Clarity through Connectivity: My Experience with the Neurobiology Career Series

Have you ever gone to a networking event and found yourself hovering at the edge of a conversation, unsure how to jump in? I remember feeling that way all the time. Everyone knows that networking is key to so many things: career advice, new opportunities, acquiring knowledge and experience from those who have walked the path before you. However, the “how” was frustratingly unclear to me. That uncertainty is what led me to join the Neurobiology Career Series, a speaker series funded by The Graduate School’s Professional Development Grant that invites individuals who have completed Ph.D.'s in neurobiology or a related field to share their professional journey and, ultimately, to step into a leadership role that transformed how I approach networking altogether.

At the time, my motivations were simple. I wanted an excuse to talk to people beyond my personal bubble, especially those who have graduated and found rewarding careers. Moreover, I wanted a clearer understanding of what options actually exist outside of the traditional academic path. The Neurobiology Career Series was the perfect fit because it invites people from a variety of professional fields, from pharma and consulting to engineering and policy.  Beyond a need for personal improvement, I was also dealing with feelings of uncertainty about my future, especially in light of broader policy shifts that seem to generate endless barriers for early-career scientists. In short, joining the Career Series as an organizer was an opportunity to both broaden my understanding and allay some of my anxieties.

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Therefore, as soon as I heard that the Career Series was looking for new blood to replace graduating grad students, I immediately reached out. Tiffany Ko, the main organizer at the time, went above and beyond to onboard Medy Mu, another recruit, and me. She was highly responsive and genuinely invested in helping students get involved. We slowly took over the program alongside another mentor figure, Sara Gannon, and what I actually gained from this transition process was far more substantial than I expected. Planning and running each session gave me the opportunity to engage with a variety of people with similar academic training—which was my goal all along—but I also got to vicariously experience the oft-nonlinear career trajectories that people have. The most important takeaway for me, after a year of co-running the Career Series, is that life rarely takes a predictable path, and that one must be ready and vigilant for any opportunities that may define the next chapter of one’s life.

So, what really happens in a session of the Neurobiology Career Series? During the talks, speakers typically walk us through what they do on a day-to-day basis, how they transitioned from graduate school into their current roles, and what their jobs demand in terms of time, skills, and trade-offs. Just as valuable is the discussion that follows. Students often ask about early career decisions, how to pivot between fields, what skills are most marketable, and which aspects of their Ph.D. training ended up being most useful.

One particularly memorable session for me featured Dr. Meredith Schmehl, a Duke Neurobiology alumna. Her career has taken her well beyond the bench and into the world of science communication and policy. She previously served as the public relations manager at the National Science Policy Network, where she helped create opportunities for scientists to develop skills in communication and policy, and created independent media focused on the societal impact of science. Now, as the Open Science Strategy Program coordinator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), she works to make scientific research more accessible and to pioneer new ways with which research is shared in and out of academia.

In her talk, Dr. Schmehl introduced us to the often-invisible infrastructure that supports science at an institutional level. It was eye-opening to see the people and strategies working behind the scenes to broaden the reach of scientific knowledge. For almost all of us, it was also our first real exposure to science communication as a career path, and yet another means to generate and amplify the impact of science beyond the bench. 

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Another session brought together a panel of research scientists currently working in Duke labs: Dr. Kristina Sakers Hays from the Eroglu Lab, Dr. Elizabeth Matthews from the Southwell Lab, and Dr. Stephen Mague from the Dzirasa Lab. Their discussion offered a different but equally valuable perspective. Each of them described the surprisingly different factors that brought them to this role, and each offered different viewpoints on what’s it like to build a career as a research scientist. What made this panel especially impactful for me was that these are colleagues who we meet and work with daily. It was a chance to see a different side of the people we work alongside and offered perspectives beyond the stereotypical academic trajectory of grad student to postdoc to PI. 

Beyond the practical insights, the Career Series offers something equally important: connection. It creates a space where current students can engage with alumni who once sat in the same labs  and faced the same questions about the future. Alumni also reconnect with former mentors and colleagues, catching up with new developments in each other’s lives. It’s a reminder that while career paths may diverge, the shared experience of training in neurobiology continues to tie people together.

Ultimately, the Neurobiology Career Series is valuable because it grants trainees more than just a glimpse into life and career after graduation. For me, what started as a tentative step toward “getting some networking experience” became a much richer source of clarity. And in a time when the future can feel especially uncertain, that kind of perspective is invaluable.

AUTHOR

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Ben Yuan 

Ph.D. student, Neurobiology

Ben Yuan is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Li lab. His research focuses on defining motor cortical cell types through functional imaging and spatial transcriptomics. In his free time, Ben likes to read mystery novels and cook large quantities of food.