Meet the new members of the 2017-2018 Alumni Network Executive Committee (ANEC). These individuals are dedicated to helping strengthen the connection of program alumni to the Center for Biotechnology’s Fundamentals of the Bioscience Industry Program.
Evguenia Alexandrova, PhD
Sailee Chavan
Prajna Shanbhogue
Bin Sun
Below is each new member’s statement of interest. In their own words, they express their vision for the alumni network during their tenure.
As a current FOBIP student very excited about the program I would be thrilled to join the FOBIP’s Alumni Network Executive Committee (ANEC). In this capacity, I hope to share my experiences in and outside of the classroom with both, new FOBIP students and alumni, including the plethora of career development opportunities I’ve been involved with in the last couple of years, and to help organize professional events as part of the executive committee.
The FOBIP course instructors and administrators have done an amazing job putting together this unique course. Despite my long-standing interest in the business of bioscience and entrepreneurship, I never had time or opportunity to gain any practical experience. The FOBIP’s hands-on project not only gave me the much-needed practical knowledge, but also boosted my confidence to find a successful and satisfying non-academic career without having to spend extra time or money on additional degrees such as MBA.
The FOBIP material and informal interactions with the instructors has been super valuable and timely for me personally, since I’ve been interviewing for non-academic jobs throughout the semester. In fact, the class gave me the knowledge and the courage to expand my career aspirations from the publishing industry – a relatively straightforward career path for those passionate about science communication like myself – to biotech/pharma companies. While still interested in science communication, I now look into startups and companies instead, in order to gain first-hand experience in the business of bioscience and expand my future professional horizons. Because of the class, I now confidently discuss with prospective employers not only science-related, but also business-related topics, which seems to make a huge difference – all to the better.
With the FOBIP project almost completed, network expanded and – hopefully – a job offer coming, I very much look forward to sharing my experiences with other FOBIP students and alumni and building an even stronger professional network of the program’s graduates. I have a few possible career development events in mind and really hope to implement some of them soon!
There were days when I sat and pondered, where do I see myself in the next ten years? I was not very content by picturing myself working in a lab. Something was missing. Hence, I felt the need to explore other aspects of the healthcare industry.
Participating in the Fundamentals of Bioscience Industry program at Stony Brook University helped me channelize my desires. With time, I learned how new emerging techniques have translated from basic science research to commercially viable technologies. In addition, by taking up the role of a Market analyst in the group project, I was able to look at the industry from a more strategic point of view as well as understand how different factors influence strategy and decision making process.
Also, as a part of our group project, I had the opportunity to collaborate with great minds involved in developing breakthrough technologies and performing cutting-edge research. Interacting with them on a one on one basis helped me build strong communication and networking skills.
In addition, The Speed Networking Event was the icing on the cake. Meeting with the alumni and getting insights into their careers post FOBIP made me even more confident thinking of finally being on the right path. This really encouraged me to join the ANEC so that I can provide better guidance to students like me looking for a career switch.
As much as it sounds promising, I want to not only promote the program amongst students but also convey a message saying “Its never too late” as this is what I believe. By working with likeminded people who share the same zeal towards this field, we can help future students connect and build meaningful relationships with the industry insiders to better understand and make the right career decisions. I assure I will employ the best of my abilities in delivering a commendable performance within the stipulated time, provided an opportunity. I look forward to a mutually fruitful journey with FOBIP as a member of the ANEC.
I’m a doctoral candidate in biochemistry and structural biology graduate program, interested in the business of bioscience. The FOBI program has helped me immensely in looking at scientific research from the perspective of a pharma/biotech company, which certainly opened my mind in understanding the process of truly going from “bench to bedside”.
I have been very fortunate to have encouraging mentors throughout my academic career and I have also mentored more junior students during my tenure at SBU and to me, the primary goal of an alumni network is to build a community that supports one another and fosters mentorship within its membership. An added bonus is getting to meet amazing, like-minded people, interested in similar fields as I am!
For the past three years, I have been involved at various levels in building the graduate student community at Stony Brook, mainly through career development endeavors, ranging from organizing professional development events and career panels to networking socials and outreach activities. I look forward to utilizing my experience and skills in organizing events as a member of Alumni Network Executive Committee (ANEC) and I will strive to initiate more collaborative events beneficial to all members.
After three years of research on polymer chemistry, I realize that it’s a good time for me to learn about what to do in the future. Followed by my advisor’s advice, I attended Fundamentals of Biosciences Industry class. In FOBIP, the lectures covered almost every single aspect of biotechnology business, which is far beyond what we got trained in our graduate program. The most fascinating part of this class is the team project, which is a good training and practice. Our team got a tough project, and we met many difficulties in the project. Sometimes, we had more than one idea, and it took us a long time to figure out which is the best one. However, after tackling down those problems, our problem solving ability improved, and we knew the thinking process when there were many choices in front of us. Those skills are very essential in our careers, no matter what we will be working on. What’s more, meeting with friends in FOBIP who pursue similar career paths is also an exciting thing.
I would like to serve on board of ANEC and put efforts on the maintenance and development of the alumni network. I will apply my talent in the future ANEC networking activities as well as promoting the course to more graduate students who might be interested in pursuing a career in bioscience industry.