The importance of science and healthcare gripped Vishnu Tripathi as a child seeing ill family members rely on these systems for treatment. Later, while working on a master’s degree in biotechnology at the Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, he saw how limitations in diagnostic tools reduced the ability of doctors to care for people with tuberculosis.
After Tripathi finished his PhD at the same university, he switched his research focus to cancer biology and moved to the University of Southern California (USC) for a position as a postdoctoral researcher. Whereas his initial career plan was to one day start his own independent lab, a presentation highlighting a new master’s program in regulatory management opened his eyes to how working in the biotech industry could allow him to make bigger contributions through his research. Tripathi completed the course and, after finishing his postdoctoral research, transitioned to the biotechnology industry as a senior scientist at Waters Biosciences (formerly BD Biosciences).
How did you transition from academia to the biotech industry?
Shortly after I came to USC in 2017, I founded a chapter of an international support group, STEMPeers, in the Los Angeles area. As the founder, I helped invite professionals from academia and industry to come talk about their experience in their different careers. This gave young PhD scientists mentorship and networking opportunities, and it highlighted to me how important having professional connections were in the job searching process.
Vishnu Tripathi develops antibodies and evaluates their function as a senior scientist at Waters Biosciences.
I also started my master’s program early in my postdoctoral position, around 2018. Initially, this was just a way to give myself another view of how research helps address real-world problems. Then, when COVID-19 started, I saw a lot of the challenges that academia faced in funding and its support system, but I really saw the importance of industry in bringing research to the frontlines.
Those two factors cemented my decision to pursue a career in industry. Then, I leaned into a lot of the skills I learned from STEMPeers in how to network and translate my bench skills into the language for this sector, like project management, problem solving, and conflict resolution. I reached out to colleagues who I knew had gone into industry after their postdoctoral positions and spoke to them about the transition and their day-to-day roles in informal interviews.
These experiences also helped me prepare for interviews after I started applying for scientist positions in clinical diagnostics, which was what I was most interested in and had the expertise for. The interview process is quite extensive for industry—I first spoke to a recruiter, then a hiring manager, and finally the director for the team that I was applying to join. At this stage, I gave a presentation on my work to that group and ultimately received an offer.
What are your responsibilities as an industry senior scientist?
Originally, I applied for a Scientist III position, which would have been a more technical role in which I would be supporting the rest of the team by running experiments. Because of my experience, though, I was offered the next higher position, which was a senior scientist. In this role, I also take on some leadership responsibilities, like designing studies and setting the timelines. I am working on developing antibodies for research and clinical in vitro diagnostic use, so a lot of my work also involves developing and running assays to test these reagents, such as with flow cytometry.
What do you enjoy about working in the biotech industry?
Seeing a new reagent launch and be used in either the clinic or a research lab is really satisfying. Knowing that everything I’m working on could help to diagnose conditions or monitor patient health drives my work every day. I also mentor many junior colleagues, and I find that passing on my knowledge and helping them see the bigger picture of our work is really motivating.
How can early-career scientists prepare for this type of career?
If the biotechnology industry is something you are interested in, be proactive and intentional. Build your network through informational interviews and program opportunities that can give you resources and insight into industry. Also, focus on identifying those soft skills that you have from your research and learn how to communicate those, either in informal conversations or university programs.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.