WEBINAR—American Physiological Society Exploring Career Pathways in Industry Panel

December 20, 2022
12 p.m. EST

Watch on-demand

A wide variety of exciting industry career opportunities are available for those with advanced degrees in the physiological sciences. This session provides physiologists with guidance to successfully launch a career in the life sciences industry. Topics covered include optimizing your personal brand, how to pitch your skillset to industry leaders, networking tactics and strategies, and career planning for the near term and distant future. Karl Pendergrass, PhD, medical director at Merck, in Atlanta, Kimberly Stein, PhD, senior principal scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute in Barrington, Illinois, and Alencia Washington, PhD, assistant vice president of research administration at WellStar Health System, located in Marietta, Georgia, discuss how they successfully transitioned into industry through mindful use of personal branding, networking best practices and proactive engagement with mentors.

Speakers

Alencia Washington, PhD, received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Her graduate work in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham focused on the regulation of integrins and other adhesion molecules by glycosylation during various physiological and pathological states. After receiving her PhD, Washington returned to Vanderbilt to complete a postdoctoral fellowship. She joined Wellstar Health System in Marietta, Georgia, as the leader of the Wellstar Research Institute in 2021.

Kimberly Stein, PhD, is a scientist with a background in exercise physiology and sports nutrition. She oversees programming in the translation of scientific information for influencers as well as athlete and team testing at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute in Barrington, Illinois. Kim earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry and sociology at Beloit College in Wisconsin and her master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Stein earned her doctorate at Purdue University in Indiana from the Department of Health and Kinesiology while training in the Interdepartmental Nutrition Program. She's passionate about sports nutrition and enjoys helping athletes understand why proper fueling is important for their performance.

Karl Pendergrass, PhD, attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health and exercise science with a minor in chemistry. He earned a doctorate in physiology and pharmacology, specializing in basic science research in hypertension. Pendergrass completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of Cardiology at Emory University in Atlanta and the Biomedical Engineering Department at Georgia Institute of Technology. For his postdoctoral research, he elucidated mechanisms of myocardial healing and scar formation in ischemia/reperfusion injury. Pendergrass is a regional medical scientific director at Merck.