Transcript of Career Conversation with Emily Davis
All right. Hey, everyone. How are you doing today? I’m Dr. Emily Davis, and I.
Speaker A
Get my slides up.
Speaker A
I know you just started the recording, but it looks like I might have to quit and reopen because Zoom doesn’t. Zoom needs an extra level of permissions for me to share my screen.
Speaker B
Okay.
Speaker B
Yeah, I don’t see anything on my end that is, like, allowing screen share. So if you want, you can just pop off and then back on the call, and then we’ll see if it works then.
Speaker A
Great. Sounds good.
Speaker B
Oh, okay. So we can see your screen.
Speaker B
Oh, Emily, I think you’re muted.
Speaker A
You know, you would think, like, after, like, five years of Zoom meetings, I would have this stuff down, but here we are. All right, can everyone both see my slides and also hear me.
Speaker B
So we can see your screen? But it looks like it’s on your settings, so I can’t see the slides.
Speaker B
So maybe it’s, like, changing the window that’s being shared right now.
Speaker A
Yes. Thanks.
Speaker A
How about now? It’s still. Yeah, it’s still sharing the wrong screen. Okay.
Speaker A
Okay.
Speaker A
Good.
Speaker B
Yep. There we go.
Speaker A
Okay. Sorry about that. So, hi, everyone. I am Dr. Emily Davis. And so I figured for today’s discussion, I was going to start by just kind of walking you through my career journey.
Speaker A
And then go a little bit over how I got interested in science and in biomedical research. And then, you know, I’ve got some kind of words of wisdom, advice, kind of stuff at the very end that I just thought would be helpful. But we’ll. We’ll see how we’re doing on time, because I’d love to make sure that we have plenty of time for questions and to hear from all of you.
Speaker A
So my career journey really started in high school, which, you know, may be true for a lot of the folks who are on the call today. So, for me, neither one of my parents have a STEM background. Really, my exposure to STEM and to science was strictly through school, and so I definitely had an interest in it, but I didn’t really know exactly what the path looked like. And I had a really unique opportunity my senior year of high school to basically shadow graduate students at the local university.
Speaker A
And that was really the first time that I was in a lab environment where I was seeing research that was being done that didn’t have a prescribed solution, like the kind that you would find in a lot of your AP bio classes.
Speaker A
It was incredible. I was in the ecology department. We were trying to develop models for looking at the distribution of methane gas that were coming from some of the local swamps.
Speaker A
And it was just, it was one of those things where it was like we didn’t have an answer. We were doing, you know, we were taking sample measurements.
Speaker A
And you know, I was basically hooked. And the nice thing was that that experience was early on enough that then I knew that I definitely wanted to go to a college that would have more opportunities for me to do research. And so really focused in on undergraduate institutions that allowed for undergrads and really encouraged undergrads to do research. I was very fortunate I got into TU Penn and I will say I applied to a lot of schools as I’m sure many of you are probably in the midst of doing right now. The reason I ended up going to Penn was because of both their undergraduate research program. They have an entire center devoted to it and, and because they gave me the best financial aid package. So I know a lot of times, you know, Ivy League schools and things, they can have a big sticker shock. But I would definitely encourage you to apply, see what kind of financial aid packages you get and kind of take it from there because this ended up being cheaper than some of the state schools that I’d applied to.
Speaker A
So as part of their center for undergraduate research, they had the undergraduate research mentorship program firm. And so I did that the summer after my freshman year. And as the little image here shows, I ended up joining a neuroscience lab. So I was in a learning and memory lab where we were focused on the impact of sleep deprivation on learning and memory. Using mouse models and you know, spoilers, make sure you’re getting your sleep. Basically sleep is required for your hippocampus, the part of your brain that records short term memory, to basically transfer that into long term memory. When you are sleep deprived, you’re basically not forming new memories or those new memories that you’re forming are not robust.
Speaker A
What was also really cool about this part was that I joined originally for just the summer, but I was able to stay on the lab during and do like basically part time work throughout the rest of my undergraduate career. And part of that was because part of my financial aid was work study. And so I basically was getting paid to be in the lab and it was helping me pay for school while also giving me research experience. So it was really a win win. So that’s also something that I would definitely encourage you to look into as you’re exploring opportunities. Look for both summer internship opportunities as well as look for potential part time opportunities or ones that might even help you fund your schooling.
Speaker A
So, you know, given the exciting Exciting kind of research. I was doing learning and memory. I really wanted to continue doing research. So at that point, right, like, I knew I wanted to go to graduate school. And.
Speaker A
I also was, you know, I’m was with my, my partner. I knew that he was already going to be moving out to the San Francisco Bay area. So I was applying to schools mostly in that region. Just noting that because, you know, life also plays a role in this, right. Like, there are different situations and circumstances that come up, you know, with family members and with, you know, just kind of the only certainty is uncertainty. And with that, I ended up going to the University of California, San Francisco. And what was interesting was even though I had done neuroscience research in undergrad, I knew I wanted to do something that was a bit more interdisciplinary. So I ended up applying for a Biomedical Sciences PhD program. So then I was able to do. I was working in a neuroscience lab, but I was focused primarily on cell culture and.
Speaker A
Looking at sex chromosome biology at like a cellular level. But of course, you know, in the brain and in, you know, neurons, basically. And so my PhD, we were a brain aging and neurodegeneration lab. And I was basically looking at the role of sex chromosomes in how neurons in the brain age and deteriorate and potential either harmful or protective effect of the sex chromosomes in, you know, during, you know, that, that aging process.
Speaker A
You know, something just kind of to note. So I was focused primarily on the X chromosomes. I’m sure a lot of you have taken, you know, bio courses before and may be familiar with like, calico cats. So, you know, most female organisms have two X chromosomes and one of those undergo random X chromosome inactivation in each of the cel. So that’s why most calico cats are female and why you kind of see that dappling effect. Because.
Speaker A
The gene that determines the color of their fur is on the X chromosome. So depending on which X gets randomly inactivated, that’s going to impact what color the fur is there. And so it was really cool was we have the technology now to really dig into both the.
Speaker A
Physical location of the X chromosomes within the nucleus, as well as their activation status. So I was really looking into this idea that, like, as cells age, especially 2x cells, their ability to maintain that X chromosome inactivation may deteriorate. And so you may end up getting, you know, either you may end up getting like, different levels of gene expression that are coming from the supposedly inactivated X chromosome. There’s also just a subset of genes that are. That always escape exit chromosome inactivation so we are also looking at the impact that those would have.
Speaker A
Really cool research is a lot of fun. I got to work with a lot of really cool animal models. The fact that we’ve been doing genetic testing with mice for decades means that there’s all sorts of interesting and exciting models that you can do there that let you do things that you just would not be able to otherwise do in order to understand some of this basic biology. But when I got to the end of grad school, I was feeling pretty burnt out. And so I knew at that point that I was still not really sure if I wanted to stay at the bench, continuing to do wet lab research. And so I knew I didn’t want to jump into a postdoc. I don’t know how many other kind of career conversations you’ve had, but I’m sure if you talk to other scientists and things like that, a lot of times you do undergrad, you get your PhD and you usually do a two to five year postdoctoral fellowship program before transitioning to, you know, either your professor role or industry role. So I knew I didn’t necessarily want to go down that path. So instead I took basically like a research assistant position within industry. So I worked at Genentech, and what was cool about this position was that it was something completely different. So it was still working with mouse models and still using, like, those skills that I had built during my PhD, but in a completely different system and setting. So instead of looking at neurons and focused on neuronal cultures and learning and memory, I was doing liver cancer and basically looking at testing the impact of novel drugs and their efficacy in stopping or reversing the effects of liver cancer.
Speaker A
And so it really also shows you just how.
Speaker A
You can. A lot of these skills that you learn as a scientist can really be applied to a lot of different, like, systems and settings. And so you don’t necessarily have to feel like you’re kind of pigeonholing yourself throughout your scientific journey, which I think is even further emphasized by, after spending some time at Genentech in an industry, I was like, okay, so, you know, the, the burnout that I was feeling at the end of grad school, it wasn’t just because of, like, the environment I, I was in. It wasn’t just because it was, you know, neuroscience research. I think I really was. I at that point decided I really was kind of done actively doing research at that point, which, you know, I still absolutely adore Ben’s research. I know lots of people who still do it. I often contemplate going back to the bench.
Speaker A
But when I got to the end of my time at Genentech, I decided, okay, what else can I do with this knowledge and understanding that I have? And I think this also kind of highlights just all the different kind of career options that are available to you as a biomedical researcher. So there was this Science and Technology.
Speaker A
Policy Fellowship, or STPF as they call it, and this fellowship program, it’s basically, I was thinking of it as almost like an alternative to doing a research based postdoc is a way for scientists to basically use their, use their scientific understanding to help inform policy development at a federal level. So they’re working in congressional offices providing, you know, input to, you know, senators and things who are making voting decisions for how to like, regulate things, as well as opportunities in the executive branch, working at the variety of different organizations and institutes that make up, you know, basically our, our federal.
Speaker A
Science. And with that I ended up going to the National Institutes of Health, which some of you may or may not be familiar with. It’s basically the number one funder of biomedical research in the country, and if I remember correctly, perhaps even the world.
Speaker A
And basically, you know, if any of you decide to continue on in your, your biomedical journey, there’s a lot of, there will be a lot of time spent applying to NIH grants. And a lot of the research that you read about or that you see is in some way or shape or form being supported by, by these, these NIH grants, federal grants. And so I went to, within NIH it has 27 different institutes and centers that all kind of specialize in different kind of aspects of health research. I went to the national center for Advancing Translational Science, or ncats, which aside from having the best acronym of all of the NIH institutes and centers, was also really focused on the concept of bench to bedside with some of you may be familiar with. And so, you know, basically it’s this idea that, you know, like for example, a lot of the research I was doing was very what we call like basic research with some like translational thrown in there where it’s like just kind of trying to understand like the fundamentals and you know, its applicability to humans are, is, you know, kind of to be determined or we’re not quite far that far along in the process. And so but the work that we do then supports the development of new drugs which then go through clinical trials and then, et cetera, eventually end up treating and helping patients with a variety of different health issues.
Speaker A
NCATS is really focused on how can we basically optimize that pipeline? Because you have, on one end you’ve got clinicians and healthcare professionals who are working directly with patients, and on the other end you’ve got these basic researchers like myself, who are working primarily with like animal models or cell culture models. And it’s like they’re very kind of, it can be siloed sometimes. And so it’s like, how can we kind of break down those silos? So that way these early basic researchers have a better understanding of the potential, like, you know, clinical impact of the work that they’re doing. And so that way the folks on the clinical side have an understanding of some of the basic research when they’re developing these new drugs and treatments.
Speaker A
And so I was in the education branch there, working primarily with like researchers at nih. So another thing too is definitely check out nih, because even though it is, you know, primarily serves as a, as a grant institution, there are also research labs there. And what’s cool about government research is that, you know, it doesn’t necessarily, you know, you don’t need to apply to grants. It doesn’t necessarily need to have, you know, it can be like basic and translational research that doesn’t need to, like, end with, you know, a new drug.
Speaker A
And they have both summer internship opportunities as well as a thing that’s called a postbac or a post baccalaureate. So similar to like postdoctoral fellowship, which is a fellowship that you do after you’ve gotten your PhD, post baccalaureate fellowship is an opportunity that some folks do after they finish undergraduate. And there are kind of two different types of post baccalaureate programs that are one that are research heavy and there are ones that are more coursework heavy. You know, stereotypically, the coursework heavy ones tend to be more kind of like pre med programs that are geared towards folks who either did not do, you know, pre med when they were in undergrad or just need like additional kind of coursework in order to apply for med school or grad school. Whereas the research heavy ones, which are the kind that are primarily found at nih, is much more focused on getting you some of that extra research experience, you know, to kind of help you figure out, you know, do you want to go to graduate school, do you want to go straight into industry? What kind of opportunities are available to you? And so it’s definitely like, you know, something to consider, especially if you end up, you know, going to a university where you don’t have as many research opportunities.
Speaker A
So I did that for about a year before going to then the National Cancer Institute, where I was doing, you know, basically a similar thing of supporting like, educational programs for cancer researchers. I’m sad to say that unfortunately I was one of the many individuals who were impacted by reduction in force that’s been happening within the federal government to, you know, kind of shrink the size of the government.
Speaker A
But I think it only further emphasizes the importance of both having scientists in policy facing positions as well as just the importance of science communication. That scientists not only need to know how to communicate to other scientists and know that jargon so they can get really specific about things, but also know how to communicate their science to the general public and really emphasize, kind of demystify what it is that scientists are doing. So, for example, even some of the images that you see here on the slide were images that I made.
Speaker A
To basically help communicate my science. And I’ve always taken opportunities to present. There’s this thing called like the three minute thesis where you have three minutes to talk about your PhD thesis, you know, a general audience that was a lot of fun. And they’re always like, you know, best science festivals and outreach opportunities, even like the one that, you know, we’re all participating in right now. And I think it’s all just a really great way to connect with your community and, you know, kind of again, demystify what it is that scientists are doing in the lab.
Speaker A
And so going back to kind of how I got interested in science, again, like, neither one of my parents have like a STEM background. So for me, you know, it started with just like a love of animals. I don’t, you know, know how many of you watch tv, but Animal Planet was a thing I also had. I grew up with a lot of cats and dogs. And so the first thing I wanted to do was be a veterinarian.
Speaker A
And from there, because of, in part because of my love of animals, I was also really interested in like ancient Egypt and studying that. So then for a while there I wanted to be like, you know, an archaeologist or an anthropologist.
Speaker A
And I had some opportunities in elementary and middle school to do science fair projects, which really introduced me to the idea of testing ideas with research and having data to back up and see whether or not something works or not. And so that also got me really excited about the research aspect of these things. I also watched a lot of tv, like a lot of pbs, a lot of Scientific America, Frontiers, Bill Nye, the Science Guy, because again, those are kind of just where I could find that information and learn more about the different types of work that was being done. There are also, you know, basically, like, science magazines that are built that are, you know, written for, like, general audiences. So I was, like, subscribed to those that were like Discover Magazine, Scientific America, and just also just like going to Barnes and Noble and reading, like, everything in their science section.
Speaker A
Really got me excited about science. And then of course, you know, I had that opportunity as a senior and that really kind of started me down this road.
Speaker A
You know, and continuing that passion.
Speaker A
So I also just have kind of some of my, my contact information here. There’s a QR code to my LinkedIn, which I’d be happy to connect with anyone here. I’ve also got kind of picture of some of my hobbies. So that way, you know that even if you’re doing science, you can still have hobbies and still have time for, for friends and for pets and to do it, you know, do something outside the lab. A lot of my hobbies are actually based on the fact that I like working with my hands, which is something that research also lets me do.
Speaker A
And something I also didn’t really touch upon that much was do informational interviews. My understanding is you all have been talking about professional development skills, and informational interviews have been a huge part in helping me make all of these transitions, especially as I realized I didn’t want to follow the quote, unquote, traditional path through, you know, PhD to postdoc. And all that came from just talking to people, finding out what kind of research they did, what their career journey was, what, you know, kind of what would, what led them to where they were and making those connections and hearing about those opportunities. So if you want to practice, feel free to, to email me or connect with me on LinkedIn if you have a LinkedIn.
Speaker A
And I’m more than happy to talk more about, you know, my process and how things went.
Speaker A
And then some random things I just want to throw out there, like things that I, you know, would have liked to have kept in mind when I was, you know, a senior, you know, junior senior in high school. So you’re the only one who has to live your life. So, you know, there may be some of you whose parents are really pushing you towards, you know, attending a particular school or going for a particular major or following a particular life path. But at the end of the day, you’re the only one who has to live your life. So you should make decisions that are following your passions, following your interests, and even if that means that, you know, it’s not the straight and narrow path, honestly, that’s kind of where the beauty of life lies. Because it’s a journey, not a destination.
Speaker A
I’m sure for a lot of you, you know, there’s been kind of this clear cut progression, you know, through high school to college or, you know, other kind of post high school opportunities. But you know, talk to also with doing informational interviews, if you talk to five different people with PhDs, you’re going to get five different stories, I’m sure. Even if, you know, I don’t know how many of these career conversations you’re having, but I’m sure like, you know, it’s, it’s different every time. Everyone has, you know, a different thing that’s happened to them or that’s kind of led to, you know, what they got interested in. And a lot of times it’s just due to, you know, chance encounters or unique opportunities. So just kind of enjoy the process of it. The only certainty is uncertainty. Science deals a lot with uncertainty, especially when you’re investigating things that are completely unknown. You don’t know if your experiment’s going to work. You don’t know if it’s going to, you know, result in anything that anyone cares about.
Speaker A
And so one of the, I think one of the beautiful things of science and is that it really, and training as a scientist is that it really trains you to kind of go with the flow and deal with the uncertainty of everything.
Speaker A
As I say, find what fills your cup. So find the things that, you know, find the things that you’re passionate about, find the things that motivate you, find the things that fill you with energy rather than deplete your energy. And sometimes, you know, you’re going to have to have a mix of those things because you’re going to, you know, for example, if you’re an introvert and you need to network, that can be really draining. So know what it is that fills your cup. If you need to have a quiet night at home to refill after a big, you know, networking conference, you know, just, just know that about yourself. And that introspection piece is really crucial.
Speaker A
Know your why and be able to articulate it. So know kind of why you’re doing something, why you’re pursuing something, you know, why are you passionate about this thing and be able to tell to other people? Because that really is one of the most kind of compelling things that we as humans can do.
Speaker A
Remember that you always have options. I hope one of the things that you take away from my story is just the fact that it was not a straight and Narrow path. And that even though I started in ecology research, I went to neuroscience, to liver cancer, to training in education and policy, and it all just, you know, who knows what. What I’m going to do next? But you’ll always have options.
Speaker A
And find your people, find your network, find your mentors, find your support structure, and remember to stay curious. I’m going to stop there. I hope I didn’t ramble on for too long. I’m looking at the clock.
Speaker B
No, that was perfect. We’re flexible on the time. It’s good to have these conversations and to get the students exposed to the different pathways that they can see. So that was great.
Speaker B
Any. Anybody have any questions or comments or feedback and post it in the chat. Anybody got anything? I personally really liked your. Your kind of point of, you know, the pathway never being as linear as you think it is. And I definitely have seen that be true both with myself and, you know, a lot of peers, whether that’s from school or from, you know, different workplaces. It’s the almost nobody that I’ve talked to has kind of the perfect straight and narrow path. Some people do, and I guess they’re fortunate to have everything be really clean and nice. But, you know, almost everybody has some sort of, you know, unexpected circumstance or maybe they run into an opportunity that they didn’t anticipate. And it’s. I think that a big part of, I wouldn’t just say being, like, successful, but also being fulfilled is being able to kind of pivot and deal with those changes and kind of still understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. And that’ll, you know, like you said, remembering your why, that’ll help you navigate your options when things don’t go according to plan, because chances are they probably won’t. And I know that from high school perspective. You know, when I was in high school, it’s like you kind of have this idea of, like, everything’s going to be very linear. It’s like, oh, I do this and then I go, you know, to a college program or whatever, I’m going to do some sort of thing. And then. And then I go into this job after that, it’s all going to be like, 1, 2, 3, and it almost never is. So, yeah, being able to understand what really drives you and what you’re looking for can help guide those decisions when things are unexpected. So I appreciate you talking about that.
Speaker A
And I think also just allowing yourself to grow too. Right. Your interests may change again. I love doing bench work. I did it for close to 15 years. And then I was like, you know what? I think I’m ready for something different now.
Speaker B
Yeah, exactly. Like, you’re never locked into one particular thing that could be good for you right now, might not be good for you five years from now or 10 years from now, you know, and those things can change, and that is kind of a good thing. And even if you do end up, you know, pivoting or shifting gears or changing your pathway, it’s not. No effort is ever wasted, in my opinion. You know, good that you have experienced these things, that you’ve done different things, because it will end up being useful at some point in the future, even if it doesn’t really make sense right now. But, yeah, definitely opening yourself up to experiences and kind of, you know, taking a chance on things. It’ll. I think it’ll be a net positive in the long term.
Speaker B
So. Yeah. Did anybody have any questions about.
Speaker B
Really anything at all? You know, the particular pathway, you know, what certain things were like, you know, the different options that might be available to somebody who wanted to do a similar thing. Anybody got any. Any feedback or questions in the chat?
Speaker B
Anybody?
Speaker A
End of the day, everyone’s tired.
Speaker B
Yeah. I know that you’re saying it was sunny where you are, but up here in the Boston area, it just. Just started raining. It’s a little bit of a slow day. So. Yeah, but I. I guess one question that I kind of had that you mentioned informational interviews as something that would, you know, important to kind of your whole process. If you were somebody who, you know, was earlier on in your journey, maybe you’re in high school and you’ve never reached out to somebody. Maybe you don’t have as robust of a personal or professional network. What are some tips on how to kind of get started on that? What’s like, maybe the first step or if you’re reaching out to somebody for the first time, what is a good way to kind of like, both be comfortable doing that and then maybe some tips on how to successfully connect with people.
Speaker A
Yeah, that’s a great question. I think one thing to just also just kind of keep in mind about informational interviews. I know folks are always, like, really scared of kind of the rejection that might come from trying to reach out to someone and not hearing back.
Speaker A
I have never received, like, a negative response from trying to do an informational interview with someone. I have gotten, like, ghosted where someone just hasn’t responded. But I’ve never been like, you know, someone’s like, how, you know, oh, I don’t like the tone of your email or I don’t like, you know, the fact that you reached out to me and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Like, you know, if these career conversations show you anything, people like to talk about themselves. People like to talk about, especially if they’re passionate about what they do. And so you really, you know, I know it can be really intimidating sometimes to reach out to these professionals, but more often than not, like they want to talk to you, they want to give back, they want to talk about how they made it to where they are, especially if it’s something that they are really passionate about and love doing.
Speaker A
I’d also say, you know, as far as like getting started, you know, like you do have a network in that you have the folks that are part of this program. You have your, your teachers and coaches and mentors. You have, you know, family. And you can just like start there. Like, you know, if you have, you know, a cousin who went to a university that you’re interested in attending or you talk to your science teacher and find out more about their career path and maybe they have someone they know who works in industry who’d be willing to talk to you and kind of start from the network that you do have. Because also that can sometimes lead to.
Speaker A
Warm connections. Instead of just cold emailing someone or reaching out to someone over social media, you’re connecting with someone who you know through someone else. And so you’re more likely to have, you know, to, for them to get back to you faster and to be, you know, more, more willing to, to chat with you. Also, if you don’t hear back from someone, I always recommend like sending you know, a follow up message or a follow up email like once or twice after that point. It probably means like 99% of the time it just means that they are too busy and they just either your email is going to their spam or is getting like buried in things or they just don’t have the time to sit down and chat with you. So don’t take it personally.
Speaker A
And the other thing is I basically made like a template for myself. So I think it’s really helpful when you reach out to folks to start with, you know, to some extent start with your why and start with like why you’re excited to talk to them. Like, hey, like, you know, I’m a senior at such and such high school. I’m really interested in careers in this. I see that.
Speaker A
You’Re doing that. I’d love to learn about how you got to where you Were or. I’m really interested in attending this school for undergrad, and I’d love to hear more about what your experience was like, because I see that you got your bachelor’s from that school. Or just make it really clear to them that you have a very concrete reason as to why you want to talk with them.
Speaker A
And, you know, that you’re enthusiastic also, you know, if you can, you know, ask. I always say, like, ask for, like, a short amount of time, but then schedule it for yourself to be a much larger amount of time. Like, ask them for 20 minutes, but then set aside an hour. Because there have often been times where I’ll be talking to someone, I’ll be like, hey, you know, 20 minutes are coming up. Like, do you still have time? They’ll be like, oh, yeah, I’m free all afternoon. And then you have more time to ask them even more questions and learn even more.
Speaker A
And, oh, I mean, I could. I could keep going, but I’ll stop there.
Speaker B
Yeah, no, I think that was all really good advice. Yeah, definitely. I can relate to a lot of those experiences. And people. People do love to talk about themselves. And I think that something that is kind of appreciated, especially if you are, you know, younger or earlier on, is that just, like, enthusiasm is appreciated.
Speaker B
You know, definitely, like, having been on both sides of that as the student and then also as an instructor, like, something that I always appreciate is that just when somebody is trying and they care, it doesn’t matter if they’re saying things in the perfect way or if they are, you know, even, like, asking, I guess, like, the right questions, if that’s even, you know, a thing. It’s more just like the. The enthusiasm and the effort is something that makes somebody stand out and.
Speaker B
You know, just kind of being able to put yourself out there early on, I think that will.
Speaker B
Help you stand out and will give you more opportunities. So, like, don’t be afraid to do that. Don’t be afraid to, I guess, kind of, like, swallow that nervousness or embarrassment that might come with, like, reaching out to somebody who you don’t totally know. And again, I do really also appreciate your point of, like, having warm connections. I’ve never heard it phrased that way, but it makes a lot of sense where it’s. It is kind of awkward if you’re just, like, messaging somebody on LinkedIn who you’ve never met who is like, a mutual of somebody. It is kind of hard to, like, organically build a connection with somebody who you’ve never talked to and be like, hey, Like, I kind of know you through this. You can still do that, but it definitely is easier if you have at least some sort of, you know, introduction where it’s like, oh, you know, we met at this thing, or, you know, I know you through this, or, you know, and then that will make them more receptive. And, yeah, people are always busy. But, you know, I’ve also noticed that people are more generous with their time than you would expect. You know, there are professors who are running a lab, doing their own research, teaching multiple courses, mentoring multiple, you know, projects and teams and students, and they’ll still be like, oh, yeah, I can talk about this. You know, and so people are generally, you know, a lot more generous and considerate than you might expect at first. And definitely, like, take advantage of that, you know, and be aware of that. Don’t be. Don’t be afraid, because people are often a lot nicer and more receptive to these things than you might expect. So, yeah, awesome answer. Thank you for that.
Speaker B
Yeah. We might wrap up in just a couple minutes, but before we do, does anybody have any questions, any feedback.
Speaker B
Anything, anything else that they want to know about or talk about?
Speaker B
Oh, so we got one question.
Speaker A
I was able to shadow as a high schooler. Yeah, so I had. I was very fortunate in that my high school offered basically, it was. Forget exactly what it was called, but it was like an honor science elective. So it was specifically a course that I could take as a high schooler where instead of going to class, I would go to the local university and shadow the graduate students there. If your high school doesn’t offer an opportunity like that, I would encourage you to just look into the universities or schools that are within your area. And again, using the advice that we’ve talked about for informational interviews, reach out to professors or folks in, you know, who are like, maybe like the program administrator for, like, a graduate program or something, and just ask, like, hey, you know, I’m a high schooler. Would it be possible for me to, like, you know, come some afternoon or, like, I’d love to connect with someone and come shadow one of their graduate students for a day and start there. Because, you know, the. The unfortunate thing is there’s a lot of stuff that you typically can’t do in a research lab when you’re under 18, but shadowing someone like, you know, while they do stuff is usually, like, allowed. So, yeah, if you don’t have a cool. You know, if your high school doesn’t offer something like that, then I encourage you to. Yeah. Take. Take the initiative and reach out. Because, again, like, folks are way more receptive than you might think. I think in part because, you know, we’ve all kind of been there. Right. Like.
Speaker B
Awesome. Thank you. Yeah. And then also, as kind of a note to that kind of related is. So you guys, I think, should be working on your MLSC applications. That’s the Massachusetts Life Science Challenge, Internship Challenge. And that’s something that is specifically geared towards high school students. Like, there is. Yeah. There’s a section of it where it’s opportunities that are for those. So I know that, like, yeah, some things that are in the lab are limited based on what you can do as a high schooler, but there are also opportunities that are geared specifically towards what you can do. So, you know, seeking out things like that and seeing what opportunities are available there is good, because then there’s stuff where it’s. That it’s kind of either the internship or the whatever experience is kind of built with that in mind of what you can do as high school and what you’re able to participate in. So that’s another good thing, too. We’ll talk more about that as part of the program. They’re going to be applying to that, so I’m kind of giving them. But that’s another thing too, is that there are, you know, specific opportunities for high schoolers that you can seek out too. That’ll give you some of that exposure early on.
Speaker A
Yeah. Which also, like, if you haven’t, if you all haven’t been told this yet, like, you’re in Boston, it’s like one of the largest, if not the largest, like, biomedical research hub in the U.S. so there, you know, as far as just like, the density of, like, universities and like biotech industry and everything, like, there’s a lot of opportunities and again, there’s a lot of organizations that want to give back. So, you know, I’m sure that there’s. There’s got to be stuff out there for high school students.
Speaker B
Yeah, absolutely. We are. We’re very fortunate in the area that we’re in. If you’re interested in biotech and life science, there is, you know, there’s a lot of. There’s a lot of great institutions, companies, people, you know, networks where you can kind of draw from. So definitely take advantage of that. If you guys can.
Speaker B
Yeah. Unless we have any other questions, we can wrap up.
Speaker B
Anybody else? Anything. Last call.
Speaker A
And if you, if you think of something afterwards or if you just don’t want to ask your question in front of the group, Again, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or email me.
Speaker A
And I’m always, yeah, I’m always happy to chat. And I’m also happy to be a warm connection if, you know, if you connect with me on LinkedIn and there’s someone that I’m connected to that you’d like an introduction to or if there’s, you know, particular, you know, university or something, I’m. I’m more than happy to try and make that connection for you.
Speaker B
Awesome. We really appreciate that. And yeah, guys, anytime, for any of our career speakers, even anybody that you’re connected to through this program, you know, you’re welcome to reach out and just say, hey, I’m part of the, you know, the Fall 2025 Biobuilder Apprenticeship Program. You know, I wanted to ask about this, and anybody who we’ve connected with through this whole experience would be happy to help you out. I’m sure of it. So, yeah, with that, I think we can wrap it up. Thank you so much, Emily, for your time. That was a great talk and a lot of great insight and, yeah, we appreciate it.
Speaker A
Yeah. Thank you all so much. Have a good rest of your evening.
Speaker B
You too.