Career Journeys Series, Dr. Tracy Cole
2024-04-26
🚀 Unveiling the Untold Career Odyssey: Meet the Mavericks Who Charted Their Own Paths 🚀
Welcome to the Career Journeys series, a captivating exploration of researchers who ventured beyond the academic realm. Join us as we uncover the inspiring stories of those who embraced unconventional paths, discovering the moments that propelled them towards new horizons. Get ready to be inspired by these trailblazers who redefined the boundaries of success. Dive in now and embark on an exhilarating journey of ambition and discovery!
Name: Tracy Cole
Current job title: Consultant
Current Industry: Biotech
Can you share a bit about your academic background and the research you pursued during your MS/PhD studies?
I have a different path from most. Due to incredible mentors I was introduced to industry very early. While in high school I had an internship in the Entomology Research Center at SC Johnson and Company (makers of Raid/Off etc.) and became very interested in translational aspects of research. I obtained a BA in biology from a liberal arts school in WI (Lawrence University), with a minor in psychology. Then I moved to California with a dream to work in biotech. I worked in neuroscience focused biotech companies for 7 years (XOMA and Elan Pharmaceuticals) before going to grad school to pursue a love of Neuroscience studying inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. I specifically studied the role of some components of the complement cascade in Alzheimer’s disease progression. At the time, there was very little interest in the field regarding inflammation in the brain, so it was a fascinating area of research for me.
What initially drew you to pursue research in academia?
For me it was a means to an end to get back to industry at a higher level to lead research programs and identify therapies for patients with Neurodegenerative diseases.
What factors or events prompted your decision to transition out of academia into either the private/public sector?
I have had a translational interest in research since I was in high school, so it was my goal. I had experiences working with exceptionally brilliant multi-disciplinary teams in industry solving big problems for patients and I enjoyed that much more than working for a single PI. Since I was focused on therapeutic development that wasn’t something that could be done in academia at the time. That being said, academic groups are now more seamlessly collaborating with multiple funding groups to obtain seed money and found companies, so the environment has changed substantially.
What role did the fear of the unknown play into your decision-making? How’d you cope with those feelings?
I enjoy the unknown and new adventures, so moving across the country to California was exciting. I roomed with a college friend and began small with a restaurant job and then started applying for biotech jobs. I made sure to live within my means. I enjoyed the people I met and completely new experiences, so fear wasn’t a driver for decision-making. If someone is struggling with fear it’s important to remember that nothing is ever as bad as you think it may be and that the best decisions aren’t made in stressful situations. A strategy to manage fear is to allow yourself a small amount of time to acknowledge feelings, but to purposefully stop a spiral to enable clear critical thinking for planning next steps.
How did you leverage the skills and experiences gained during your academic journey to excel in your new career path?
I have been so fortunate to have so many incredible mentors along my path. I also purposely cultivate those relationships to help me improve myself personally and professionally. From my high school days I had a mentor who would have me look through the Nature journal at job posts to help me understand what requirements were needed for different jobs so I could directly see how my education and job experiences would facilitate my future career and what type of work would be involved. It’s important to understand the day to day in any new career to think through whether that is what you’ll enjoy.
What resources or strategies did you find most helpful when exploring career options outside of academia?
Establishing networks. Just start talking with people at conferences and networking events. Mentors and my networks have been the key to finding out about career options. I also now listen to multiple podcasts to hear others career experiences and learnings. In addition, I’ve joined a women in bio group to learn from women working in all aspects of science locally. One of my mentors told me long ago that everyone likes to talk about themselves and their experiences, so even the most unapproachable person will likely be interested in chatting about lessons learned from their career!
How has your definition of success evolved from when you were a researcher to now?
When I was young it was contributing individually and with high technical proficiency. Now that I have advanced in my career it’s supporting my teams and seeing their successes and having the capability to help them advance in their careers.
How do you feel your work in your new career path has made a difference or contributed to your field at large?
I can’t imagine a more incredible career than translating biology into potential therapies to help patients with no treatment options for rare diseases. From high-impact factor publications with KOLs, to volunteer work with foundations, to therapeutic development at multiple companies I have been able to contribute an understanding of mechanisms in some rare diseases that can guide further research as well as therapeutic development.
Did you seek out any professional guidance or coaching during your transition? If so, how did it contribute to your success? If not, do you wish you had and why?
I wish I had sought out professional coaching when I was young. I never had a plan for myself and just focused on challenging myself and working with amazing people, but I realized that the further advanced I go in my career the more important a coach becomes. A great analogy I heard is that in sports the highest level athletes rely on incredible coaches to help them achieve their best. We should think the same in our industry and promote self improvement through professional coaching.
How do you think career coaching can support academics in navigating career transitions effectively?
Knowledge is power. Hearing from experts on all possibilities for employment will allow each person to explore and find what they like best and make thoughtful transitions as they grow.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our audience about your career journey on the possibilities outside academia?
Generally, I would say to let your sense of adventure guide you. Reframe failures as lessons learned. Write a diary to help track your successes and challenges for maximal learning. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday and not to others. In any new experience use that opportunity to ask all questions whether you think they are stupid or not. That period doesn’t last long where you then need to start contributing and knowing the answers to your questions, so take advantage. Make sure to evaluate the team you’ll be working with as much as the science you’ll be working on. The majority of your time will be devoted to your job, so having fun with your team is really important.
You can find the full interview with Tracy on the LaterAcademia newsletter! Subscribe so you don’t miss anything :)
And you can find Tracy on LinkedIn and more about her consulting services here!
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