We interviewed Dr. Colleen McSweeney about her experiences during graduate school at Penn State. Here, she shares her opinions and advice on how to be successful during and after graduate school.
Colleen McSweeney obtained a Ph.D. in Neuroscience here at Penn State in 2017. As a part of Dr. Yingwei Mao’s lab, she investigated the role of RBM8a in neurogenesis, neurodevelopment, and psychiatric disease. Dr. McSweeney is now a Senior Scientific Consultant at Noldus Information Technology, Inc., where she consults with scientists to provide them with solutions for their behavioral research needs. Thus, she serves as a liaison between company staff and clients to help create complete lab solutions.
What motivated you to choose your PhD program at Penn State?
A couple of reasons. First, Penn State has a very collaborative environment, and the program and students have the type of culture I was looking for. I also wanted to do research on neuropsychiatric disease, and Penn State had quite a few labs that worked in that area.
How did your PhD training prepare you for your current job position?
My PhD training taught me how to ask scientific questions, think critically, juggle multiple projects, and communicate science effectively. In my current job, I have to talk with scientists daily, communicate with them to understand their needs, and think critically to propose a solution that can help them better their science. These were skills I was able to hone in different ways at Penn State (lab, seminar groups, HGSAC, etc.)
What is something surprising that you learned about yourself during your graduate training?
I learned that I was very good managing collaborations and projects. I didn’t need to be the smartest or most experienced person in the room to be effective. Instead, I just needed to find the best way to be able to help scientists communicate with each other and determine what needed to be done.
Describe a setback you experienced during graduate school. How did you overcome the setback and what did you learn from it?
During my third year, my project got scooped by a lab at a different institution. It was gut-wrenching, and I didn’t know what to do. I was eventually able to pivot and take my research in a slightly different direction, and still utilize a lot of my data. There are several labs studying the same thing, and if you are on the right path, there is a good chance someone else is on it, too—which is good! You want your science to be replicable. Even if this results in someone beating you to publication, it isn’t the end of the world. Publish your data confirming their results, then add on some new data that expands the topic a bit further. There is so much unknown in science, and it is so important for labs to replicate data. Even being scooped can be a good thing!
What advice you think is the most valuable for someone who is:
Applying for graduate school: Your goal for graduate school is to acquire the tools that allow you to think critically as a scientist, as well as learn some new methods. You don’t actually need to be researching a topic you plan to research for your entire life. Focus on schools and labs that will give you the techniques to succeed, even if they are applied to a topic that you are less interested in. Once you graduate, if you stay in academia, you can research exactly what you want. Or maybe you can take the tools you learned on the way and apply it to something totally different!
Starting graduate school: Don’t get stressed by failure early on. I think the majority of my data in my thesis was generated in my last two years. For your first couple years, just focus on learning all you can, and making all the mistakes! Mistakes are how you learn and are essential to your development. You will be surprised how quickly you can generate data in your last two years.
Finishing graduate school: As you finish up your degree, look ahead and think about what career you want to pursue. It’s also okay to not know and to pursue multiple paths at the same time! I didn’t know exactly where I would end up until I accepted a job (in a type of role I didn’t really know even existed). Success after graduate school also requires so many skills other than the research methods you use. Take time to pursue extracurricular activities that can help develop your interpersonal skills, as they are crucial to success!
We interviewed Dr. Zhi Chai about his experience during graduate school at Penn State. Here, he shares his opinions and advice on how to be successful during and after graduate school.
Zhi obtained a Ph.D. in Integrative and Biomedical Physiology at Penn State in 2019. He is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Judy Cho Laboratory, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where their research broadly focuses on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Zhi conducts genetic, molecular, and genomic studies on large collections of research specimens, including mice, zebrafish, and humans using the BioMe® BioBank Program to investigate the pathology of ulcerative colitis and detect potential drug targets. Outside of research, Zhi loves cooking, mixology, and caring for his pet turtles and fish.
What motivated you to choose your Ph.D. program at Penn State?
During my undergraduate studies in China, my research area was primarily focused in the field of ruminant nutrition. When applying to Ph.D. Programs at Penn State, I planned to switch gears a bit and explore research focusing on human health and nutrition. After contacting several Penn State Alumni, I discovered that I was interested in working with faculty at the Integrative and Biomedical Physiology Program, an Intercollege Graduate Degree Program that is a part of the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences umbrella. Faculty members residing under the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences are from various departments, such as Animal Science, Nutritional Sciences, and Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. I contacted several faculty members from these departments; although, they were not taking new students at that time, they provided me with the opportunity to rotate at their lab! Therefore, the offer from the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Physiology was a perfect fit for me, compared to two offers from other schools I got in the meantime.
How did your Ph.D. training prepare you for your current job position?
In addition to essential research skills (critical thinking, rigorous logic, scientific communication, etc.) that most peers develop and acquire from Ph.D. programs, I was fortunate to be immersed in an interdisciplinary environment (Nutritional Sciences, Immunology, and Bioinformatics), which helped me to be resourceful, always ready to learn new things, and to never be afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone to disseminate research among varied fields! My current position as a postdoctoral fellow requires both wet and dry lab skills. To be more specific, the project that I’m working on requires experience with rodent models, performing and interpreting -omics data (single cell RNAseq, and ATAC-seq), as well as communicating with bioinformaticians in the group, all of which were core skillsets I gained during my Ph.D. at Penn State. I’m very grateful for the friends and colleagues from bioinformatics at Penn State, and among the courses I took, STAT 555 widened my horizon to the world of bioinformatics. Last not but the least, I’m also thankful for the encouragement and support from the T32 Training Grant (Physiological Adaptations to Stress) and Dr. Ross (my Ph.D. advisor), under her visionary leadership, patience, and trust, gave me confidence to design and execute an interdisciplinary project.
What is something surprising that you learned about yourself during your Ph.D.?
I was surprised by the power of maintaining a schedule book. I had some down times during my Ph.D. career due to time management issues, which affected my motivation and productivity. I had some counseling for a while, and since then, I began to actively set executable and time-bounded goals (SMART goals). I gradually realized that writing down these goals in my schedule book was actually the first step for me to estimate the amount of time I needed to dedicate to each task. This helped me overcome my concerns on not completing all my tasks in my schedule book on time.
Describe a setback you experienced. How did you overcome and learn from it?
The setback was lack of productivity and the resulting low motivation. I overcame this setback by improving my time management skills, through which I learned the importance of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
What advice do you think is the most valuable for someone who is:
Applying for graduate school. Use as many resources (e.g. networking with alumni and senior students, information interviews, masters programs, summer internships, volunteer work, or rotations) to understand the detailed process behind applying to grad school, the research field you’re interested in, and possible career paths that you can take.
Starting graduate school. Attend conferences as early as possible during your graduate studies. I now regret postponing my first conference for years because I wanted to perfect the project I was working on. However, now I don’t think there would ever be a “perfect” project! Even if you only have a vignette of preliminary data, it shouldn’t be the excuse for missing the benefit of your very first conference. A conference can be regarded as a motivation, reward, or a milestone. I feel it is especially crucial to get feedback as an early-career researcher, as opposed to working behind closed doors. Conferences not only widen one’s vision on how other research groups tackle the same problem, but are also great opportunities for networking. Keep visioning the career trajectory, and seek resources to develop skillsets according to that career plan.
Finishing graduate school. It’s been only a few years since I finished graduate school, but I’d like to share a few practical tips/suggestions:
Use platforms/search engines (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, hercjobs.org) to assist your job search, with the understanding that different recruiters may have their own preference where to post their job ads.
Follow your dream labs on LinkedIn or Twitter; there might be some “surprise” job ads.
Job Boards of academic journals (such as Cell, Nature, and Science), the national society/association that you’re interested in, and various institutions (such as Harvard University-Office for Postdoctoral fellows; Stanford-Office of Postdoctoral Affairs)
Actively network at conferences! Participating in leadership committees helps build these skills. While reading research articles, if you come across PI’s you’re interested in working with, reach out to them using contact information on their lab homepage or department websites.
We interviewed Michael Santillo about his experience during graduate school at Penn State. Here, he shares his opinions and advice on how to be successful during and after graduate school.
Michael obtained a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at Penn State in 2009 and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2010 to 2013. For the past decade, he continued working at the FDA as a research chemist. Michael develops in vitro cellular and biochemical methods to detect and predict the safety of chemicals in foods and dietary supplements. His applied-research spans the fields of chemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology.
What motivated you to choose your Ph.D. program at Penn State?
I applied to the Chemistry Graduate Program at Penn State because of its excellent reputation in research quality and output, and grant funding opportunities. I liked how the department focused on interdisciplinary research projects, particularly my advisor who was also affiliated with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. Furthermore, I noticed that alumni from my advisor’s lab had successful careers in academia, federal government, and industry. All of these factors led me to choose Penn State for my graduate education.
How did your Ph.D. training prepare you for your current job position?
Through my doctoral training, I was exposed to diverse experiences that prepared me to become a research scientist. As a teaching assistant, I developed skills in leadership, time management, communication, and organization that enabled me to lecture and supervise lab activities in a room of 25 undergraduate students. In my advisor’s lab, I learned to be resourceful, a fast learner, and an independent problem solver. I gained teamwork skills by training junior lab members in new methods and instruments and offering critical advice on their research projects. Finally, after giving talks at national meetings and writing journal articles, I realized that communication skills are equally important as technical knowledge and lab skills.
What is something surprising that you learned about yourself during your Ph.D.?
I learned that I could overcome many challenges in graduate school (failed experiments, short deadlines, rejected manuscripts, etc) if I focused on the task at hand and identified all available options to solve a certain problem. By trying different solutions, I realized at least one of them would be successful.
Describe a setback you experienced. How did you overcome and learn from it?
I wrote a few manuscripts that were rejected by journals without opportunities for revision. Receiving criticism from editors and reviewers allowed me to improve my scientific writing and experimental thinking which resulted in future manuscripts being published.
What advice do you think is the most valuable for someone who is:
Applying for graduate school. (1) Obtain practical experience in academic research or industry internships instead of only taking classes through the university. (2) Apply to a graduate school that has multiple faculty members who you would be interested in working with as not all advisors can accept a new student into their labs. (3) Contact current graduate students to gain a sense of the academic and cultural environment of their program. (4) Research the alumni of a given program and learn the career paths that your degree or research field can provide you with.
Starting graduate school. (1) Be attentive to faculty personality, leadership style, lab management, and research team interactions when choosing a thesis advisor. (2) Attend career fairs and start browsing job listings early on to know your options and better prepare for job positions. (3) Be resourceful and take initiative in your training. (4) Look for opportunities to give oral presentations and write papers. Communication skills are equally important as technical lab skills regardless of your career path.
Finishing graduate school. (1) Apply to as many jobs as possible and do not be surprised if it takes several months for you to receive a response. The more applications you submit, the higher the chances you will get an interview. (2) If you are invited for an interview, obtain information beforehand on the organization and what they do. (3) Develop a short “elevator pitch” that you can use when marketing your research or skills to potential employers, and modify it depending on who you are speaking to (e.g., human resources recruiter vs. scientist).
Are you wondering which career path fits you the best? Huck Graduate Student Advisory Committee (HGSAC) aims to help you figure it out by presenting the choices of our alumni. Dr. Chen Wang’s experience will help you get an overall idea of the career path into a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical industry is a hot area for bio-major graduates. It provides you with the opportunity to participate in life-changing medicine development as well as a good life-work balance.
Dr.Chen Wang graduated in 2014 with publications in top journals including Science. She was coadvised by Dr. Carsten Krebs and Dr. J Martin Bollnger, Jr during her graduate studies at Penn State. Dr. Wang went to The Scripps Research Institutes after graduation and worked as a postdoctoral fellow for 1 year and 3 months. She started a career with Amgen in February 2016. If you want to know more about the industry, please contact her on LinkedIn.
What’s your educational background? Is there anything specific that prepared you for your current career?
Undergraduate—Food Science; MS-Microbiology; PhD—Biochemistry
Technical skill set is the top priority and a good publication record will be very helpful while looking for a R&D job with a pharmaceutical company.
What’s your career path after graduation from Penn State?
After finishing my PhD at Penn State, I chose to get postdoc training in a lab with an extensive industrial network. This postdoc training provided me a chance of getting involved in various projects in a very short time.
What are your current roles/responsibilities? How have these changed over time?
My current work focuses on the development of an in vitro assay for drug screening. I just started this job, and maybe in the future I may take on more responsibilities of leading a project.
Was this career path something you had always considered?
Yes, the current job is within my plan. I prefer to do research work in an industrial setting. This job could provide me very good work-life balance.
What skills have made you and others in your field successful? Were there any unexpected skills that you needed to learn?
Technical skills and collaboration are required for an entry level R&D position in a pharmaceutical company. If you want to be more successful in the R&D department, leadership and interpersonal skills might be needed.
What can a young scientist do to position him or herself for a career in your current position? Any tips on specific ways to network in the field?
Build up your network, try to get involved in various projects and learn about the job market.
Internships can give you a good chance to learn about industry and the job market.
Try to get in contact with some professional recruiters in your field.
Would you consider making any change to your current career? What’s your career plan in the future?
Just starting this new job, I’m exploring various possible opportunities.
How easy/difficult is it to balance work and personal/family life in your career?
Usually, an industrial job provides a good work-life balance.
What advice do you have for a foreigner to work in the United States? Have you been through any difficulty? Is the international background helpful in your career?
My immigration status was a big issue, while I was looking for a job. However, if you make a plan in advance, everything is possible. My personal feeling is that big companies don’t care if you are a green card holder or not.
What advice do you have, about anything, for current graduate students?
Build up your connections and be open-minded.
Being patient with research and job-hunting.
It is worth putting in effort on research.
Dr. Cheri Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, MD
As part of the HGSAC, we love honoring our alumni and keeping up with their successes! Alumni stories inspire students by giving them career path ideas. As part of this spotlight series, I asked one of our Penn State alums to answer some questions about her career journey up until this point.
Dissertation title: Viral-polymerase-mechanism based strategies for viral attenuation and vaccine development.
My dissertation work dealt with the population dynamics of RNA viruses and how, when manipulated, they can be attenuated and used as possible vaccines. As a model for RNA viruses, I used poliovirus. RNA viruses replicate with a high error frequency, which creates a heterogeneous population of mutants dubbed quasispecies. Population genetics theory states that RNA viruses replicate along an error threshold, the theoretical limit in which the virus can maintain its genetic information. An increase in the mutation rate and/or a decrease in the population will drive the viral population towards extinction. Antiviral drugs that increase the mutational frequency and/or mutations in the polymerase that alter population diversity should also exhibit a decrease in fitness. Working with a panel of polymerase fidelity mutants I have been able to study the relationship between fidelity and attenuation. Using this approach, I have been able to determine the effect of fidelity has on pathogenesis and development of the adaptive immune response.
How did you choose your degree program and what you like about your current career?
Ever since high school, I have been fascinated by viruses and how they initiate disease. My first semester in college I visited the career center and learned that there was such a thing as a Virologist and after that I was hooked. I attended George Mason University and at that time they didn’t offer many different degree programs so I majored in Biology and concentrated all of my electives in Microbiology. After graduating from college I worked for several years as a research technician at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) in the department of Viral Diseases aiding in vaccine development against dengue virus. It was there that I learned molecular and cellular biology techniques and worked with both mice and non-human primates. It was this job that solidified for me my desire for viral pathogenesis research and gave me the push I needed to go back to school and get my Ph.D.
I was drawn to Penn State mainly because it was close to home and I could easily visit family on the weekends, which eventually proved to be nearly impossible! Also because of the amazing research that is conducted on campus especially the work being done in the Cameron Lab. I was attracted to Craig’s lab due to the work he was doing with poliovirus and the idea that altering polymerase fidelity can serve as a universal vaccine strategy. My project was on poliovirus pathogenesis in a transgenic mouse model, but it really only scratched the surface of pathogenesis seeing as we were more interested in the virus and not so much how it interacted with the host. When thinking about my next career steps I knew that I wanted to delve more into pathogenesis and host immunity in response to infection with an RNA virus, which is what I am currently doing at NIH. I currently working in the laboratory of Vanessa M. Hirsch and again I am working with non-human primates. We use simian-immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infected rhesus macaques as a model for AIDS pathogenesis and to develop effective vaccines strategies. My specific project is to investigate hidden reservoirs of SIV in the brains of rhesus macaques with neuroAIDS.
What have been some obstacles you’ve had to overcome in pursuit of your educational and career goals?
My number one obstacle as always has been me doubting my own abilities. After college, I never wanted to go back to school and I worked for a long time knowing that I wanted to return to school and get my Ph.D., but not feeling confident enough that I would be accepted anywhere. I reached a point in my career where I felt I had hit the ceiling and there was no more upward movement. At that point, I felt my only choice was to go back to school, which has been the best decision I ever made.
What have been some sources of inspiration both in your career and in your life?
Number one inspiration has always been my mom. As a single mother, she worked very hard to continue to educate herself so that she could provide my sister and I with the best opportunities in life and somehow she made it look easy! She instilled in me a strong work ethic and told me from a very young age to be career driven and as long as I love what I do it won’t feel so much like work and she was right.
What would you describe as your strong suit?
My strong suit is my tenacity. When there is an obstacle in front of me I don’t stop until I either get around it, over it or punch right through it.
How has Penn State impacted your life?
I learned a lot at Penn State. First, I learned that I can be strong and can deal with a lot of adversity and still somehow get through it while still maintaining a smile. Second, I learned that nothing matters unless you have friends and family to share your successes with. I made many friends in State College, year after year. They all helped me through grad school and just life in general and I will forever be grateful to all them for that.
What advice would you give someone who would like to pursue a career in your field?
Start working in a lab as soon as you can to get experience. Universities have lots of opportunities for undergraduate research or work-study positions. Experience is key. Learn techniques that will make you indispensable in the lab and able to collaborator with other scientists. Publications are important but they will come only if you are able to generate data. Of course, the more you are able to learn and more you are able to publish the more job opportunities you will be able to open yourself up to.
What are your words of wisdom for current graduate students?
My best advice for current grad students is to make sure you keep a running dialogue with your advisor and that you both agree that you are making progress with your studies and also have yearly committee meetings. Professors are very busy and sometimes they can lose track of what their students are doing (even though it may feel as though they are avoiding us…). You have to make sure that you remind them that a) you exist, b) you have data and c) you don’t want to be in grad school forever!
What are your plans for the future?
My ultimate goal is to direct my own independent research program on viral population dynamics and pathogenesis.
Dr. Josh Yoder, Medical Science Liaison: Sanofi Pasteur
Date of seminar at Penn State: 3/28/16
HGSAC career seminar series: “My Path to Becoming a Medical Science Liaison: A Journey from Academia to Biotech to Pharma”
Meet Dr. Josh Yoder. He obtained a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Penn State in 2000. His former undergraduate advisor was Dr. Craig E. Cameron. After graduating from Penn State, Josh received a PhD. in virology from Harvard University in 2006.
Dr. Yoder has worked as a scientist with over 15 years of laboratory experience in academia and industry. In his career, he has worn many hats: he has worked as a developmental scientist at Thermalin Diabetes, LLC; he has been a Research Associate at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a postdoctoral research fellow at Penn State University; and he specialized in virology, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, and insulin research during his time at the bench. Currently, he works as a medical science liaison at Sanofi Pasteur (pharmaceutical company).
On March 23, Dr. Yoder gave a compelling talk about his career as a medical science liaison. During his talk, he was a very outgoing and efficient communicator, which are key traits. You could tell he enjoys public speaking and communicating ideas to scientists as well as non-scientists, owing to his success as a medical science liaison.
While here, Dr. Yoder gave us some insights about his life, career, and how Penn State has impacted him. We asked him the following questions, and here are his responses–in his words:
What’s your educational background? Is there anything specific that prepared you for your current career?
BS in BMB, Penn State University, 2000
PhD in Virology, Harvard University, 2006
The PhD is useful for my career as an MSL because it indicates an ability to learn advanced topics and function independently. The science aspect of the PhD is only half of what is most valuable though. The communication skills developed through my scientific training and other activities are at least as important, and likely more important, than my scientific background. One-on-one communication, group presentations, and written communication are all critical to my job function.
What are your current roles/responsibilities? How have these changed over time?
As an MSL, my top priority is building and maintaining relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in my field. I currently work with a vaccine company, Sanofi Pasteur, so the science was a natural fit, but the role is completely different than anything I’ve done in the past. I had been in research labs from the time I started working with Craig Cameron in the BMB department as an undergraduate research assistant in 1999 until I started this job in April of 2015. My role had been evolving from undergrad to grad student to postdoc and finally to a development scientist in a small biotech company, but each of those were more similar to one another than any of them is to my current position.
Was this career path something you had always considered?
This is definitely not a career path I have always considered. I didn’t even know it existed until about two or three years ago. The first time I got a good description of the role was from the book “The Medical Science Liaison Career Guide: How to Break Into Your First Role” by Dr. Samuel Dyer. As I was reading the opening pages, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do. It combined all of the elements of science that I enjoyed most. I think I always kind of thought I’d end up in industry as opposed to running an academic lab, but I also kind of thought it would be in research. I never really deeply explored alternative options to research, whether they were still related to science or not.
What skills have made you and others in your field successful? Were there any unexpected skills that you needed to learn?
I think the most valuable skills in my current position are interpersonal skills. You need to be able to productively interact with a large number of people with a variety of backgrounds in training (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, public health, advocacy, marketing, sales, etc.), function (some people need basic information, some have opinions to share, some need training for speaking engagements, MSL colleagues, sales colleagues, Medical Affairs colleagues, etc.), and personality (almost anything you can imagine!). I don’t think anything in particular was unexpected once you know what this job entails, but there are certainly things that not all scientists are trained for or experienced with.
What’s the most challenging part of your career?
Day to day, the most challenging part is consistently scheduling time with KOLs. They are very busy people and often have schedules full months ahead of time. Our geographies are large as well (mine is Western PA, OH, MI, and WV), which means we may have to meet people in locations that are quite distant from one another on consecutive days to make it work in their schedules. This can lead to other difficulties, including a good bit of travel. This can be positive, negative, or neutral depending on the person. My territory is most conducive to driving, which I don’t mind doing, so the travel does not bother me much, although I often drive over 1,000 miles per week. It could be an issue for others who have to fly more than me or who don’t want to drive so much. This can also lead to nights away from home. I typically don’t spend more than one or two nights away from home per week, which is manageable for my family. Obviously, this is a very subjective issue as well.
How do you think your career will change in both the near and distant future?
Great question and one I wish I knew the answer to! I have been in this job for about a year so I don’t anticipate a big change in the near future. I enjoy what I do and still have plenty to learn about this role and other related functions in Medical Affairs. I do hope to learn more about what our Medical Affairs department does within our home office in Swiftwater, PA, so perhaps more interaction with them will be a near term change. I’m open to almost anything in the distant future. I think it will continue to be in science, but I could imagine being in Medical Affairs, R&D, moving into the business side, or doing something I haven’t even heard of yet!
What can a young scientist do to position him or herself for a career as a Medical Science Liaison? Any tips on specific ways to network in the field?
I think the best thing to do for this field, or any other field, is get out and talk to people that are doing it. It is important in any field because it gives you a chance to learn from people that are doing it every day what it is like and how they got there. There may be some similarities, but every story will be unique in some way that you can relate to. You may also find that the position is not at all what you expected as far as day to day work, lifestyle, or what qualifications you need. It’s better to learn that early in the process and adjust as necessary. For MSLs specifically, this is a very important aspect since it is more or less what you do when you have the job anyway. When I was interviewing for my position, I asked my current manager what they were looking for aside from experience since I didn’t have any. The response I got was, “This!” They wanted to make sure a candidate could have a productive conversation with someone. Regarding how to network, I don’t think it’s any different from any other field. Use LinkedIn, Google, and especially the Penn State Alumni Network. You have a huge built-in network filled with people willing to help. Use it! Even people you don’t have a connection with on LinkedIn or other sites are often willing to talk and help. If you find someone that went to Penn State, you already have a connection even if you don’t know any people in common.
After Sanofi Pasteur, where would you like to work?
My passion is improving public health, which aligns well with the vision of the company of a world in which no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. I don’t know that there is a place that is a better fit for what I want to do, so I certainly don’t have current plans to work for any other company. That said, I have no idea what the future holds, and if the right opportunity came up with another company, or if I saw a good opportunity to start a company of my own, I would certainly be open to it.
How easy/difficult is it to balance work and personal/family life in your career?
It has been fairly easy for me to balance work and family life throughout my career, largely because I am very lucky to have a wife that worked in labs for many years as well and has always understood crazy and sometimes unpredictable schedules. I am also fortunate that she has the ability and desire to stay at home with our three children whenever I need to be away from home for work. This job also has a great deal of flexibility that allows me to adjust my schedule to facilitate both work and family obligations. Many jobs require a great deal of hard work and dedication that could easily sway the work-life balance into an area that may not work for many people. With some focus on how to approach both the work side and life side of that balance, and perhaps acceptable compromise on one or both sides, I think anyone can achieve the balance they need. It may not be easy, but it’s vital to success in both areas.
What advice do you have, about anything, for current graduate students?
Don’t go to graduate school! Oh right, you are already current students… I think you really need to keep following your interests. People that do great things often find success by solving problems that are important to them either personally or because they think it will have a positive impact on the world. If you can identify something that is interesting and important to you, it will give you the motivation to work through hard problems when they arise. Think about what you are good at as well. Everyone has things they are good at, whether we know it or not. What do your friends and family ask you for help or advice with? If you can identify your strengths and match them with your interests, there is a good chance you will find an area where you will do well. If that area doesn’t exist, create it. Don’t be afraid to try new things. If you aren’t failing at something regularly, you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough. It doesn’t have to be complete failure, but push in new directions so you can always keep learning and developing. If you try something and really don’t enjoy it, stop and go in another direction. Don’t quit at any sign of adversity, but don’t get stuck in something you don’t enjoy just because it’s there. Keep looking. If you’ve made it this far, think any of this rambling advice is useful, and still haven’t found an answer to your question, feel free to email me at jyoder@gmail.com and I’d be happy to try to help you in any way I can. Good luck in whatever each of you decides to do!
Huck Graduate Student Advisory Committee at Penn State
