Road to Successful Careers

– Plan, Prepare and Perform

Shirish Shenolikar, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor

Duke-NUS Medical School & Duke University School of Medicine

Date : Friday November 4th, 2022

Venue : Amphitheatre, Duke-NUS Medical School (Level 2)

Ph.D. Gives You Significant Competitive Edge
2018 US census -
330 million – total population
48 million with Bachelor’s
21 million with Master’s
4.5 million with Ph.D.s (1.5 % of population)
 Ph.D. : More Independent/Individual Form of Learning

Classroom Teaching is cost-effective in

delivering information to large groups of
students…

But this mode of learning fails to uncover

unique strengths that might guide the
students’ career choices.
 Ph.D. - GATEWAY from CLASSROOM to CAREER
For the first time, you, the student, must play a significant role in your education –
“personalized degree”. It’s critical that students understand the opportunity and maximize
their training if they are to pursue a successful career.
1. SHORT “Introductory” COURSES to equalize students’ different undergraduate backgrounds

2. *RESEARCH ROTATIONS – Brief exposures to 3 (or 4) different research groups to experience

interactions with PI, research team, the science and work environment.

3. *SIGNATURE PROGRAMME and *THESIS SUPERVISOR - guides selection of *THESIS PROJECT.

4. *THESIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE – 3 to 5 faculty to review, advice and ensure quality thesis.

5. SHORT “Discipline-specific” FOUNDATIONAL COURSES to broaden discipline knowledge.

* YOU DECIDE ALL THESE ELEMENTS !

 Goals of Ph.D. Training
Essential Career Skills “Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking.”
1.Innovation/Imagination Carl Sagan 1995
2.Persistence/commitment (It is how you use the knowledge and what you do with it!)
3. Resilience
4. Communication Critical thinking and problem solving (“functioning at the edge of
5. Record Keeping discovery”) are the most important skills that you will acquire
6. Time management during your Ph.D. training.
7. Collaboration
8. Scientific Ethics You will also need to acquire many other skills (during your Ph.D.)
that ensure a successful scientific career!
9. Laboratory Safety
etc. etc. etc….
 CRITICAL THINKING/PROBLEM SOLVING – “CURIOUS
MIND”

“Inventor of incandescent electric lamp” (Light bulb)

Home schooled by mother, he worked as a telegraph operator and
newspaper seller BUT… he read engineering journals endlessly! He
collaborated with an electric engineer to test >6,000 materials to find the
“best” filament for a light bulb ( defined as >2 hrs).

His inventions included – 1. Multiplex telegraph; 2. Phonograph; 3.

Telephone (carbon transmitter); 5. Movie camera; 6. Electric power
station; 7. Battery charger & many more!

Edison holds the world record for patents (>1,000 patents). His company,
General Electric (GE), was once be the world’s largest corporation.

Method : Kept very detailed notes on ALL experiments - particularly “failed”

experiments - avoided “repeated mistakes”. He was convinced that by limiting
failures, he could solve ALL problems.

Lesson : Be organized, committed and believe in your ability to solve problems!

CRITICAL THINKING/PROBLEM SOLVING – “CURIOUS
MIND”
Leonardo da Vinci –
“unquenchable curiosity”/“inventive imagination”
• Painter – Mona Lisa
• Anatomist/Physiologist
• Palaeontologist – “father of ichnology”
• Mathematician
• Engineer – flying machine/helicopter
• Architect – bridges/buildings

Method : His famous NOTEBOOKS show that Leonardo wrote down 10

new questions every morning and through reading or asking others, he
tried to answer them by end of each day!

Lesson : More questions you ask, better the questions get!

Filters out answered from unanswered questions!
 Living in Information Age ….
What is your approach to keeping informed?

12,300 science journals published either biweekly or monthly

1. Key word search of databases (e.g. Pubmed) or journals

2. eAlerts of journal contents sent to you by selected journals

3. Read abstracts of ALL “relevant” publications

4. Identify publications to read in full (Can you average one a day?)

5. Participate in Journal Clubs to expand reach and interpretation

 Creativity/Innovation/Imagination
“Small” Innovations with BIG IMPACT

Sara Blakeley Chip Wilson

Founder of Founder of
SPANX (1998) LULULEMON (1998)
Net worth Net worth
1.3 billion USD 5.2 billion USD

Nylon Stockings (1937)

and Pantyhose (1960)
 Creativity/Innovation/Imagination
First in Class vs Best in Class
Nearly bankrupt by 1996, they needed new products !

iPod
Inspiration :
Soap bar

iPhone 2008 (8GB)

Made Apple world’s
largest corporation!
iPod 2001 (512 MB) :
Discontinued 2022
In 1984, Apple introduced “Mackintosh”
(IBM Personal Computer (PC) ….1981)
 Ph.D. Training
Essential Career Skills “Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking.”
1.Innovation/Imagination Carl Sagan 1995
2.Persistence/commitment (It is how you use the knowledge and what you do with it!)
3. Resilience
4. Communication Critical thinking and problem solving (“functioning at the edge of
5. Record Keeping discovery”) are the most important skills that you will acquire
6. Time management during your Ph.D. training.
7. Collaboration
8. Scientific Ethics You will also need to acquire many other skills during your Ph.D. to
ensure a successful scientific career!
9. Laboratory Safety
Etc. etc. etc….
 “Difference Makers” are Highly
Sought After by Employers
More than “Best” or “Brightest”,
3
They improve everyone around them
2.5
2
“Organized Mind”
1.5 PLAN, PREPARE and PERFORM
1
LESS TECHNICAL JOBS
0.5
MORE TECHNICAL JOBS
0
Top 1%
KNOWLEDGE & Median
ORGANIZATION ! Bottom 10%
 Hallmarks of “Difference Makers”
Much More Than Science !

NOT “hard workers” or “geniuses”……

1. Thrive in TEAMS – Big science is a team sport! Teamwork valued in academics & industry!
2. Demand continuous self-improvement – seek learning opportunities and mentors who challenge them t

3. Plan & prepare – “Without preparation, plans are only dreams”

4. Manage (not avoid) risk – things they won’t do far fewer than things they explore.

5. Lack fear of failure – “if you never fail, you are doing anything new or exciting!”
6. Work on communication skills – reach bigger and broader audiences
7. Commit to record keeping – document failures & successes – eliminate repeated mistakes
8. Embrace technology – increase quantity and quality of data…..
 Is Our Ph.D. Training Effective?

The model, “Apprenticeship”,

refers to transfer of the
“master’s” knowledge and
skills to “apprentice”
 Good Apprenticeship
Works !
Many Nobel Laureates trained with past Nobel Laureates !

Your thesis supervisors have many skills that you could emulate –
RESEARCH LEADERS Develop research programme with international reputation.

MANAGERS Guide project teams, manage resources to meet goals and

timelines

COLLABORATORS Recruit experts from across the world to drive their research

TEACHERS Develop curriculum, give lectures, participate in workshops and

conferences

ADVISORS Serve on Programme & University committees, external grant

review panels, editorial boards, etc

Story of Julius Axelrod, RA who won Nobel Prize!

 PRELIMINARY QUALIFYING
PQE Academic Grant EXAM (PQE)
Industry Proposal PQE Guidelines

Background /Significance Background/ Significance Unmet need Disease

burden/Societal cost Market Evaluation WHAT & WHY?
Research Design/Methods Experimental Plan Work Plan
GANNT chart GANNT chart
HOW?
Pitfalls and Problems Pitfalls and Problems SWOT analysis
Proposed Solutions Solutions/backup plan Work-arounds

Preliminary Data Preliminary Data Preliminary Data

(Not required) (Essential/Display Quality) (Not Required)

Budget (FTE & Supplies) Budget 2-3 FTEs & supplies) Budget (6+ FTE –
(Not required) biology/chemistry/pharmacology)
(
Resources/Consultants Institutional Resources Technology Needs
(Not required) (Essential facilities) (Accelerate progress)

Collaborators/Consultants Collaborators/Consultants Collaborators/Consultants

(Not Required) (Reduce risk) Project Management (track progress)

Progress Reports Annual Progress Reports Quarterly Reviews

(Note Required) (Written) (Written and Verbal)
 There is a Serious Problem!
(Ph.D. Training)

ics
dem
Aca

INDUSTRY

Only 6-13% of Postdoctoral Fellows will find Tenure-Track Faculty Positions !

SEEK EXPERT
ADVICE ! 1. The gap between academia and
industry is diminishing - Several
Duke-NUS faculty have industry
experience!
2. Many Duke-NUS Ph.D. students and
postdocs are currently employed by
Singapore biotechs and pharma.
3. Duke-NUS built core expertise -
CTeD - to advice all investigators on
invention disclosures, patents,
licensing and startups!
4. Networking available through CDeP,
Singapore Biotechnology & other
groups.
 YES! Postdoctoral Training Makes
You More Competitive!
2018 US census -
330 million total population
48 million with Bachelor’s Degree
21 million with Master’s Degree
4.5 million with Ph.D.s (1.5 % of population)
Ph.D.Output – 1 first author publication in 4/5 yrs.
<1 million completed postdoctoral fellowships
(<0.3 % of population)
Postdoc Output – 2 to 3 publications in 4 yrs
(2 two-year fellowships).
 Three good reasons to do a postdoc
“Three bad reasons to do a postdoc” Karin Bodewits Science 2/5/20

1. Postdoc training broadens research repertoire/expertise – exposes you to more than one area of
science.
2. Postdoc training offers a chance to acquire independence and maturity e.g. write grants; supervise
students and RAs, have a bigger voice in direction of lab science, teach undergraduates, etc.
3. Postdoc period increases productivity (av. 2 publications/2 yrs) and expand professional connections.

Conclusion - Postdocs are more competitive than Ph.D.s for many professions. Hence, postdoctoral
fellowships awarded in US and Europe have steadily increased - <6% awarded in 1986 to >20% in
2018.
 Industry Postdoctoral
Fellowships ?
Most pharma mandate that
postdoctoral fellowship is not
an automatic or facilitated
route for employment.

So, postdocs must leave after

completing their fellowships
and compete with ALL other
Pharma Internships range Up to 2 years; supervised by applicants for advertised
from 3 to 6 months; Often senior project leaders; positions.
unpaid and interns not research not mainstream –
easily incorporated into quality publications not key
research projects drivers!
 HYBRID POSTDOC
PROGRAMMES Industry-Academic Collaborations
Pfizer Center for Therapeutic Innovation (Rinat) – UCSF
or industry-funded
Merck – siRNA Therapeutics - UCSF institutes/centers at or near
academic campuses.
Bayer Healthcare - Mission Bay UCSF Academic Supervisors -
publications mandated -
GSK Structural Genomics Consortium at Univ of North Carolina research projects with industry
focus
Pfizer Center for Therapeutic Innovation in Cambridge Mass and

Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge Mass - near

Harvard/MIT

Astra Zeneca Neuroscience Cambridge Mass - near Harvard/MIT

 SUMMARY
1. During Ph.D. build not only a “curious mind” but also an “organized
mind”! These together could make you a “difference maker”, the most
sought candidate for jobs in academia and industry.

2. Have a disciplined approach to staying current with literature. This builds

foundation for identifying important scientific problems.

3. Commit to accurate record keeping. This limits repeat failures, reduces

waste - time and resources - and accelerates progress.

4. Cutting-edge research mandates risk ! Adopt the mindset, “I never lose!

Either I win or I learn!” (Nelson Mandela)

5. Postdoctoral fellowships broaden scientific knowledge, expand research

skills, increase productivity, together making you competitive for best jobs.
 CAREER-DIRECTED
READING

Lots of Ongoing “Business Studies” RESEARCH is Focused on Identifying

Skills for Successful Careers
Plan and Prepare to Perform
at Your Very Best!
Your feedback matters to us.
Thank you!