2025 Speakers for Science-Based Non-Academic Careers
March 5 - Tina Miranda, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator, Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, NCI
Title: “A Roadmap for Becoming a Health Scientist Administrator in Scientific Reporting”
Dr. Miranda is a Health Scientist Administrator for the Knowledge Management and Special Projects Branch (KMSPB) at theNational Cancer Institute. Her office serves as the NCI lead for all official NIH Research, Condition, and DiseaseCategorization (RCDC) semi-automated categorization and reporting of NCI-funded research. Dr. Miranda works closely with colleagues across the budget and scientific offices to ensure that the NCI’s funded research portfolio is accurately reported to Congress and the public. Dr. Miranda manages a portfolio of approximately 40 scientific research-reporting categories in areas such as Cancer Genomics, Precision Medicine, Telehealth, and Human Genome.
Dr. Miranda earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Chemistry and Biology from California State University, Stanislaus and her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining KMSPB, Dr. Miranda was a research fellow in NCI’s intramural program where she studied the effects of chromatin structure on transcription factor binding in cancer cells.
Topics to be covered:
- Scientific Reporting – What is it?
- Role of a Health Scientist Administrator in scientific reporting
- Other career paths for Health Scientist Administrators
March 12 – Hillary Hoffman, Ph.D.
Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH
Title: “Transitioning from Scientist to Science Writer”
Dr. Hillary Hoffman is a public affairs specialist at NICHD and develops written and multimedia content to communicate research advances and other milestones to the public. Her interest in a career in science writing began during her doctoral studies at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, where she regularly edited scientific manuscripts written by colleagues who learned English as a second language. After receiving her Ph.D. in biochemistry, Hillary studied science and medical journalism at Boston University. She first came to NIH in 2012 as a fellow with NCI’s Health Communications Internship Program. She spent nine years as a press officer at NIAID before joining the NICHD Office of Communications in 2021.
Topics to be covered:
- Brief overview of my transition from scientist to writer and what a typical day at my job is like
- Skills needed to be a successful science writer
- How to gain science writing and editing experience as an NIH fellow
- Types of science writing positions – where to find opportunities and what employers are looking for
March 19 – Jason Cristofaro, Ph.D., J.D.
Program Manager, Intellectual Property Program Manager, DCTD, NCI
March 26 – Eric Hale, J.D., M.S., M.B.A.
Deputy Ethics, Counselor, Ethics Office, NCI
Title: “Federal Government Ethics”
Eric Hale is the Deputy Ethics Counselor of National Cancer Institute. He served in this position for 10 years. He has worked for the NCI for 25 years in a variety of other capacities including as the intramural Director of Policy and Intellectual Property, scientific program specialist, technology transfer fellow, and Director of Pharmaceutical Policy with United States Trade Representative Office. Prior to joining the NCI, he worked in an industrial analytical laboratory, academic basic research laboratory, hospital microbiology laboratory, industrial research and development laboratories, and pharmaceutical regulatory affairs. He holds a doctorate degree in law and master’s in biochemistry from University of Maryland. He received a master’s degree in business administration from the Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Salisbury University.
April 2 – Catriona Blunt, Ph.D.
Engagement Manager, L.E.K. Consulting
Title: “From science to strategy: Consulting as a career for PhDs”
Catriona is an Engagement Manager at L.E.K. dedicated to L.E.K.’s Life Science Biopharma Practice and is based out NYC where she focuses on advising biopharma clients on corporate strategy, portfolio prioritization, market assessments, and transaction support. Catriona joined L.EK. in 2019 as an LSS after completing her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech. Her Ph.D. focused on the binding of neurotransmitter analogues to ligand gated ion channels. Catriona graduated magna cum laude from Smith College. In her spare time, Catriona enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing with her dog.
Topics to be covered:
- What is management consulting and why do firms hire PhDs?
- What is consulting like at L.E.K.?
- How do you go from PhD to management consulting?
- Open question time
April 9 – Rebecca Cerio, Ph.D.
Health Science Policy Analyst, NIDDK, NIH
Title: “Building Bridges: From Research to Science Policy"
Rebecca received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied virus-induced programmed cell death. For her postdoc, she moved to the National Cancer Institute, where she studied human papillomavirus vectors as tumor detection and therapy agents. While at the NCI, her participation in the NIH’s Science Policy Discussion Group and the NIH Fellows Editorial Board helped her to explore career paths that combine her love of writing with her love of science. After leaving the NCI, Rebecca joined the NIDDK as a Health Science Policy Analyst. Her projects currently focus on providing plain-language information on NIDDK’s scientific advances and program initiatives to policymakers and the public.
Topics to be covered:
- What is science policy?
- What’s the day to day experience like for a science policy analyst at NIH?
- What skills are needed for science policy jobs?
- How to get from here to there: some tips for transitioning from bench research to a career in science policy
May 7 – Tiffany Wallace, Ph.D.
Branch Director, Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, NCI
Title: “Navigating the Transition from Bench Science to Regulatory Review”
Dr. Wallace is the Branch Director for the Disparities Research Branch at the NCI within the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD). In this role, she coordinates and strengthens NCI’s overall cancer disparity research activities, encompassing basic, clinical, translational, and population-based research. In addition to her roles in CRCHD, Dr. Wallace co-chairs the NCI’s Cancer Disparities Activities Committee (CDAC) as well as contributing to numerous health disparity initiatives across NIH.
Prior to joining the CRCHD, Dr. Wallace was an Oncology Scientist at Human Genome Sciences where she managed clinically relevant research programs and conducted preclinical development of promising cancer therapeutics.
Dr. Wallace received her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She completed her postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at NCI, where she conducted basic and translational research to identify biomarkers of aggressive prostate and breast cancer
Topics to be covered:
- Description of Health Scientist Administrator (Program Director) position including personal insights on culture, work expectations, and general pro and cons.
- Comparing a research position in industry with an administrative role in government.
- Which career path is the right choice for you?
May 21 – JigarKumar Patel, Ph.D.
Pharmaceutical Scientist, CDER, FDA
Title: “Transition from Pharmaceutical Manufacturing to Regulatory Review”
I joined the FDA in 2022 as Pharmaceutical Scientist. I am regulatory quality reviewer for process, facilities and microbiology (solid dosage forms) at FDA. Before joining the FDA, I worked in the Research and Development as a Senior Formulation Scientist and as Associate Director of R&D and Tech Transfer at a Pharmaceutical Company. This position involved formulating and characterizing solid dosage generic formulations for about 6 years. Prior to that, I worked at another Pharmaceutical Company developing liquid and semi solid dosage forms. I have spent over 12 years on the production floor while developing, troubleshooting and investigating issues related to manufacturing processes. I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree from AR college of Pharmacy, India and a M.S. in Industrial Pharmacy from Long Island university, Brooklyn.
Topics to be covered:
- Insights from industry experience
- Project management
- Technology transfer
May 28 – Delphine Lissa, Ph.D.
Director Scientist, Early Oncology Clinical Science, AstraZeneca
Title: “Beyond the Lab: Insights into Clinical Development in Pharma”
Dr. Delphine Lissa is a Director Scientist within Early Oncology Clinical Science at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, UK. In her role, she provides medical and scientific support for the development and implementation of early-phase oncology trials, including study design, preparation of key study documents, review of clinical data and interpretation of study results.
Before joining AstraZeneca in 2020, Delphine was a post-doctoral fellow at the NCI in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis. Her research encompassed the high-throughput screening of compounds targeting an isoform of p53, and the identification of DNA methylation biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer. Delphine earned a PharmD and a PhD in Drug Discovery from Paris-Sud University.
Topic to be covered:
- Career Path in Clinical Development
- Transferrable Skills from Academia to Pharma
- Challenges and Opportunities in Transitioning to Pharma
June 4 – Andrew Sinkoe, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO at Sesh Incorporated, DC
Title: From Postdoc to CEO
I am excited to present at the SNAC workshop. I began my postdoctoral fellowship at NCI in April 2018, as a bioinformatician in a clinical cell therapy lab. During my fellowship, my team and I invented a liquid biopsy biomarker diagnostic test that NCI filed as a patent application. After completing my fellowship in April 2024, I founded Sesh Incorporated with my team of co-founders. Sesh is commercializing the liquid biopsy diagnostic my team and I developed while I was a fellow at NCI. As the CEO of Sesh, I am executing our business strategy and managing the scientific testing of our technology. I majored in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Florida State University and received my PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Topics to be covered:
- Developing a technology at NCI and licensing IP from NCI
- Managing a team, and the responsibilities of a CEO
- Technology commercialization process
June 11 – Patricia Escobar, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Nonclinical Drug Safety, Genetic Toxicology and Mutagenic Impurities. Merck
Topic: “Career Journey from Academia to Industry”
Dr. Escobar is a Director in Genetic Toxicology at Merck Research Laboratories, where she is the manager and scientific leader of the genetic toxicology group, responsible for screening and bringing forward the best candidates from Discovery, for the GLP regulatory genotoxicity testing, and for developing follow-up strategies and application of new technologies for screening and mechanistic assessments. She also plays a key role in the collaborative strategy with drug synthesis groups for control of potential mutagenic impurities. Dr. Escobar received her B.Sc. in Microbiology, her M.Sc. in genetic toxicology from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá Colombia, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology from the University of Pittsburgh. She then completed her postdoctoral training in the Gene & Environment Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley. Following her post-doc, Dr. Escobar worked at BioReliance as a Genetic Toxicology Study Director.
In 2008, Dr. Escobar joined Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, as a Principal Scientist in the Nonclinical Drug Safety group, where she had a series of increased responsibility roles managing and leading the predictive toxicology group, while also serving as the genetic toxicology scientific lead for this group and as a toxicologist in drug discovery teams. Dr. Escobar has been involved in the International Working Groups on Genetic Toxicology (IWGT) and in the Expert Working Group of the OECD In vivo Mammalian Alkaline Comet Assay and Bacterial Reverse Mutation testing guideline. Dr. Escobar is author/co-author of more than 15 publications including peer-reviewed articles and/or book chapters. Dr. Escobar is a former board chair and member of the Genetic Toxicology Association (GTA) and was also a council officer in the Northeast Chapter of the Society of Toxicology. She is currently chairing the New Technology special interest group (SIG) in the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS), and she is the Chair of the Alexander Hollander Committee. Dr. Escobar has also participated as EMGS council member, program committee member, and co-chair of the Applied Genetic toxicology SIG.
Topics to be covered: TBD