He is now working at Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) with software that aims for more efficient drug discovery and to allow scientists to more easily collaborate. He reflects on his current work and the skills he developed as a graduate student.

On how his idea of a PhD changed while at Brown

When I joined the MCB program, I was convinced that I was going to follow the traditional role of academia – finish graduate school, complete a postdoc (or two) and then search for a tenure-track position. By about my third or fourth year I would say that I was about 50:50 on that idea versus trying to get a job in industry and by the time I defended, my plans had changed. I realized as I went through graduate school that I did not get the same excitement from benchwork as I once did. I found my passion in teaching and discussing science. The first time I considered a career that was totally divorced from bench work was during an event for scientific communication held by the Division of Biomed in my fifth year. Until then I had assumed that my options were academic benchwork or industry benchwork. After that I kept my eye out for more opportunities outside of the bench and started to change how I thought about my PhD.

I had initially thought that obtaining my PhD meant that I would only be qualified to do research related to my thesis or at least related to developmental biology. When I started looking at outside opportunities, I realized that in graduate school you are developing a myriad of skills that become such second nature that you do not even think of them as skills anymore. Public speaking is a big example of that – being able to clearly and confidently relay information to a group of people is extremely valuable. Additionally, thinking on your feet and being able to problem solve are transferable skills that are absolutely necessary for graduate school but can be quite valuable in jobs that require communicating science to a broader audience.

How graduate school shaped his current trajectory

The people I met during my time at Brown helped bring some of the opportunities I obtained after graduation. I learned about both my adjunct faculty position at Bryant University and my current position through an MCB student and alum. I had always thought that networking meant you had to meet lots of people at conferences to build your network throughout the world, but I have found that keeping in touch with the people you are friends and colleagues with during graduate school is also important. Additionally, the focus on scientific communication and collaboration at Brown has helped my current career. My ability to work with diverse groups of people, and to present information effectively have been vital employment opportunities post-graduation.

His current work

Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) offers a drug discovery and data management software called CDD Vault that aims to make drug discovery more efficient and streamlined and to allow scientists to more easily collaborate. The platform is fully web-based so it allows one user to upload and manage raw data and then another user to easily view the data within the vault. It is super exciting to be a part of a company with such a great vision. CDD Vault has traditionally been a platform for chemistry but with the growing interdisciplinary nature of science, and the increasing need to mine and manage large datasets, CDD has been expanding their work to biology as well.

It’s exciting to be a biologist in a company of mostly chemists. I am constantly learning and gaining new perspectives and it feels like every day I am presented with a new challenge to solve. The work I am doing now is so different from what I was doing as a graduate student and postdoc that I have had to push myself to learn the technology (software) and consider the business perspective (keep in mind the priorities of a company).

On the mentorship he received at Brown

My thesis advisor, Robbert Creton, Professor of Medical Science and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is such an amazing mentor and person. He gave me the flexibility to pursue opportunities outside of the lab both as a student and as a postdoc. He gave me an active role in deciding what was best for my training, and was confident that whatever my decision was I would be able to balance my life both in and out of the lab. Dr. Creton taught me that you can be a professional in science while remaining friendly, genuine, and collaborative. 

The Sheridan Center was also an invaluable resource for me. I really found my passion for teaching and I was able to hone that skill through the Sheridan Center courses. I learned that good pedagogical practices are not just applicable to the classroom. At its core teaching is effectively communicating information to a diverse group of people and this skill is transferable to almost every single position you can have after graduate school. Finally, my thesis committee really pushed me during my time at Brown, which necessitated that I think quickly on my feet and embrace discomfort to increase learning and understanding. Particularly one member, Professor of Biology, Gary Wessel, had advice which has resonated with me more and more recently. During my first week in his lab he said something along the lines of “I encourage you to be uncomfortable.” At the time it was a very enigmatic sentiment but now I understand that he was trying to give me the confidence to leave my comfort zone to learn and grow. Currently, I am keeping that philosophy in mind as I face a new set of exciting challenges in my new position and continue my journey in a new profession.

On his background in science

After graduating from Columbia University, I worked as a lab technician in the Genetics and Development Department at the Columbia University Medical Center in the laboratory of Dr. Franklin Costantini. His laboratory research focused on the branching morphogenesis of the kidney during development using mice as a model. After two years, I was accepted to the MCB program at Brown where I completed my dissertation research in the lab of Dr. Creton. My dissertation was focused on using zebrafish as a model of brain and behavioral development and regeneration. After receiving my PhD, I worked as a postdoc in the Creton Laboratory and an adjunct professor at Bryant University, teaching two sections of a general education biology lab. This past December, I began working as a Customer Engagement Scientist for Collaborative Drug Discovery. 

What he misses most about Brown

I would say that the thing I miss most about Brown is the amazing group of students that I had the pleasure of going through the journey with. Graduate school is very hard and very unpleasant at times, and without the support and guidance of other students I’m not sure I would have been as successful as I am. This support was both practical, with proofreading qualifying exams and watching practice presentations, and mental/emotional, by being there as a place to vent and problem-solve in tough times.