Upcoming BRET Office of Career Development Events
ASPIRE UP: Delivering an Impactful Biopharma Industry Job Talk
Dec. 4, 2025—Join Us for an ASPIRE Up Workshop!Delivering an Impactful Biopharma Industry Job TalkFriday, January 16 • 10:00 AM • LH 202 In today’s competitive R&D job market, a strong job talk goes beyond presenting excellent science. It’s also an opportunity to show that you understand the broader context in which industry teams operate. This session...
ASPIRE Mock Interview Week 2026
Nov. 18, 2025—Application deadline: Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at noon Back again for its 4th year, this event will provide biomedical PhD students and postdocs the opportunity to practice their interview skills with employers and alumni, (including faculty, if appropriate), and receive valuable feedback. Each participant will have up to 4 mock interviews, each lasting about 45...
ASPIRE Down the Road- Inotiv Site visit December 3, 2025, 11am-1pm, Nashville, TN
Nov. 6, 2025— ASPIRE on on the Road is keeping it local this December and heading down the road to visit Inotiv, located nearby on the edge of the Green Hills neighborhood on the David Lipscomb college campus! As a leading contract research organization (CRO), Inotiv supports discovery and nonclinical development through investigational new drug (IND) and beyond. By...
PhD Career Stories: Drug Discovery and Development
Sep. 22, 2025— Laurie VanderVeen, PhD Laurie VanderVeen is Director, HIV Clinical Virology at Gilead Sciences, supporting the development of novel agents for treatment and cure of HIV-1 infection. Currently, she supports preclinical, clinical, and post-approval programs, including the recently approved Sunlenca. Prior to joining Gilead, she held multiple positions within pharmaceutical companies, contributing to the advancement...
Shaping science outside the lab: careers in scientific societies and government
Sep. 16, 2025—Shaping Science Outside the Lab: Careers in Scientific Societies and Government Matt Windsor – Senior Manager of Media, Outreach & Communications at the Society for Neuroscience Dr. Matt Windsor is a Senior Manager of Media, Outreach, and Communications at the Society for Neuroscience. Matt has over 10 years of experience working at scientific societies supporting...
2025-2026 ASPIRE Up Events
Aug. 26, 2025—More information on the events can be found here. For questions please reach out to Mary Gray (Mary.g.lindstrom@vanderbilt.edu).
PhD Career Stories: Project Management
Aug. 21, 2025—Join us for our 2025-2026 PhD Career Stories seminar series kickoff on Friday, September 12, at 10:00am, Light Hall 214. Ashley A. Able, PhD Scientific Project Manager, Natera Lakshmi Sundararajan, PhD Senior Project Manager, Research and Technical Operations, Astellas Gene Therapies SIGN-UP HERE! BIOS Dr. Lakshmi Sundararajan earned her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental...
Launching Your Lab Vision: Writing the Research Statement
Aug. 5, 2025— Writing your research statement is a critical component of the faculty application process. Not only does it give hiring committees insight into your scientific vision and independence, but it also gives you the opportunity to think strategically and clearly about your future research laboratory. Join us for a two-part Faculty Research Statement Workshop designed...
Celebrating our postdocs!
Aug. 1, 2025—Join us for National Postdoc Appreciation Week to celebrate our awesome VU and VUMC postdocs! Come have a cookie with us on Wednesday, September 17th, from 11:00am to 2:00pm in the North Lobby of Light Hall.
RESCHEDULED- Workshops and peer review sessions for applicants to the 2026 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Jul. 28, 2025—RESCHEDULED – NEW DATES BELOW! The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is a prestigious fellowship opportunity for early-stage STEM graduate students, including PhD students in the biosciences. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Fellowships provide 3 years of funding for graduate education in a STEM field, and PhD students must apply no later than fall of the...
ASPIRE Satellite Drop-In Clinic at 2525 West End
May. 6, 2025—The ASPIRE team will be heading monthly to the 2525 West End Building for a drop in clinic to review job documents and general career consultation. Just drop in! Third Thursdays 2:00-3:00pm 2525 West End, 5th floor
Project Management: An Essential Skill for Research Scientists
Apr. 22, 2025—Project management is an essential skill that is needed across all career stages and career paths, academic or non-academic. This session will introduce participants to the fundamentals of project management, help recognize how you are already applying it in your current work, and discuss the key traits of effective project managers. Participants will also explore...
Finding the right fit: understanding faculty roles at US institutions and overview of the faculty job search process
Apr. 16, 2025—Finding the right fit: understanding faculty roles at US institutions and overview of the faculty job search process Do you know the different types of academic faculty positions that are available in the U.S.? What skills do you need for each type? What type of faculty position is right for you? Join Kathy Gould, Ph.D,...
Donuts with the Speakers pre-PhD Career Stories, 4/11
Apr. 3, 2025—
PhD Career Stories: Careers in Nonprofit Organizations
Mar. 6, 2025—PhD Career Stories: Careers in Nonprofit organizations with Rachel Fischer and Roslin Thoppil Rachel Fischer, PhD, Project Manager, Foundation for the NIH Roslin Thoppil, PhD, Senior Scientific Program Officer, AACR Friday, April 11 10:00am Light Hall 214 Registration kindly requested. Rachel Fischer received a B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of St. Thomas and...
Decoding Your Story: Networking and Interviewing Success
Feb. 17, 2025— Interested in developing your networking and interviewing skills? Join us for StoryMason, a card game designed to help students learn how to engage people, gain confidence in telling your story and navigating professional conversations. Enjoy drinks and food at the pub while playing a card came to help you improve your interviewing skills! Rand...
ASPIRE Up: Telling Your Story – Preparing for Your Interview
Feb. 17, 2025—Thursday, March 6 1:00-3:00pm Virtual (Zoom link provided at registration) ASPIRE once again will be hosting Lauren Celano, CEO and Co-founder of Propel Careers for a virtual webinar! This interactive webinar is focused on providing advice to help you tell your story so that you can effectively engage with your interviewer and convey your experiences, skills,...
PhD Career Stories: From Consultancy to business strategies in pharmaceutical product development
Feb. 4, 2025—Join us to learn about alumni Dr. Mallori Upshaw and Dr. Marissa Jones and their journey to careers leveraging their scientific backgrounds to provide business insights in pharmaceutical product development. This virtual session will be held on Friday, February 21, at 10 a.m., over Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed on 2/20. PhD Career...
PhD Career Stories: Clinical Research and Development
Jan. 23, 2025—Join us to learn about alumni Dr. Valerie Kramlinger and Dr. Christopher Aluise and their journeys to careers in clinical research and development. This virtual panel session will be held on Friday, January 24th, at 10 a.m., over Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed on 1/23. PhD Career Stories: Clinical Research & Development Friday, January 24th 10am over Zoom...
ASPIRE Up: ChatGPT for Job-Seekers: The Right Way to Use AI to Accelerate Your Search
Jan. 17, 2025— The ASPIRE Program, in partnership with the Career Center GPS and Vanderbilt Graduate school, is excited to host Jeremy Schifeling from The Job Insiders to discuss ChatGPT and the job search! Thursday February 6 1:00-2:00pm Watch the recording here! Workshop description ChatGPT for Careers: The...