u/no_avocados

I'm a PhD who recently defended and am about to start a wet lab postdoc in cell therapy/LNP delivery. I worked in industry before grad school and plan to go back after my postdoc. Long term I've been looking at process development and analytical roles, but I'm not locked in, and I'd rather not be limited to cell therapy just given the job market.

I've been reading a lot of the AI-guided design papers in my field, and one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the models and packages are off the shelf. The harder part seems to be deciding what data to collect, defining the right objective, and knowing whether the results actually mean anything.

That makes me wonder if I'd get more out of learning to use these tools well than trying to become an ML expert. But I'm not sure if that's a genuinely useful skill set in industry or just a way to make myself feel better about not being an AI research scientist lol.

I'm thinking about spending the next 1–2 years learning Python, building analysis pipelines, getting better at DoE and statistics, and learning enough ML to build and evaluate models. I'd be doing this alongside my postdoc, so time is limited.

For people working in biotech or techbio, a few questions:

1. Does having computational skills alongside wet lab experience actually help with hiring? Or do most companies still separate people into modeling roles that go to CS/ML backgrounds and experimental roles that go to bench scientists?
2. How much does having a published paper where you did the computational work yourself matter? Is being able to use these tools and talk through your decisions enough, or do you need something concrete to show for it besides a github repo?

I think I want to be more useful at the intersection of experimental biology and computation when I go back to industry (and if that is valued at all). I'm trying to figure out if this is worth putting evenings into over the next couple of years, or if that time would be better spent developing other skills. Would appreciate hearing from people who've made a similar transition!

I'm a PhD who recently defended and am about to start a wet lab postdoc in cell therapy/LNP delivery. I worked in industry before grad school and plan to go back after my postdoc. Long term I've been looking at process development and analytical roles, but I'm not locked in, and I'd rather not be limited to cell therapy just given the job market.

I've been reading a lot of the AI-guided design papers in my field, and one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the models and packages are off the shelf. The harder part seems to be deciding what data to collect, defining the right objective, and knowing whether the results actually mean anything.

That makes me wonder if I'd get more out of learning to use these tools well than trying to become an ML expert. But I'm not sure if that's a genuinely useful skill set in industry or just a way to make myself feel better about not being an AI research scientist lol.

I'm thinking about spending the next 1–2 years learning Python, building analysis pipelines, getting better at DoE and statistics, and learning enough ML to build and evaluate models. I'd be doing this alongside my postdoc, so time is limited.

For people working in biotech or techbio, a few questions:

1. Does having computational skills alongside wet lab experience actually help with hiring? Or do most companies still separate people into modeling roles that go to CS/ML backgrounds and experimental roles that go to bench scientists?
2. How much does having a published paper where you did the computational work yourself matter? Is being able to use these tools and talk through your decisions enough, or do you need something concrete to show for it besides a github repo?

I think I want to be more useful at the intersection of experimental biology and computation when I go back to industry (and if that is valued at all). I'm trying to figure out if this is worth putting evenings into over the next couple of years, or if that time would be better spent developing other skills. Would appreciate hearing from people who've made a similar transition!

I have postdoc seminars scheduled over the next few weeks, and I’d love to hear how others recommend preparing!

I have my slide deck ready: a quick introduction to me and my research, a deep dive into my first-author paper describing a specific technology I developed, and a few slides on how I think my research could potentially apply to their work. The postdoc listings I’m interviewing for are centered around specific papers, so I’ve read those in depth. But some of these positions are in areas that are pretty different from my own (different disease areas, for example), so I obviously wouldn’t consider myself an expert in their field.

For those of you who have done postdoc interviews/seminars similar to this:

• How much are you expected to know about the lab's research?
• What does the Q&A/interview portion usually look like?
• Are they mostly asking about your previous work, or should I expect a lot of questions about their research?
• How much time would you spend preparing specifically for the lab?
• What questions should I be asking the PI/lab during the interview? If this were an industry position, I feel like I’d have a pretty good idea of what to ask, but I’m not sure if I should approach a postdoc interview in the same way...

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I don't understand it. I got my PhD here in life sciences and contributed to the field using American grant money on behalf of American PIs. I don't understand this constant barrage of messages telling me I don't belong and that I shouldn't even think I belong despite 'following all the rules'. Literally which pharma/biotech company or university for that matter is going to pay 100+k for a fresh PhD lol. All the subs about h1b are also super brigaded too, infested w trolls and so discouraging to read. Idk....it's honestly so depressing. Idk how to deal with this. I'm not from a country that does a lot of research, and my family all lives here. Idk what I'm supposed to do. Especially in science, so many inventions were made by immigrants, so many immigrants are famous PIs or CEOs or scientists. Science would not be the same without immigrants. I don't get how they don't understand that. It genuinely breaks my heart.

I start my OPT in mid-September, and my health insurance ends at the end of September. I'm still looking for jobs and staying with family in Georgia. Does anybody have any recommendations for health insurance plans that will cover me for a few months? Also, has anyone here signed up for a Georgia Access plan in situations like this?

Anybody working there who likes/hates it and the direction it is or isnt moving in?

I've been seeing a few relevant job postings at maxcyte and would like to apply, but I wanted to know what people think of the company. They seem to have upped their sequencing offerings after the sequre acquisition, but I'm a little worried that the company isn't adapting to the in vivo craze....

My anxiety has been through the roof since 2025 for obvious reasons. I was able to drown it out before with work but now that I'm waiting for my OPT EAD/job hunting/thesis writing it's back with a vengeance. How have you guys been managing your mental health?

I just had my defense today and while my presentation went really well, I feel like I let myself down in my closed session. I wish I had answered questions more sharply and been more careful about the way I thought things through. One of my advisors likes to take notes and give written feedback during these types of meetings and he said as much as well - while he told me I had given the best talk of my PhD he had a lot of feedback about the way I answered some of my questions.

I feel like I low-key failed :(((( I almost feel guilty and a little unworthy of the PhD and wish I could try the closed session again. They definitely wouldn't have failed me (I wouldn't have been allowed to defend if they didn't think I was ready) but I just feel like I didn't...do as well as I had hoped or what I think should be PhD worthy. And now I'm scared that maybe I'm coming across shitty in my interviews too lol.

Just....sad. :(

I just had my defense today and while my presentation went really well, I feel like I let myself down in my closed session. I wish I had answered questions more sharply and been more careful about the way I thought things through. One of my advisors likes to take notes and give written feedback during these types of meetings and he said as much as well - while he told me I had given the best talk of my PhD he had a lot of feedback about the way I answered some of my questions.

I feel like I low-key failed :(((( I almost feel guilty and a little unworthy of the PhD and wish I could try the closed session again. And now I'm scared that maybe I'm coming across shitty in my interviews too lol.

Just....sad. :(

I recently applied for a scientist position at Genentech and received a link to a video assessment today. Has anyone done these before? I'm not sure what they plan to ask or how fast they'll move from here. It def feels weird and impersonal.

I'll be wrapping up my PhD in mid August and traveling across the country to live with relatives and continue the job hunt while my OPT application is processing. Ofc I have the OPT I-20, and my F1 visa only expires in 2028. Should I be worried about being detained or something? What other documents should I take with me?

https://preview.redd.it/bqvlendk6tfh1.jpg?width=899&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aaf954ca94f438e5e3bf89f0f92d141f533c5462

Out of curiosity has anyone heard back (in any form) from Lilly for the Advisor - Analytical Sciences (Orna associated)?

I've had two postdoc interviews so far, one of whom contacted me after seeing my talk at a conference, and both have ended with 'we're interviewing other candidates rn so we don't have an answer for you yet, but you should keep exploring your options in the meantime'. And both after having had (well, what I thought we had) excellent conversations. At this point idk if I am just very very bad at reading people, or if I'm giving off red flags somehow.

There is nothing I hate more than a soft reject, like if you don't want me, just tell me. It's ok!!!! I hate this process so much. Why are academics so non-committal???

I've had two postdoc interviews so far, one of whom contacted me after seeing my talk at a conference, and both have ended with 'we're interviewing other candidates rn so we don't have an answer for you yet and don't know when we will'. And both after having had (well, what I thought we had) excellent conversations. At this point idk if I am just very very bad at reading people, or if I'm giving off red flags somehow.

There is nothing I hate more than a soft reject, like if you don't want me, just tell me. It's ok!!!! I hate this process so much. Why are academics so non-committal???

I interviewed for a postdoc at a government agency a few weeks ago, and everything seemed to be going well. I even started my interview process with them well before the job was posted. They have a strict start date of 9/15, so (reluctantly) I was ready to file for premium processing of my OPT. They had me figure out the next steps with their immigration office so they could be aware of the process. I had my last interview with them this week, and informed them of what the immigration office said and the deadlines I have, and they said they needed a few weeks to confer with the other collaborators/interview other folks and would let me know. Now, as per the rules, I have to file my OPT before 6/29. 30 business days before 9/13 is 7/31, and ofc I would love to be able to file well before that.

My dilemma is that I don't know whether to go ahead and set the premium processing application in motion. I'm not sure if it makes sense to wait till the week of 7/20 (so 7/24 at the latest) to file, since that's two weeks from now, or whether I should go ahead anyway. I don't really have anything else in the pipeline that seems to be moving forward. If I file and they say no, I will be out ~$2500 and will also have lost the extra time I could have used to job hunt....

Any advice? I'm stressed and confused.

I'm a PhD candidate with a background in LNP-mRNA/cell therapy. I have an offer for an academic postdoc that would train me on GMP-scale manufacturing of cell therapies, closed-system platforms like Prodigy, other bioreactors, and IND submission/regulatory work.

However, now that the field seems to be moving toward in vivo delivery (like targeted LNP-mRNA), I'm a bit concerned that this postdoc is squarely in the ex vivo cell manufacturing space. The day-to-day hands-on skills probably won't transfer to LNP/in-vivo manufacturing (to my knowledge anyway, obv things could change as I make progress in my work).

I hope to transition to industry after a year or two and continue working in the cell therapy space. However, I'm nervous that losing touch with my delivery skills and focusing on ex vivo cell therapy will box me into that specific niche when industry might be looking for more specific in vivo delivery experience (maybe formulation or like RNA characterization or something like that idk)... Am I overthinking this, and does the CMC aspect carry enough weight to differentiate my skillset on its own?

Literally I have been sleeping 16h a day. I submitted my first author paper (I'm in life sciences) after revisions in early June and I defend in August. All I have been doing since then is sleeping or working on job apps/interviews. Idk what has suddenly happened, like I've always been able to sleep a lot but I wake up at 10am, eat breakfast, go back to sleep till 2, have a snack, take a nap till 4....it's kind of nuts 😶 I'm already on anti anxiety meds but has this happened to any of you? Not sure if I should be concerned or if this is a senioritis type thing!

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