u/evilpastabake

Hey everyone, looking for some advice/perspective from people who've been through something similar.

I'm a rising second year PhD student in a biomedical program at a well ranked school. My advisor recently accepted a position at another, lower ranked institution and will be leaving within the next few months. I've been trying to find a new advisor whose research aligns with my interests, but I'm running into a wall because the 9 labs I'm most excited about either don't have funding to take on a new student right now or are at capacity.

Here's what I'm thinking as a doomsday scenario: I'm starting to wonder whether it makes more sense to withdraw and reapply for fall 2027, potentially to programs that are a better fit for where I want to take my research. My research interests are in a pretty niche quantitative field and although there are people doing that type of work at my current institution, as I said, they don’t have the ability to take on a student. There are stronger institutions doing the work that I am focused on and could apply to if it came to that. I truly hope it does not.

I know many may suggest following my advisor to his new institution but for a few different reasons, both personal and professional, I very much do not want to.

Has anyone withdrawn and reapplied after an advisor leaving situation? Did it hurt you long term? Would programs look at a reapplication negatively?

Any insights would be much appreciated — this all started on Monday so it has been a stressful week

Hi everyone,

I am a second year PhD student at a top 20 program in the United States. Technically my PhD is in "Pharmaceutical Sciences" but I personally do pharmacometrics work, basically drug development data science. I'll be graduating in ~just under 3 years and am beginning to seriously think/plan my future.

I am looking to leave research and instead try and transition into finance. I know that biotech/pharma equity research into a buy side gig is a relatively tried and true path for people in my position and although I've networked with a few of them I'm looking for more insights and advice. I've secured a remote internship doing biotech/pharma ER and have taken academic steps to strengthen my resume by joining the Graduate Biomedical Business Careers Club. Nevertheless, can anyone share insights into this path? ER into Healthcare IB or Pharma focused HFs?