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The BBS Alumni Director
We have asked alumns of the program to contribute by sharing what they did, how they did, what they like about their career path, what worked and what words of wisdom they could share.
Below are their responses. . .
Christopher Austin
Merck Research Laboratories
West Point, PA
Department of Human Genetics
BACKGROUND:
- 1982-86 Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts M.D., 1986 1978-82 Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey B.A. summa cum laude in Biology, 1982
- 1996-present Senior Research Fellow, Department of Human Genetics Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA
- 1991-96 Research Fellow in Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Graduate Assistant in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA Courtesy Neurology Staff, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Brockton, MA Faculty Advisor for Health Sciences and Technology Society, Harvard Medical School Committee on International Programs 1990 Chief Resident in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital
- 1988-90 Research in laboratory of Dr. Constance Cepko, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
- 1987-89 Resident and Clinical Fellow in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
- 1986-87 Resident and Clinical Fellow in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
- 1981-82 B.A. thesis in laboratory of Dr. Donald Ready, Department of Biology, Princeton University
AWARDS:
- Diplomate, American Academy of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1992
- Physician-Scientist Award, National Eye Institute, 1991 Elected to Sigma Xi, 1982
MEMBERSHIPS:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Medical Association
- American Society of Human Genetics
- Sigma Xi
- Society for Neuroscience Wilderness Medical Society
PUBLICATIONS:
- Austin, C.P. and Cepko, C.L. (1990). Cellular migration patterns in the embryonic mouse cerebral cortex. Development 110:713-732.
Cepko, C.L., Austin, C.P., Walsh, C., Ryder, E.F., Halliday, A., and Fields-Berry, S. (1990). Studies of cortical development using retrovirus vectors. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 55:265-278.
- Austin, C.P. and Lessell, S. (1991). Horner's syndrome from hypothalamic infarction. Arch. Neurol. 48:332-334.
Misson, J.-P., Austin, C.P., Takahashi, T., Cepko, C.L., and Caviness, V.S. (1991). The alignment of migrating neurons in relation to the murine neopallial radial glial fiber system. Cerebral Cortex 1:221-229.
- Green, A.I. and Austin, C.P. (1993). The psychopathology of pancreatic carcinoma: a psychobiologic probe. Psychosomatics 34 (3):208-221.
- Cepko, C.L., Ryder, E.F., Austin, C.P., Walsh, C., and Fekete, D.M. (1993). Lineage analysis using retrovirus vectors. Meth. Enzymol. 225:933-960.
- Austin, C.P. and Cepko, C.L. (1994). Retrovirus mediated gene transduction into the vertebrate CNS. Gene Therapy 1:S6-9.
- Austin, C.P., Feldman, D., Ida, J., and Cepko, C.L. (1995). Vertebrate retinal ganglion cells are selected from competent progenitors by the action of Notch. Development 121:3637-3650.
- Cepko, C.L., Austin, C.P., Yang, X., Alexiades, M., and Ezzeddine, D. (1996). Cell fate determination in the vertebrate retina. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93:589-595.
- Austin, C.P. and Tribble, J.L. (1997). Gene patents and drug development. In: Human DNA: Law and Policy (ed. B.M. Knoppers). Amsterdam: Kluwer Law International, pp. 379-383.
- Cepko, C.L., Ryder, E., Austin, C.P., Golden, J., and Field-Berry, S. (1998). Lineage Analysis Using Retrovirus Vectors. In: Cellular and Molecular Procedures in Developmental Biology (ed. de Pablo, F., Ferrus, A., C. Stern). San Diego:Academic Press, pp. 51-74.
- Petrukhin, K. , Koisti, M.J., Bakall, B., Li, W., Xie, G., Marknell, T., Sandgren, O., Forsman, K., Holmgren, G., Andreasson, S., Vujic, M., Bergen, A.A.B., McGarty-Dugan, V., Figueroa, D.,Austin, C.P., Metzker, M.L., Caskey, C.T. and Wadelius, C. (1998). Identification of the gene responsible for Best macular dystrophy.Nature Genetics 19 (3):241 - 247.
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
"The work I do here - basic laboratory research to identify genes conveying susceptibility to several common neurological diseases - is the same as is done in many academic labs, except that the therapeutic intent is explicit. That is, discoveries are only truly considered successful if they contribute to the development of novel therapeutics to treat human disease. In this sense, the work is harder than in academia, but the support of the company and of colleagues in other Merck departments makes it possible. My daily activities are just like most academic PI's. The projects I work on are determined jointly between myself and the scientists who determine the overall priorities of Merck Research Labs."
Kenneth Brady
BASF Bioresearch Corp.
Worcester, MA
Senior Scientist
BACKGROUND:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences, January 1980
- Brandeis University, Doctor of Philosophy in Biology (Biochemistry), July 1989
- 1980-1983: Staff Scientist, EIC Laboratories Inc.(Needham, MA). R&D technician developing lightweight electrochemical power storage.
- 1983-1984: Data analyst, Interactive Training Systems (Cambridge, MA). Assisted implementation of a manufacturing inventory database.
- 1984-1989: Doctoral candidate, Brandeis University, Department of Biology (Waltham, MA). Mechanism of inhibition of serine proteases by peptidyl trifluoromethyl ketones.
- 1989-1993: Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Molecular and Cellular Toxicology (Boston, MA). TRH-receptor, G-proteins and cytosolic calcium involvement in pituitary cell signal transduction.
- 1993-present: Senior Scientist, BASF Bioresearch Corporation (Worcester, MA). Enzymology of caspases, tyrosine kinases, and other potential therapeutic targets; inhibitor mechanism and quantitative SAR.
- 1995-present Assistant Swimming Coach (Diving Coach), Clark University Department of Athletics.
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
"My lab focuses on in-vitro assays to evaluate experimental compounds as potential drugs. I work closely with medicinal chemists, cell biologists, and animal pharmacologists, providing information on in-vitro drug activities (e.g., inhibitory actions on targeted enzymes, affinity for receptor targets) and mechanisms which are used to guide synthetic efforts and development and implementation of cellular and animal models."
Michael Fath
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Park, IL
Management
BACKGROUND:
- Post-doc, University of Chicago, 1993-1995 (lab of Robert Haselkorn)
- M.A., Ph.D., Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, 1987-1993 (Kolter lab)
- B.A., Microbiology & Chemistry, Miami University, 1983-1987
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
"I feel most qualified to talk with students and post-docs who are interested in making the transition from research to management consulting, since that was the path I took. Being a management consultant was a defining change in my life opening up opportunities to learn and contribute in a business setting that isunattainable through a traditional scientific route. The lifestyle is incredibly challenging and rewarding, and very different than bench-work. It is a fascinating option for people interested in learning the business world at break-neck speed.
After consulting for 2 3/4 years, I found a great opportunity at Abbott Labsthat provides a great mix of business and science and also provides some life balance. In my current position, I am effectively an internal consultant to Abbott helping the operating divisions develop new strategies."
Susan Froshauer
Pfizer, Inc. Groton, CT
Manager External Technology Investments
Jason Kantor
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.
New York, NY
Biotechnology Analyst
BACKGROUND:
- Graduated BBS (formerly CDB) in June 1997
- Undergraduate degree in Biology from UC San Diego
- Thesis: Inhibition of Tumor Cell Motility by the Metastasis Suppress Gene NM23?; Bruce Zetter?s lab Additional courses in finance taken at Harvard Business School through the cross-registration program
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
"As an equity research analyst specializing in the biotechnology industry I spend most of my time evaluating biotechnology companies. This involves a pleasant mix of financial and technology analysis. My efforts culminate in the publication of research reports and abbreviated First Call notes highlighting recent and expected events that we believe will impact the performance of a stock. In addition to writing, I spend a large portion of time meeting with top executives and scientists, and I attend many major medical conventions each year.
Positives:
1) I get exposure to a large variety of scientific specialties (e.g. genomics, oncology, rheumatology, immunology, etc.)
2) My work is published rapidly, not peer reviewed, and based in part on my unproved opinion.
3) The position requires that I constantly educate myself and educate others.
4) The starting salary is much higher than a post-doc.
Negatives:
1) There is no job security. This can be a big negative.
2) Scientific skills become outdated very quickly if they are not used.
3) The mix of people working on Wall street is very different from the typical lab at Harvard Medical School. (I was particularly fond of the international environment in the lab.)
4) The hours are very demanding. Typically, I work twelve or more hours each day."
Natalie Kuldell
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA Lab
Instructor in the Biology Department
BACKGROUND:
- Post-doctoral fellow 1994-1997 in HMS BCMP. Work performed in Steve Buratowski's lab.
One publication.
- PhD in 1994 from Harvard's Division of Medical Sciences
- Thesis work performed in Ann Hochschild's lab
- Two or three publications B.A in 1987 from Cornell University
- Chemistry major
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
"I teach the lab portion of both introductory and advanced biology classes here at Wellesley College. I typically teach three labs per week and a total of 40 students per semester. Labs run for three and a half hours. I usually spend the first half hour of each lab giving the students the necessary scientific and logistical background to successfully complete and understand the day's experiment. In addition to the time I spend in the lab teaching, I spend many hours at home and on the weekends grading student's lab reports and presentations, and answering student questions via email. I also attend the lectures associated with each class (typically two 70-minute lecture per class). Finally, I work with Wellesley's superb lab assistants to prepare materials for the labs. The amount of time spent preparing materials for the lab can vary significantly from week to week and from class to class.
As a full faculty member, I have duties to the college beyond my teaching duties. I spend a significant amount of time advising students on their course selection and writing letters of recommendation for former students. I also help run the peer tutoring program and the Biology department's help room, where students can drop in for help with problems sets, lecture or lab material, and test preparation. Finally I was awarded a curriculum development grant to revise the experiments in one of the classes in which I teach. I returned to my thesis and post-doctoral labs in the summer of 1998 to work out the experiment's for Wellesley's class in Molecular Genetics. These new experiments were performed by nearly 60 students in the Fall of 1998 and were a great success. In the future, I hope to revise the experiments for the introductory cell biology class in which as many as 180 students enroll each year. Not bad for having been at this job just over a year.
I never dreamed I would end up a teacher, and I absolutely adore my job here. I hope to keep it forever."
Yajun Xu
BASF Bioresearch Corp.
Cambridge, MA
Sr. Scientist, Dept. of Biochemistry
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