The University of Utah Department of Chemistry was joined by Dr. Dipa Kalyani, Principal Scientist at Merck, and Michael West, Postdoctoral Fellow at Merck, for an insightful seminar about the impact of academic-industry collaborations for pharmaceutically relevant synthetic innovations. Afterwards, during our monthly Curie Club coffee chat, our students had the opportunity to ask them questions about day-to-day life working at Merck, how academia compares to industry, tips to succeed in interviews, and more.
What’s something you wish you would have known when transitioning from academia to industry?
In response to this question, Dipa shared that she wasn’t prepared for how to navigate the people and political world of industry. Prior to joining Merck, she had an idea that she would be behind others who worked there. She assumed everyone would be extremely smart and dedicated, but she realized, “it’s just another place in the world”. Like anywhere else, there’s a mixture of people – some are highly driven, and for others it’s just a job. It was comforting to learn that she can’t always assume what people do and don’t know; she needs to build trust with her coworkers and get to know who they are.
Michael West agreed with Dr. Kalyani’s sentiment of the unexpected challenge of navigating working with the large number of people at Merck. He emphasizes the importance of networking and communicating your work and impact. There are so many people at Merck – thousands of coworkers who might be working on something completely different from you. By communicating with others outside of your department, you can learn new things from them and find out how their knowledge can impact and improve your own work. Networking is difficult, but valuable. “You don’t have to be perfect at it, but push yourself to get out there, and you’ll be surprised how much your network will grow,” says Michael.
What can a Ph.D. student expect to get out of an industry internship?
Dr. Kalyani explains that as an intern at Merck, you get to experience drug discovery projects firsthand. If you’re not working on it directly yourself, you have opportunities to be involved in meetings, to use the resources available for drug discovery, and get a feel for what it means to be a part of the drug discovery team. There are also planned activities for interns to network with each other and across the organization. Industry internships are a great opportunity to learn how to use resources, network, and get to know what the organization is about.
Do you have any interview tips or tricks, or advice on how to get your CV to stand out?
Dr. Kalyani believes that, firstly, if you aren’t being your most authentic self, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Be your own self and remember that you are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. Make sure to ask questions about things that are important to you and your values.
Both Dr. Kalyani and Michael agree that presenting your research in a way that is relevant and contextual to the position you’re applying for is important and often overlooked. Dr. Kalyani shares that when looking through applications, she disregards any that signify to her that the applicant didn’t fully read the job description – for example, if the student’s research is irrelevant to the position.
Michael adds that students often want to present a full story when asked about their research, but dumping technical details is not the way to go. It may be interesting science, but it doesn’t allow them to get to know you and how you think. Make sure to contextualize your work and be concise when asked about it.
Contextualizing research into the position you are applying for is also crucial when it comes to having a CV that stands out. It is important to have a strong research and publication record, but how you approach communicating your work must be considered as well. Michael suggests that while you do need strong research skills, not having that “gold tier” publication status is not the end of the world.
It’s important to showcase your problem-solving skills, as well. How you handle questions, even if you do not know the answer, is something Dr. Kalyani says you should take into consideration. During an interview, you should be able to engage with things you don’t know in a way that shows curiosity and respect. Rather than answering a question with, “I don’t know”, let your interviewer know you’d like to consider the question an get back to them, or ask them what their thoughts are on the matter.
Michael adds that rather than simply saying you don’t know something, you should use the opportunity to showcase your resourcefulness. Explain how you would figure something out with the resources you have, so your interviewers know you wouldn’t give up, and that you would go out of your way to obtain information you don’t yet have. Not only is resourcefulness an important skill to showcase in interviews, but to be successful in your role as well.
Dr. Kalyani also provided the insight that people come from different backgrounds and have different education. Something obvious to you may not be obvious to someone else, so avoid making assumptions during interviews to be respectful.
How do available resources differ between academia and industry?
“What industry doesn’t have is time”, says Michael. In academia, you may have a limited number of years, but industry, people move very fast. At the end of the day, it is a business, where efficiency is key to meeting deadlines and providing deliverables. It can be tricky to navigate your own curiosity working in industry. While in academia, enjoy the time you have to pursue your own research and interests.
Now that you know both worlds, academia and industry, would you consider going back to academia?
When asked if she would consider going back to academia, now that she knows the world of both academia and industry, Dr. Kalyani said that if she comes up with an amazing idea she really wants to pursue, she would. She went back to St. Olaf’s recently for the first time, she learns so much by teaching, and loves the gesture of learning and giving. Even at Merck, she engages in anything related to mentorship and teaching. She has taken on the role of teaching a statistics course within Merck and gives guest lectures, for example, as it helps to keep that part of herself alive. “I’m not closing doors… But I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”
At the end of our Q&A session, Michael West and Dr. Dipa Kalyani provided closing words and advice.
“Stay curious. Stay involved. What excites you is what you should be going after. Trust that things are gonna work out,” shares Michael. He explains that he didn’t map out his entire career to where he is now – it was an unexpected outcome, but now he’s able to come to universities and share words of advice and encouragement with aspiring students. “If you’re not happy where you are, you don’t have to stop there.”
Dr. Dipa parted with, “don’t think there is anything important in this life beyond taking care of yourself. Your life, your support system, your friends; they’re the most important things.” When things don’t work out it can feel like the end of the world, and she shared that to this day she still struggles with that feeling; but having a support system is invaluable, and they give her courage every day.
2/20/2025