Recently I spoke with Elena Hoffer, Ph.D. who did her Ph.D. in Immunology at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and went on to start her own company, Alma.me, with which she helps life scientists transition into industry.
Things we discuss, relating to science, and Elena’s expertise, are timestamped below, in case you want to focus on some parts of the conversation only.
I hope you enjoy this episode, and I want to say thank you to Litmaps for supporting the podcast, which allows me to keep doing and improving it.
Litmaps is an easy-to-use, comprehensive literature review tool that helps researchers of all backgrounds find and manage papers better.
I’ve been using their tool for over 6 months now, and I love being able to get a quick overview of a specialized field in a highly visual map that takes 10 seconds to create.
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Enjoy and see you next time,
Kenan
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:10 Transitioning to Industry
09:15 Reaching Out to Professors
13:15 Challenges and Growth in a PhD
26:50 PhD Research on T Cells in Psoriasis
35:49 Potential Translational Impact
37:03 Patenting and Commercialization
38:17 The Importance of Entrepreneurship in Science
39:40 The Emotional Process of Graduation
42:35 Starting a Company to Help PhDs Transition to Industry
43:18 The Process of Publishing a Paper
55:07 Dealing with Negative Results and Bias
59:59 Building a Network and Starting a Company
01:08:26 The Importance of Networking
01:10:13 Building Relationships and Trust
01:12:34 Networking for Introverts
01:17:09 Exploring Career Options Beyond Science
01:23:07 Planning for a Career Transition
01:26:56 Overcoming Challenges for International Job Seekers
01:37:50 Transitioning from Academia to Industry
Getting into industry as a life scientist