Industrial endeavours

doi:doi:10.1038/nj7263-554a

Published in Nature 461, 554-555 (23 September 2009) | 10.1038/nj7263-554a

Careers and Recruitment

Industrial endeavours

Karen Kaplan¹

Biotechnology and drug companies are piquing graduate student interest with goal-oriented postdoctoral fellowships that maintain academic ties. Karen Kaplan surveys the offerings.

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Structural biologist Sarah Hymowitz first considered an industry postdoctoral fellowship while working towards her PhD at the University of California, San Francisco. She was attracted by the idea of getting more practical training than feasible during the typical postdoctoral stint — and encouraged by her existing collaborations with industry. "You knew that what you were doing might eventually help patients, rather than just saying in the last sentence of your paper, 'This might have some value,'" she says.

Soon after earning her doctorate, Hymowitz was accepted for a three-year fellowship at her company of interest: Genentech in South San Francisco. After she completed it, Genentech immediately hired her. Hymowitz has never considered returning to academia. "I'm having way too much fun here to ever go back," she says.

Hymowitz enjoys the collaborative nature of industry research, and appreciates the fact she has more resources — more funds, better laboratory facilities and infrastructure, the newest technologies — than she would at a university. "Here, I have to justify my projects — we all have a budget — but I have to justify them to people who want to find them interesting," she says, referring to a strong sense of teamwork and solidarity that underpins the company. "Plus I have the fun of seeing things that I contributed to move into the clinical setting. I don't think I could duplicate that in academia."

" I see things that I contribute to move into the clinical setting. "

Sarah Hymowitz

Hymowitz is among a growing number of doctoral recipients in the United States who are opting to do their postdoctorate in industry. In 1981, 8% of US postdocs completed a postdoctorate at a for-profit or non-profit company. By 2005, that figure had more than tripled to 26%, according to data from the US National Science Foundation. Those who choose this path typically want to develop direct applications for their research that might have an impact on people's lives. "If you think you want to go into industry, you'll want to do an industrial postdoc," says Lori Conlan, director of the office of postdoctoral services at the US National Institutes of Health.

Genentech, which has offered a postdoc programme since the company was founded more than 30 years ago, typically employs about 110 postdocs. Of those who have completed a fellowship, 10% have returned to academia. Of the 90% who have stayed in industry, 10% of those, such as Hymowitz, have been hired by Genentech.

Although many companies' postdoc programmes focus on product development or applied science projects, Genentech's concentrates on basic research, says Vishva Dixit, the company's vice-president for early discovery research and director of the postdoc programme. Genentech programme leaders believe that investing in undirected 'blue-sky' research is vital, and that assigning postdocs to basic research is an effective way to leverage that investment.

"I don't consider ourselves to be emblematic of industry," Dixit says. "No one from management can ask what a postdoc's work has to do with the mission of the company. They are free to work on whatever intrigues them." Management does, however, look for evidence of productivity, ideally in the form of a stellar publication record. The company benefits from its own philanthropy: such undirected research occasionally results in the discovery of a therapeutic product, Dixit says.

Eliminating bias

Why don't more people do industrial postdocs? Not everyone knows they exist, for one thing, nor where to look for them (see 'Where to find industry fellowships'). Many companies that offer such programmes advertise them only on their own websites or rely only on word of mouth.

Potentially more damning is the anti-industry feeling that exists, at least in some academic circles. Some academic administrators and faculty members may fear that postdocs who complete industrial fellowships are ill-equipped for academic research posts. Thanks to the proprietary nature of industrial research, postdocs at many companies sometimes don't publish as often as their academic counterparts, and they typically don't learn how to seek external funding — a fundamental component of academic research.

Paul Ardayfio: "It made sense to combine research with using science to help people."ELI LILLY AND COMPANY

But this may be starting to change. Mindful that some who complete an industry postdoc may wish to return to academia, a number of biotechnology and drug companies that offer fellowships have restructured their programmes. These firms have created ways for their postdocs to maintain close links to academia, usually through academic mentors and, in at least one case, the option of doing their research at a mentor's university.

Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland, which employs 105 postdocs worldwide, realigned its postdoc programme in 2004 to more closely resemble the academic model. The company now sets up its postdocs with both an academic and in-house mentor, and requires them to design their own research proposal, which will form the basis for their postdoctorate work. About 8% of Novartis postdocs have returned to academia, according to Rajesh Ranganathan, head of the education office of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. Several have been hired by the company. Ranganathan says his department is well aware of the persistent bias against industry. "We are not producing second-rate scientists who can't hack it in academia," he says.

Al Crumbliss, dean of the natural sciences at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, says he wouldn't rule out hiring a postdoc for a faculty post simply because he had received his fellowship in industry. "The critical thing you're looking for in postdoctoral experience is increased scientific maturity, the ability to identify an important problem, and the second thing is how you're going to approach working on that problem," says Crumbliss. "There's no reason why that couldn't be developed in an industrial environment," he says. Crumbliss does, however, worry that industry postdocs won't learn how to run an academic research programme or do the difficult work of securing external funding.

Linking to academia

Industry postdoc models that include academic collaboration help address these concerns. Roche, also based in Basel, offers a dual mentorship to its postdocs; it also reconfigured its postdoctorate programme to be more similar to academia's by requiring its postdocs to publish frequently; expecting them to collaboratively design their own research plan together with both mentors; and permitting them to conduct their research at their academic mentor's university if they choose, as a way to strengthen the academic link. "Our fellowships should offer the same scientific challenges and professional recognition as those in academia," says René Imhof, global head of scientific and talent relations, referring to the programme's collaborative research structure and regular publishing requirement. The company employs 40 postdocs globally.

Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland, offers a dual mentorship, bridging the academia–industry gap.ROCHE

Eli Lilly, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, maintains relationships with universities and faculty members through scientific conferences, e-mail, listservs and other electronic media, and informal meetings as a way to keep its postdocs linked to the academic realm. The company also encourages its postdocs to publish, although it isn't required. The company employs 31 postdocs globally and 80–90% of those who complete the programme apply for a full-time position. The offer rate is about 28%, the company says.

Paul Ardayfio, a Eli Lilly clinical research scientist, did his postdoc there and was offered a job in June. He knew he wanted to do more applied science than would be possible in academia. "I've had a long-standing interest in using my scientific background to help people and treat disease," he says. "It made a lot of sense to combine my interest in doing cutting-edge research with my desire to use that science to help people."

The academic bias against industry is fading, Ardayfio contends, as more academic–industrial collaborations form, more companies present their work at scientific conferences and industrial postdocs continue to publish in collaboration with academic researchers. "The quality of the science that's coming out of the labs here is stellar," says Ardayfio, who received his doctorate from Harvard University. He was actually planning on doing an academic postdoc there until he visited Lilly. "The calibre of the science, the scientists themselves, the environment, the collaborative spirit, the technology — I was floored," says Ardayfio.

Anna Dzyakanchuk, a Roche postdoc in Basel, likewise cites hallmarks of the industry setting as reasons for pursuing an industry postdoc. She enjoys knowing that her work could eventually help people, and she likes working as part of a team. The Roche culture is much different from academia's, says Dzyakanchuk, who finds a far stronger focus on collaboration and less of a hypercompetitive atmosphere compared with her stint at the University of Berne in Switzerland, where she earned her doctorate in biochemistry. "I don't think I'll go back to academia," she says.