciences. His research on the biological sciences brought him to FASEB where, for 25 years, he established the Office of Policy Analysis and Research and directed the Office of Public Affairs while continuing to conduct research on scientific employment and training. During his tenure at FASEB, the number of member societies grew from eight to 31, the NIH budget doubled, and the Federation became recognized as the principal organization representing biomedical researchers. He is the recipient of public service awards from FASEB and the American Association of Immunologists.