From the Lab to the Law: My journey to IP, from an OTT intern

My life journey to this point has been anything but traditional. While some might call my path “circuitous,” I would argue my experiences helped me develop a multitude of transferable skills. I decided in my last two years of my undergraduate education at Georgia State University (Go Panthers!) to pursue becoming a medical doctor. During this time, I was also interested in applying for “Teach for America” as I had a passion to be a part of educational equity in our society. I was accepted as a corps member and taught eighth grade science for four years – a  whole Read More …

Intern: Experience by the Numbers

5 boot camp sessions 3 rotations 5 wonderful supervisors 19 commercialization evaluation reports 14 technology briefs ~377,286 database searches 1 year of invaluable experience in the technology transfer field I decided to apply for the OTT internship at the end of my third year of graduate school for two reasons. First, I knew that academia wasn’t for me and wanted exposure to alternative careers and second, the daily lab slog (grad students, you know what I’m talking about) had me feeling burned out and in need of something new to channel my energy into. At the time, my PI was Read More …

Intern: Leaving Academia but not Science

Like most fresh PhD students entering graduate school, I had the desire to become an independent investigator after graduating. As my graduate and postgraduate training in the life science proceeds, my passion for pursuing a career in academia starts to fade. After devoting most of my 20s to basic scientific research, I’m eager to participate in the phases after scientific discovery. The turning point came while submitting my postdoctoral fellowship applications. Although my research proposal was ultimately funded it was turned down by five funding agencies. I was exhausted by the year-long fellowship process. I realized then that I wouldn’t Read More …