The School of Medicine Basic Sciences has seen remarkable and diverse trainees come through its doors, collaborate with and learn from distinguished faculty, then graduate from one of our nationally ranked departments. But where are they now?
They go on to become leaders at notable institutions, universities, governmental entities, and research and development companies, among others. Some of the places where our alums work include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Pfizer Inc., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to name but a few. And some even decide to stay at Vanderbilt!
Meet Ashley Brady, PhD’03, who graduated from the pharmacology department and is now the assistant dean of biomedical career engagement and strategic partnerships in the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training and an associate professor of medical education and administration.
We sat down with Brady to discuss her experiences studying basic science and how it played a role in her successful career.
Graduate program: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Department of Pharmacology
Current role: Assistant dean of biomedical career engagement and strategic partnerships and associate professor of medical education and administration
How did Vanderbilt help with your career path?
I started graduate school in 1996 as part of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program and graduated in 2003. Although BRET was not created yet when I started, there were still opportunities I was able to take advantage of as a student, including leading the Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum, securing a dissertation enhancement award to participate in an ethnobotany course in Hawaii, and helping my friends and colleagues by editing their manuscripts and grant proposals.
As a postdoc at Vanderbilt, I continued to be involved as much as possible with activities beyond my research, such as heading the Life Science TN academic alliance, participating in the Vanderbilt Editor’s club, attending BRET Career Development seminars and workshops, and being part of the Vanderbilt Postdoc Association.
Looking back, I can see how many of the activities I was drawn to participate in were indicative of the interests I maintain in my work, and they helped me build my skills and network to support my career path.
What made the biggest impact on your career while you were at Vanderbilt?
The biggest impact on my career was likely paying attention to the BRET Career Development newsletter when I was beginning my job search, as that is where I learned about the open position in the foundation relations team within Vanderbilt’s Development and Alumni Relations, where I worked for nearly five years after my postdoc.
Can you share a particular challenge you faced during your biomedical research training and how you overcame it?
Like many graduate students, my Ph.D. project was fraught with technical challenges and a lot of failed experiments. In fact, I had to completely switch projects during my fourth year, which at the time felt like the end of the world. Having struggled through my project and knowing what it feels like on the other side of that has given me an appreciation for what our current trainees often experience, and it helps me guide them and put things in perspective—sometimes, they can’t see the forest for the trees.
Were there any specific mentors or professors who played a crucial role in shaping your career aspirations?
I was a graduate student in Lee Limbird’s lab and I’m so grateful for how supportive she always was with my career development. She encouraged me to apply for grants and awards, gave me great feedback on my writing, and taught me how to think about experiments critically. She was chair of the Department of Pharmacology when I joined her lab, and when I was still early in my training, she posted an advertisement in the student computer lab for a postdoctoral fellowship in France. I photocopied that page and taped it in the front of my lab notebook with the aspiration of applying when I graduated. Fast forward many years, and with her encouragement, I applied to the Chateaubriand Fellowship and was awarded a one-year fellowship from the French Embassy to conduct postdoctoral research in France! She kept me on as a short-term postdoc until I could get all my paperwork together in order to move to Europe. It was a fantastic research opportunity and an experience of a lifetime that was a dream come true for me!
In what ways did your involvement in additional projects or internships during your time at Vanderbilt contribute to your current success?
During both my graduate and postdoc training, I worked to hone my writing, editing, and communication skills by writing review articles when the opportunities arose, editing and providing feedback to colleagues on their manuscripts and grants, and presenting my work as often as I could. These fundamental skills are critical to any job, but my writing experience and familiarity with grants proved helpful to me in securing my first position on the foundation relations team at Vanderbilt, as in that role I supported faculty with grants to scientific foundations.
I have always been a networker/connector and love meeting and talking to people and looking for ways to help and learn, so this was a skill that I enjoyed doing and was a natural fit for both foundation relations and the role I have now as part of the ASPIRE Program in BRET’s Office of Career Development.
How did the networking opportunities at Vanderbilt contribute to your professional connections and career advancement?
Taking a leadership role in events like the student-led pharmacology forum certainly helped me to network with the speakers we invited, and in that case, led to my attending the ethnobotany course in Hawaii. But often, networking is less premeditated and really comes down to just being involved and talking to people.
As it turned out, the hiring manager for the foundation relations position had been a postdoc at the same time as me, and I had met her when I went to buy donuts from her for a fundraising event she conducted on campus.
When I started my job in career development and was tasked with building our ASPIRE Internship program, some of the first people I reached out to were alums I knew from being part of the Life Science TN Academic Alliance, grad school friends, and colleagues from the pharmacology department or IGP. They have all helped me to be successful in my work. It’s really amazing how much your connections can (and want) to support you—networking is key!
Were there any unexpected twists or turns in your career journey?
One thing I’ve learned from my own career path, as well as observing the paths of many others, is that most careers are not linear; twists and turns are to be expected. When I started my current position, one of the first career talks I attended was with Peter Fiske, who said that careers often make the most sense in the rearview mirror. I couldn’t agree more: only after you turn back and look at the progression can you see the connection between all the things you did and the people you met along the way.
Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your career that was influenced by your experiences at Vanderbilt/with BRET?
Kim Petrie founded the BRET Office of Career Development in 2006—we were IGP classmates and both of us joined the Department of Pharmacology, so we had known each other for a long time and were good friends. So, in 2013, when the BRET Career Development team was awarded a large, five-year NIH BEST grant to expand their career and professional development offerings and they were looking for someone to help build out all the new programming they had proposed, I was excited about the opportunity. Supporting graduate students and postdocs in their career and professional development was especially important to me because I knew how much I could have benefited had these programs been available to me when I was a trainee.
It is so gratifying to see the positive impact these programs are now having on our students and postdocs. In addition, getting to work with someone whose work you admire and who is also a great friend has been a true gift.
How has the interdisciplinary nature of biomedical research training played a role in your ability to collaborate with professionals from different fields in your career?
After my short postdoc in France, I came back to Vanderbilt and continued as a postdoc in Jeff Conn’s lab (now the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery) for nearly five years. The lab was very interdisciplinary, with molecular pharmacologists, animal behavioral model experts, electrophysiologists, chemists, and drug discovery industry veterans all working together. We collaborated extensively with colleagues across the world in academia, government labs, and industry. This experience provided me with an excellent understanding of how industry research and drug discovery and development are conducted. That foundation has been extremely helpful to me in partnering with individuals across the spectrum of industry positions, from entrepreneurial endeavors to clinical trials, to support our trainees in their career development.
What advice would you give to yourself when you were a student back in basic sciences?
Get involved with things you are excited and passionate about. Meet new people and build relationships, and don’t forget to get to know your graduate student and postdoc colleagues who will all be in the prime of their careers at the same time as you. These experiences and people will be helpful to you at surprising times throughout your career.