Fostering a career in and outside the lab

Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, gene editing, and molecular engineering, scientists can develop life-saving therapies at unprecedented speed and efficiency. Yet, Kaitlyn Adams knows that discovery alone isn’t enough. As a former senior associate scientist at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Adams saw firsthand how regulations, processes, and marketing helped turn scientific breakthroughs into widely used treatments. 

“Science doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” Adams said. “You can have the best medicine in the world, but if you can’t communicate its value or find a target audience, you’re not helping patients or the pharmaceutical company.” 

As a Master of Engineering (MEng) student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), Adams is deepening her technical knowledge while honing her leadership and business skills. This holistic approach helps eliminate silos and gaps of knowledge that often slow progress in bringing lab discoveries to the market. 

“I’m learning both science and the business of science,” said Adams, who is on the Bio- and Immunoengineering track. “Our business case studies are hyper-focused on engineering products, like fuel cells and pharmaceuticals, but we’re also learning about Lean Six Sigma and Gantt charts, processes and tools that businesses in many industries use. It’s a defined approach to understanding health-related businesses that I appreciate.”

While at Pfizer, Adams often served as an informal facilitator between teams, a role she enjoyed and looked to UChicago PME to develop further. Halfway through the program, Adams has already discovered her leadership style, studied how to structure responsibility and accountability across a company, and learned how to work effectively with both her managers and her team.

“We call them leadership skills, but really it’s practical advice on how to work in the corporate world and be successful,” said Adams, who aims to lead a team of scientists when she returns to industry.

Adams values the flexibility UChicago PME provides so she can tailor her academic journey to fit her personal goals. While MEng’s nine courses can be completed in a year, Adams has decided to finish in two. This option allows her to continue as a full-time lead quality and compliance staffer at UChicago Medicine’s Advanced Cellular Therapeutics Facility. Later, she will work with UChicago PME to obtain a corporate internship, and the school’s director of career development has already culled a list of industry contacts for her. 

“We’re on the precipice of a new age of precision medicine,” Adams said. “Gene therapies can rid people of cancer, sickle cell disease, and more. The opportunity to be part of this new era and positively change people’s lives is important to me.”