Our columnists, regular contributors to Bio Careers , are a very diverse group, composed of scientist and medical doctors from many different career paths, human resources professionals, staff writers, and other professionals from the career paths that are of most interest to life science PhDs and MDs. Their names and brief biographies are listed below. To see the articles they have written for the website, please click on their name.
John Bodeau, PhD works in Molecular Biology Product Development at Applied Biosystems, where he has been for several years. Currently in the System Verification and Validation group, John works on development teams for new instrument and reagent products, testing to ensure that products meet their requirements. John received a B.S. from Michigan State in Botany and Plant Pathology, a Ph.D. from Stanford in Biology, and did post-doctoral work at UC-Davis at the Center for Engineering Plants with Resistance Against Pathogens.
Virginia Cox Delaney, PhD holds a PhD in Molecular and Developmental Biology from Weill Medical College at Cornell University. She was a 2004-6 AAAS Diplomacy Fellow in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science at the U.S. Department of State then she worked as a Program Officer at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York City. Currently, she is Project Manager at the Office of Research and Graduate Studies (ORGS), UC Office of the President.
Cyndi Fischer, MSA is the Director of Strategic Recruitment for STG International. As a Human Capital Management specialist her work concentrates on agency level recruitment strategies and workforce planning. During her tenure at STG, Mrs. Fischer has designed and implemented recruitment strategies, branding techniques, and succession plans for many federal agencies seeking Phd/MD level candidates for research, managerial, and professional opportunities. Mrs. Fischer has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and a Master of Science in Administration degree in Human Resources.
Chris Gunter is the Director of Research Affairs at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. After a B.S. from the University of Georgia and Ph.D. from Emory University, she did postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve University, all in genetics and molecular biology. She then moved into journal editing positions at Human Molecular Genetics, Science, and most recently at Nature, serving as the editor for genetics and genomics manuscripts from 2002-2008. Chris can be reached via twitter.com/girlscientist.
Robert Hagan is a technical writing specialist for J.G. & Hilton. Hagan specializes in providing technical writing services to the life science industry, and has more than ten years of experience in working with pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, hospitals, private research centers, and universities. Before joining J.G. & Hilton, Hagan worked in the research and development department of a major pharmaceutical company. Mr. Hagan holds a masters degree in biochemistry from the University of Missouri.
Emma Hitt is a freelance medical writer specializing in oncology-related physician continuing medical education materials for the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Hitt has been freelancing since 1998 and went fulltime in 2001 after she earned a PhD in nutrition and health sciences (molecular biology/cancer emphasis) from Emory University. Dr. Hitt has also earned an MS degree in technical and professional communication.
Timothy Joyce, JD, PhD, MBA, is currently employed as corporate counsel for Agilent Technologies and was formerly a senior attorney at Baker and McKenzie, a law firm specializing in global commerce. He carries a PhD in chemistry, an advanced law degree, his Masters in Business Administration and a Certificate in Accounting. He currently resides in California.
David Keleti, Ph.D. was born and raised in Queens, NY and obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics in 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he worked as a research associate for over 5 years at Human Genome Sciences, while obtaining an MS in biotechnology and a concentration in bioinformatics part-time at Johns Hopkins University. David has worked on several technical consulting projects in both academic and corporate settings. He currently holds a position as a medical writer at ETHOS Health Communications.
Jane Knisely currently works as a Scientific Program Analyst at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health. Jane came to NIH as a Presidential Management Fellow after completing a doctoral program in Cell Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Jane shares an apartment with a black lab mix named Asante and has a passion for vegetarian cooking.
May Li, PhD is a scientific search consultant with Fidelis Biopharm Inc. Dr. Li completed her PhD in molecular biology from Columbia University and post doctoral work at Yale University. She worked as a scientist in the biopharmaceutical industry for a number of years before transitioning into sales, marketing and recruiting. She cultivates an extensive network of talented scientists nationwide, including the VP and C-level executives. Dr. May Li can be contacted via linked in at:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maykli
Kim Lindsey, PhD earned her Ph.D. in Immunology & Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University in 1998 after working for nine years as a research scientist. She started working at CDC in June, 1999, as a senior scientist in the bioterrorism program and joined the division of HIV/AIDS prevention in December, 2000. In January, 2005, she began working in the CDC Office of the Director, Office of Workforce and Career Development and currently serves as Deputy Division Director for the Training and Curriculum Services Division. Within CDC, she received 12 awards for outstanding performance on projects and programs.
Yuri Maricich is an MD/MBA with experience in health IT, health services, medical devices, consulting, intellectual property, and technology transfer. He founded Clinixis Health Systems, a health IT company, while a 3rd year medical student. Prior to this, he co-founded the Pathos Project (www.pathosproject.org), a research and education institute. He enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.
Dr. Maricich completed his medical doctorate at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and completed his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Denise Milovan is a research scientist specializing in the central nervous system therapeutic area. In her current position she oversees the neurocognitive program at Kendle Early Stage Toronto. Denise holds Clinical PhD and MA degrees in clinical psychology from Concordia University, Montreal Canada. Her scientific background and research interests are based on the comprehensive understanding of the fields of neurology and psychiatry.
A Ph.D.graduate of Neuroscience program at the University of Pennsylvania, Leo had worked as a consultant for biotechnology start-ups. Currently, he is a member of a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that develops oncology and CNS therapeutics in Maryland. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer. Leo can be reached at mleokim@gmail.com for comments and further discussion.
Tina Hesman Saey, PhD is the medical science reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from Washington University and Master's degree in Science Journalism from Boston University. Tina also studied microbiology as a Fulbright scholar in Germany. She now lives in St. Louis with her husband, Rob.
Josh Schaffzin, MD, PhD has been the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer for New York State since July, 2005. Born in Philadelphia, he studied Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis and then spent 11 years in Cincinnati, Ohio completing his MD, PhD (in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology), and a pediatric residency (at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center). He resides in Albany with his wife Jennifer and daughter Fiona.
Chris Shen, MD is a Principal at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. He focuses on biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. Chris also holds a Lectureship position at the Stanford School of Medicine, teaching a course on medical technology innovation. Chris received his MD from the Stanford School of Medicine, his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and an MSE in Biomechanical Engineering from the Stanford School of Engineering.
Erica Riddle Taylor, PhD was born and raised near Detroit, MI and attended the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor’s of Science with a concentration in Biochemistry, with honors, in 2000. In the fall of 2000, she joined Stanford University Immunology Program, conducting thesis research focused on gene therapy strategies to prevent liver transplant rejection. She earned her Ph.D. in December of 2005 and is currently the Director of Diversity and Outreach Programs for the Stanford Genome Training Program.
Christine Traxler, MD practiced medicine for fifteen years in rural Minnesota before turning her love of writing into a career. As a medical writer, she has worked on projects designed to make medicine simplified for the popular audience. She has two daughters and resides in Minneapolis.
Donella Wilson, PhD, is Director of Research Promotion and Communication for the American Cancer Society. Prior to joining American Cancer Society, she was an Associate Professor at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. Ms. Wilson earned her PhD in Molecular Biology at Purdue University, and performed post doctoral studies at Harvard, Washington University in St. Louis, and MIT/the Whitehead Institute. She enjoys racquetball, scuba diving, gardening, and playing the piano.
Eric Y. Wong, Ph.D. is a research reviewer at the Food and Drug Administration. He current manages research projects and performs regulatory review of products pertaining to analytical devices and assays that detect and diagnose infectious diseases. Eric earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering working on bioassay development and drug discovery within the Penn Center for Molecular Discovery and Institute for Medicine and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the FDA as a Commissioner’s Fellow in 2008.
The views presented in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Food and Drug Administration.
Jared Young, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Mills College, a liberal arts college for women in Oakland, California. He grew up in Los Angeles and received his B.A. from Berkeley and his Ph.D. from UC San Diego. Jared conducts research on learned behaviors in C. elegans.
Nick Zagorski, PhD is currently a science writer for the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). After receiving his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell University in 2003, he decided to try his hand at writing, and after enrolling in the Science Writing program at Johns Hopkins University he has not looked back.
