Biology Graduate Programs Educating Students for Life beyond Academia: Broadening horizons for young scientists

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When Cory Gerlach interviewed for graduate programs in biology, he was upfront about one point: He wanted a PhD, but he had no interest in becoming an academic. Gerlach wanted to work in science policy, and he was searching for an adviser who was open to the plan. “I didn’t want to go to a school that was going to put a lid on my goals,” he says. So at each interview, he stated his aspirations and then braced himself for the response. “I was already prepared for the follow-up question of why don’t you get a PhD in policy or law,” he says. But at Harvard University, he was told he was in the right place. “I remember being shocked at getting that response,” he says.

Gerlach is now a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health program at Harvard. He is exploring therapeutic targets for kidney disease, a specialization that he plans to parlay into a career in drug policy. His university supports his career development through funding the school's student-run Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Science Policy Group (which Gerlach leads), as well as through a certificate program called the Therapeutics Graduate Program, which offers real-world internship experiences and courses on drug development and its impact on society.