The Journey After Duke: Reflections and Connections with Graduate Alumni

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Join a panel of graduate alumni reflecting on their professional lives since departing Duke. An opportunity for networking with the speakers and other Duke alumni who are leaders in their fields will follow the conversation.

Not sure what to expect from this event? Read a reflection by Judith Mwobobia (Global Health master's student) about her experience at a past offering. Registration closes Thursday, October 27 at 12:00 noon.

Confirmed Speakers

• Kivanç Kirgiz A.M.'97, Ph.D.'02 (Economics), Vice President, Cornerstone Research
• Louise Reed, M.S.'93 (Physics), CEO and Founder, Afloat, Inc.
• Adrianne Wong, Ph.D.'00 (Cell Biology), Director of Oncology Search & Evaluation | Global Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
• Moderator: Ronald Temple ’90, M.P.P., Managing Director and Head of U.S. Equities and Co-Head of Multi-Asset Investing, Lazard Asset Management, LCC

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Kivanç Kirgiz received his Ph.D. from Duke Economics department, where he specialized in Industrial Organization, Econometrics, and International Economics. During his time at Duke University, he taught courses in microeconomics and the economics of organization and management. After his Ph.D., he joined Cornerstone Research in their new Washington, D.C. office, where he currently serves as a vice president. Dr. Kirgiz specializes in large-scale antitrust matters, including merger investigations. Within the company, he has taken various leadership positions, and he’s currently a member of the recruitment and pro bono committees. Dr. Kirgiz serves on Appleseed’s Pro Bono Advisory Council.

Louise Reed, C.P.A. is passionate about creating a process of security, transparency and efficiency to the world of state tax credits by utilizing blockchain technology.  Her vision is to democratize a financial aspect of our society that currently only a select number of people are aware exists, let alone understand. After receiving her master's in Physics, she taught math and physics at private schools before pursuing a Master of Accounting degree in making a career pivot where she could use her math background to affect everyday decisions and people. After getting her CPA license and working as a sole proprietor, she founded Afloat, a company that utilizes blockchain technology and smart contracts to automate the exchange of state transferable tax credits. She was named to Virginia Business’s list of 100 People to Meet in 2020, the 2020 Impact Award Winner of the Virginia Society of CPAs, and won the Richmond Technology Council’s award for Innovation in Private Sector-Small Capital.

As a connector, leader and scientific translator, Adrianne Wong builds bridges between R&D and business stakeholders to identify, evaluate, and nurture therapeutics partnership programs. Her journey encompasses roles in the academic, legal, non-profit and biopharma sectors, with extensive experience negotiating and collaborating with stakeholders across the life sciences landscape.  Currently, she identifies and evaluates oncology technology and asset opportunities on behalf of Daiichi Sankyo's Global Business Development team, after joining as an alliance manager for academic and pharma partnership programs for ADC oncology translational development and clinical trials. Previously she supported the development of platform technologies to support global health infectious disease prevention at IAVI. She led cell therapy and imaging biomarker programs and industry partnerships at JDRF, a global non-profit funder for research in Type 1 Diabetes. She counseled clients on life sciences intellectual property strategy and patent prosecution at Darby & Darby, P.C., and translated highly technical concepts into actionable information for a wide range of stakeholders as a freelance science communicator on WNYC Science Friday. Dr. Wong received her A.B. in Biology from Brown University, her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Duke University, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

As managing director and co-head of multi asset and head of U.S. equity at Lazard Asset Management LLC in New York, Ronald Temple ’90, M.P.P. is responsible for oversight of the firm’s multi asset and U.S. equity strategies as well as several global equity strategies. Mr. Temple is also a portfolio manager/analyst on various U.S. and global equity teams. He joined Lazard in 2001 with 10 years of global experience including fixed-income derivative trading, risk management, corporate finance, and corporate strategy in roles at Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of America NT & SA, and Fleet Financial Group in London, New York, Singapore, San Francisco, and Boston. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, and the New York Society of Security Analysts. He is the host of the Lazard Asset Management podcast “The Question Is…” and frequent contributor to CNBC. Mr. Temple has a M.P.P. from Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in economics and public policy from Duke University.

This event is part of The Graduate School’s Professional Development Series. Questions? Contact Dr. Melissa Bostrom, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development, at melissa.bostrom@duke.edu