2024 Speakers for the Preparing for Science-Based Non-Traditional Careers Course

February 21 – Tristen Tellman, Ph.D.

Science Policy Fellow, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

Title: Understanding the relationship between science and policy

Dr. Tellman is the Science Policy Fellow for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). She is currently working as a special volunteer at NCI in the Center for Research Strategy as part of her fellowship. Prior to this, she spent time as a fellow on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Committee. As a fellow on this committee, Dr. Tellman helped cover legislative topics governing federal agencies such as FDA and NIH, among many others. She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her thesis work focused on the role of extracellular proteins in epithelial cell migration as it relates to prostate cancer metastasis and salivary gland ductal formation.

Topics to be covered:

The different types of science policy
Transitioning from bench research to policy
Operating at the nonprofit, federal government, and federal agency levels

February 28 – Karthik Krishnan, Ph.D.

Review Microbiologist, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), FDA

Title: The Role of a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Reviewer at FDA

Dr. Krishnan holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Madras (India), specializing in Microbiology. He earned his Ph.D. from Miami University (Oxford, OH), focusing on the molecular mechanisms of translation initiation in bacteria. Subsequently, Karthik worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH), contributing to projects related to antifungal drug discovery. He then transitioned to the Uniformed Services University (Bethesda, MD), where he studied the mechanism of action of a preclinical anti-malarial drug candidate. Karthik joined the Food and Drug Administration in 2019 as a Review Microbiologist, and his current responsibilities center around ensuring the sterility assurance of parenteral drugs.

Topics to be covered:

How did I transition from a Postdoc role to becoming a Microbiologist at FDA?
What constitutes pharmaceutical quality?
What are the key aspects of my role as a reviewer?
A comparison between the FDA reviewer role and a laboratory research position.
How can one transition from an NCI postdoc to the FDA?

March 13 – Margaret Dayhoff-Brannigan, Ph.D.

Reviewer and Regulatory Project Manager, Center for Biologics Evaluation (CBER), FDA

Title: Transitioning from Bench Science to Project Management

Dr. Dayhoff-Brannigan is a Primary Reviewer and Regulatory Project manager in the Office of Vaccines Research and Review at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the FDA. Dr. Dayhoff-Brannigan graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Biochemistry, and from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Her thesis work focused on understanding nutrient sensing pathways using yeast as a model organism. After her doctoral work, she took a role as a Senior Fellow and Project Manager at The National Center for Health Research, a non-profit organization focused on health policy and patient safety.

She has been in her current role as a Primary Reviewer and Regulatory Project manager at FDA for 7 years. In this role, she manages the review of a broad range of files including vaccines, allergenic products and live biotherapeutic products from early phase development to post-licensure.

Topics to be covered:

Decision to leave bench science
Advice for pursuing a non-bench career
My experience in both in a non-profit and at the FDA
Overview of some of the career options at FDA

March 20 – Corinne Hausman, Ph.D.

Consultant and Project Management Specialist, Deloitte

Title: What to Consider When Exploring a Career in Consulting

Dr. Hausman is an experienced consultant, scientist, and Project Management Professional (PMP) with more than 20 years’ experience conducting research, standing up research programs, and enhancing operational efficiencies. Her diverse experience supporting Federal and non-profit organizations includes developing strategies to rapidly respond to public health emergencies, establishing research directorates and grants management processes to improve health outcomes, and designing frameworks to translate research into evidence-based practice.

Topics to be covered:

What is consulting and is it right for you?
How can you translate your experience and transition from academic research into the business world?
What are some tips and perspectives that will give you a head start as you explore consulting opportunities?

March 27 – Patricia Ryan, Ph.D.

Strategic Toxicology Lead for Vaccines and Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca

Title: The Role of the Project Toxicologist in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Dr. Patricia Ryan has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with an emphasis on nonclinical safety testing of biologics and vaccines. Currently she is the Strategic Toxicology Lead for Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca and leads nonclinical safety strategy for this therapy area. Prior to that, she directed toxicology in Biologics Safety Assessment at MedImmune.

Dr. Ryan obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a specialization in biochemistry at The University of Virginia and earned her master’s degree and PhD in chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ryan is currently Vice President of the American College of Toxicology. She is a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT). She represents AZ on the IQ Consortium DruSafe Leadership Group.

Topics to be covered:

Fundamentals of toxicology
Drug development basics
Pharma industry organization
Regulatory framework
Managing as a member of a cross-functional project team
Communicating toxicology findings

April 24 – Tina Miranda, Ph.D.

Health Scientist Administrator, Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, NCI

Title: A Roadmap for Becoming a Health Scientist Administrator in Scientific Reporting

Dr. Miranda is a Health Scientist Administrator for the Knowledge Management and Special Projects Branch (KMSPB) at the National Cancer Institute. Her office serves as the NCI lead for all official NIH Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) semi-automated categorization and reporting of NCI-funded research. Dr. Miranda works closely with colleagues across the budget and scientific offices to ensure that the NCI’s funded research portfolio is accurately reported to Congress and the public. Dr. Miranda manages a portfolio of approximately 40 scientific research-reporting categories in areas such as Cancer Genomics, Precision Medicine, Telehealth, and Human Genome.

Dr. Miranda earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Chemistry and Biology from California State University, Stanislaus and her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining KMSPB, Dr. Miranda was a research fellow in NCI’s intramural program where she studied the effects of chromatin structure on transcription factor binding in cancer cells.

Topics to be covered:

Scientific Reporting – What is it?
Role of a Health Scientist Administrator in scientific reporting
Other career paths for Health Scientist Administrators
How to gain the experience needed to become a Health Scientist Administrator as a NIH fellow.
Q&A

May 1 – Jessica Faupel-Badger, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Planning Officer for the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Acting Branch Director for the NCI Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP)

Title: Supporting the Biomedical Research Workforce: NIH Careers Focused on Education, Training, and Workforce Development

Prior to joining DCP, Dr. Faupel-Badger led the Education Branch at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), where she collaborated with NCATS staff to develop new tools and education activities to improve understanding of translational science and the translational science spectrum. Dr. Faupel-Badger has extensive experience leading education and training programs, including serving as the director of training and education in Division of Pre-Clinical Innovation (DPI) at NCATS; directing the Postdoctoral Research Associate (PRAT) program and overseeing research, training, and career development awards at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS); and previously serving as the deputy director of the CPFP at NCI.