A Career in Academia: Rachel O'Neill

Rachel O’Neill, PhD
Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut

Associate Professor Rachel O’Neill uses molecular genetic approaches to study centromere determinance; centromere function and evolution; small RNA biogenesis; transcriptional control and chromatin modifiers during stem cell differentiation; chromosome evolution; speciation and hybrid dysgenesis in several model systems, including human, mouse, marsupial and platypus. Using techniques such as transgenics, in situ hybridization, microarray screening, cell assays, and next-generation sequencing platforms, Rachel is addressing the hypothesis that small RNA forms mediate epigenetic controls. Recently, she has applied these techniques to study species-specific placental development and evolution with respect to retroelement load; transposable elements and retroviruses; and, the epigenetic effectors of gene expression and chromosome structure in models as diverse as deer mice and matrotrophic fish.

Rachel received her BA Hns at the University of Texas at Austin and her Ph.D. at La Trobe University in Australia. She was later a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne Royal Melbourne Hospital, Princeton University and Rutgers University. She is now an Honors Faculty Fellow and serves as Director of the Next Generation Sequencing and Microarray Facility in the Center for Applied Genetics and Technology at the University of Connecticut.

For more information on a career in academia, click here.

From the PhD to Career Counseling- Laura Stark Malisheski

Laura Stark Malisheski, PhD

Office of Career Services, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

Laura Stark Malisheski holds a PhD in neuroscience from Yale University and completed post-doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania before making a transition to career counseling. She has ten years experience counseling graduate students and PhDs through the challenges of graduate study and into careers, both within and outside academia. Laura specializes in working with those seeking academic faculty positions and those considering career transition beyond academia.

In addition to career counseling, Laura coordinates an extensive line-up of career events for graduate students and presents many career and professional development workshops. She has spoken at numerous professional conferences, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Microbiology, and the American Chemical Society and has written career articles for media outlets such as ScienceCareers.org and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

From the PhD to Patent Law- Ryan Murphey

Ryan Murphey, PhD
Patent Agent, Ropes & Gray

Ryan Murphey has a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University. Directly after graduate school, Ryan entered the Technical Advisor Program at the law firm Ropes & Gray in New York City. This program hires scientists after their graduate training to work as technical advisors in their Intellectual Property Group while attending law school. Ryan is currently a patent agent and has just completed law school at NYU. He is now preparing for the Bar exam in order to practice as a patent attorney.

For more information on careers in law, click here.

Career Path Video: From a Professor to Science Communicator- Beth Schachter

Beth Schachter, PhD
Science Communicator
Beth Schachter Consulting and Principal, Still Point Coaching & Consulting

Beth Schachter earned her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California and was an Associate Professor at Mt Sinai Medical Center, where she performed NIH-funded research in endocrinology, neuroscience and cancer research.  After sixteen years spent as a principal investigator, Beth left academic research to pursue a career in science communications. She has been both a scientific editor at HMS Beagle, the first online biomedical magazine, and contributing writer at The New York Academy of Sciences.

Beth then started Beth Schachter Consulting, in which she writes about life science, biomedicine, and biotechnology for professional audiences. She has commissioned projects for institutions such as the Whitehead Institute (MIT) and Rockefeller University, and has had bylined articles in the NYTimes, Nature Biotechnology, Trends in Genetics, and The Scientist, among others. Beth is also a Principal at Still Point Coaching & Consulting, providing professional development for scientists and executives in life science research through seminars, workshops and one-on-one editing and coaching.

For more information on careers in science communications, click here.

Career Path Video: From the PhD to an 8th Grade Science Teacher- Ellen Cohn

Ellen Cohn, PhD
Middle School Science Teacher

Ellen Cohn has a bachelor's degree in Biology from MIT and a PhD in Immunology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City. She was also a post-doctoral fellow at Mount Sinai and is an active member of Future Science Educators, a NYC organization founded by science graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to develop teaching skills and provide education resources to other young scientists.

In the summer of 2009, Ellen joined the New York City Teaching Fellows program.  This is a program for career changers who want to get into teaching, mainly in high needs subjects, such as math, science and special education. Fellows are typically placed in the highest needs schools in New York City while training for a career in teaching and are awarded a master's degree upon completion of the program.  During the summer of 2009, Ellen was a student teacher in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and starting in September of 2009, began teaching middle school science to 8th graders in a school in the South Bronx.  The curriculum is integrated, meaning that she teaches everything from reproduction to solar system to simple physics.  Ellen has “about 90 remarkable and energetic students" that she teaches every day.

For more information on careers in science education, click here.