Martin Frank, Ph.D., former executive director of the American Physiological Society, will speak at UNMC at 11 a.m. Feb. 7 at the Durham Research Center, Room 1002.
Dr. Frank will speak on alternative careers for Ph.D.s — careers outside of medical and laboratory science, including areas such as teaching, public affairs, science writing and science policy.
The event is open to the campus community, but graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are particularly encouraged to come, said Irv Zucker, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UNMC Department for Cellular/Integrative Physiology.
“He’s a dynamic speaker,” Dr. Zucker said. “He was the executive director of the American Physiological Society for more than 30 years, and he is very well connected in the science policy arena in the D.C. area.”
The purpose of the event, Dr. Zucker said, is to help trainees and junior faculty understand that there’s more opportunities open to a Ph.D. than just the traditional academic track.
Dr. Frank said he was looking forward to touching base with UNMC’s graduate students and Ph.D.s.
“I hope to give them some insights into opportunities that are available to them,” he said. “When I got my doctorate, the traditional career was academia. But as academic opportunities have diminished, young people are finding themselves unable to get those academic jobs. I want them to recognize that it’s not a failure if they don’t go to academia – there are lots of opportunities out there for them.”