Associate Director of Programs & Training Loves Leading People

Name: Chiara Bertipaglia (she/her)

PhD: Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Heidelberg (joint with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory), 2015

What was your main area of research?

PhD: I studied the structure of molecules involved in mechanisms of intracellular clearance of waste. Understanding the structure and function of such molecules at the nano scale and higher can provide insights into what goes awry in neurodegenerative diseases characterized by accumulation of toxic aggregates. I used cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography to study these structures.

Postdoc: I studied the molecular mechanisms that regulate how radial glia progenitors (brain stem cells) divide symmetrically to give rise to other stem cells and asymmetrically to give rise to neurons in the neocortex during brain development. I used rat embryos as an animal model and observed brain slices with confocal light microscopy.

What is your current job?

I am the Associate Director of Programs and Training for Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University.

I develop the strategy and direction of scientific programming in alignment with the strategic goals and values of the Institute, in partnership with the Leadership Board. I oversee the portfolio of internal research grants, graduate and postgraduate fellowship and training programs, as well as a number of scientific development and community building efforts like seminar series, symposia, and retreats. I lead a team of four direct reports and one indirect report, ranging from program managers, project managers, event coordinators, and administrative officers.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

My favorite part is that I get to lead people.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

During my postdoc, I volunteered as the Chair of the Research and Professional Development Committee of the Columbia University Postdoctoral Society. There, I practiced my project management skills for projects that were not about scientific research, and I learned people management skills in the field, by being responsible for the coordination of the work of the other volunteers in the committee. Similarly, I enhanced these skills when I covered the role of Vice President for a science communication non-profit organization.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

I did not engage in any formal training in preparation for the first job I had after the postdoc: I built those skills directly "in the field" (see previous response). However, once in my first formal job role, I took part in the following professional development opportunities:

• 1-year fellowship in scientific collaboration and community engagement https://www.cscce.org/

• Training to become a certified facilitator of mentoring workshops with CIMER https://cimerproject.org/

• Training on the basics of open science from Open Life Science https://we-are-ols.org/

• 10-month program to become certified in executive and leadership coaching with Columbia Business School and Teachers College https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

Through a LinkedIn job post

PhD graduate ➡️ Postdoctoral fellow ➡️ Scientific Programs Manager; Assistant Director of Scientific Programs; Director of Scientific Programs (all in the same job place) ➡️Associate Director of Programs and Training

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Gather informal experience with project/program management by joining organization that produce events or educational programming (not necessarily related to the sciences).

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

With time, during my postdoc, I came to dislike doing research (formulating scientific questions, thinking about experiments to answer those questions, and practically doing those experiments). However, I still wanted to be able to support the scientific research enterprise, and that's why I went into a career in science management/higher education administration.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Gather practical experience that is tailored to the job descriptions of the role(s) you aspire to cover, so you can document it in the resume and tell about it with the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) method during interviews.