PR Representative Learns About Exciting Research Every Day

Name: Ananya Sen (she/her)

PhD: Microbiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2021

What is your current job?

I am a Public Relations Representative for the University of Michigan Health, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I write press releases about the latest research at Michigan Medicine, which includes the University of Michigan’s medical school and its hospital systems. I also pitch stories to the media and respond to reporters who want to talk to our experts. I cover cancer, ophthalmology, metabolism, endocrinology, diabetes, emergency medicine, and women’s and children’s health.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I still learn about exciting research every day.

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

I learned how to write and communicate to a general audience, analyze a paper quickly and summarize its main points, and talk to researchers about what they work on.

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

I wrote for communicators in different departments across my university, attended the conference Communications in Science (ComSciCon), and took a science journalism class.

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

Through the dual career program at Michigan because my husband moved there to become a professor. I found this position through a job board but the program had previously introduced me to my boss.

PhD graduate ➡️ science writing postdoctoral fellow ➡️ research communications coordinator ➡️ PR Representative

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

Write for science blogs like Club SciWri and the campus communicators and participate in science outreach events where they interact with the general public.

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

It was an easy decision because I did not want to compete for grants.

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

Think about what you don’t want to do and narrow down the possible career paths. You want a job that you like, you’re good at, and pays something you’re ok with.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

I studied how E.coli deals with oxidative stress by turning on a group of proteins called ClpSA and ClpX.