A road less travelled: An interview with Dr. Adriana Bankston on her path from academia to policy
Interview led by Carolina Makowski
Dr. Adriana Bankston is a Principal Legislative Analyst in the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations (FGR). In this role, she serves as an advocate for UC with Congress, the Administration and federal agencies. Prior to this position, she was a Policy & Advocacy Fellow at The Society for Neuroscience (SfN), where she provided staff support for special and on-going projects, including SfN’s annual lobby event and the society’s annual meeting. In addition to working at UC, Adriana serves as Vice-President of Future of Research (FoR), a non-profit organization whose mission is to champion, engage and empower early career scientists with evidence-based resources to improve the scientific research endeavor. She is also Chief Outreach Officer at the Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG), a non-profit and interdisciplinary peer review publication serving as a vehicle for students, policy fellows, young professionals and early career scholars to publish on the widest range of science, technology and innovation policy topics. Adriana obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University and a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from Clemson University.
Carolina Makowski [CM]: Thanks so much for agreeing to share your story with me today! To start, what were the factors that influenced your decision to change careers?
Adriana Bankston [AB]: I think the main one is that, while I was at the bench, I didn’t really feel like my bench research was going to give me the type of impact I wanted to make. So I looked for ways to use my background to more broadly benefit society. Overtime, I realized that I was becoming more interested in the training side of academia, rather than the research itself. While I was a postdoc in Louisville, Kentucky, and not having a lot of postdoc resources, I started a career seminar series with another postdoc, which we called Career Research Advancement Focused Training (CRAFT). The goal of the series was to bring speakers to talk to postdocs about non-academic careers. In the process, I got really interested in the question of how we are training postdocs for various careers, and what kind of resources they may have at their institution, or might require from an outside source. I initially wanted to work in a postdoctoral office, so I got involved with the National Postdoctoral Association and the Graduate Career Consortium to learn from individuals who were involved in designing various postdoc programs. I also wanted to learn more about their day to day job duties. While exploring the question of training postdocs, I also got interested in broader ideas around workforce training. So after I left my postdoc, I became involved with Future of Research, a non-profit organization that advocates for young scientists and does research on issues related to academia. At Future of Research, we had a project looking at postdoc salaries nationally across U.S. institutions, in response to a federal labor law, followed by additional work on postdoc salary amounts. This work was my first connection between federal policy and the academic world, focused on how policy affected postdocs. This project expanded my interests to looking at broader questions of how policy affects academia more broadly than just one individual institution.
“We had a project looking at postdoc salaries nationally across U.S. institutions, in response to a federal labor law, followed by additional work on postdoc salary amounts. This work was my first connection between federal policy and the academic world, focused on how policy affected postdocs.”
After this project, I wanted to move into a role that would allow me to broadly think about how to improve the research system from a policy standpoint. I moved to D.C. for a policy and advocacy fellowship with the Society for Neuroscience, which is geared towards PhDs who want to transition into this field. The fellowship provided the opportunity to work in this type of environment, and I discovered that I was really drawn to both policy and advocacy with regards to improving the research system. This fellowship was the bridge to my current job at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations (FGR), which is a really good fit for what I want to be doing professionally. Our team looks at research policy, and we provide a link between UC campuses and the federal policy landscape through connections with policymakers and meetings at federal agencies. In comparison to bench research, I feel more fulfilled in this role because I think about the role of universities within federal policy.
CM: When you announced that you were transitioning to industry, did you get any pushback from other colleagues or academics?
AB: Not really. It was more a question of how I was going to find the resources that I needed to make the transition. I did two postdocs. My first PI ran out of funding two years after I started, and my second postdoc lasted about 10 months. By the time I was in my second postdoc, I was already thinking about leaving academia, and my PI agreed that would be a good idea. So that worked out well mutually, and he encouraged me to pursue what I actually wanted to do. That was a good impetus to try and figure out what that was. And from that point on, it took a few years to transition out of the postdoc into my current role in policy.
CM: Were there any resources specifically that were really helpful in that transition?
AB: For me, there were a number of things. When I was first contemplating what to do for my career, I took the myIDP from Science Careers, which gave me an idea of what my interests and values were, and how those might fit into various careers. For me, this assessment was very accurate- science policy was my number one on the list, and number two was university administration- both of those directions were right along what I had already been thinking. After that, I used career resources mainly for science policy from various scientific societies, in the form of networking and career panels at national meetings, and online resources. For me, the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) probably had the most impact because they have many career development resources for trainees and I had been involved with them for several years. It’s a good idea for trainees to participate in professional development and career exploration opportunities at conferences where they are already presenting scientific research.
I would also advise doing strategic network for specific interests. In my case, connecting with individuals at the National Postdoctoral Association and Graduate Career Consortium who are in the graduate student and postdoc training space was valuable to learn about what they do on a daily basis, as well as to broaden my network. Following these meetings, I did several informational interviews, which helped expand my network in the particular area of training graduate students and postdocs. Some of these individuals also had connections in university policy, which was also useful. Usually, when I talked with these individuals, I would ask about their job, but also who else they could connect me to, so I always tried to expand my network even more through these conversations. After a while, I was able to grow my network in both academic administration and policy, which kept both options open. And in my current role, I’m realizing that there is actually overlap between these two areas within the university.
CM: When you actually went in to interview for your current position, how was that process and how did you prepare for it?
AB: I started doing job interviews maybe about three months before my SfN fellowship ended. For this particular position at UC FGR, I applied online pretty early, then had a phone call with H.R., and after a few weeks, came in for an in-person interview. In the same week, I had a second round of interviews, after which they asked for a writing sample and the names of my references. I got the job pretty quickly afterwards, and was able to start soon after my fellowship ended. During the application process, I re-structured my CV to include all of my science policy experience at the top, and tailored the cover letter to this job. For the interview itself, I researched the interviewers ahead of time. I think that is an important step to take, so that you can have good questions prepared for them in advance. But also I would think about where you want to go in your career and how this position will help you get there. This is not an easy question to answer, but it’s a good idea to have something in mind on the bigger picture of your career goals.
“Think about where you want to go in your career and how this position will help you get there.”
CM: Are there any skills that you took from academia that helped you progress in your current position?
AB: I would say the biggest thing is project management, because I do a lot of that in my current role, as well as being able to multitask. In my current position, we track many issues on a daily basis, so I need to be on top of things, but I also need to be able to prioritize. I think that many skills which we learn in academia can translate to almost any job, and project management is likely to constitute a large part of many different jobs. For science policy specifically, there is also a lot of writing involved. So if you are interested in a policy career, it is useful for you to cultivate writing for non-scientific audiences, as well as talking to the public about your science.
CM: Was there any training that you wish you took part in during your postdoc, PhD or even undergrad, that may have helped you prepare for your current position?
AB : “One piece of advice for trainees would be to get out of the lab and engage in activities that help you connect with non-scientists.”
For instance, doing writing (such as blogging), getting involved in outreach experiences with the public, and speaking to non-scientists is helpful in preparing you for a non-academic career. This has come in handy in my position, because much of what we do is linking researchers with policymakers, and it is important for them to be able to explain their research in this setting. So I think it is helpful to think about how you might talk to a non-scientific audience, and how you can write something that is not a scientific paper. For those interested in science policy (and not only), I think it would be valuable for universities to offer formal training in science communication to non-scientific audiences.
CM: I think that's really helpful advice, both for those who want to transition and stay academia: to have a multifaceted day-to-day and not just focus purely on the science. Do you have recommendations on how academics thinking of transitioning to industry can find career options that are best tailored to their individual expertise?
AB: For me, one of the things that was really helpful was aligning my interests with groups that were already doing things I wanted to pursue. So it is valuable to join associations or scientific societies that can provide opportunities to expand your interests in a desired career direction, and which might offer relevant programs in this regard. This type of training can be a really useful way to get your foot in the door. Another thing I would recommend is joining relevant committees within scientific societies and other organizations, which can not only provide you with valuable leadership experiences, but also show your commitment to a particular direction. These kinds of volunteer opportunities can get you noticed, and especially if you can lead a committee, and that can help get your foot in the door to where you want to go because you are already starting to get noticed within that particular community. For me, these committees were valuable as a postdoc, and also beyond that, because I could keep connected with the community that I was interested in entering professionally.
The other thing that was useful for me in transitioning into science policy was Twitter. I think that being able to follow individuals who are experts in policy and seeing what topics they discuss on social media is really helpful when you are new to this field. These conversations around “hot topics” can indicate what the policy community is focusing on at the federal level, and provide additional resources. Twitter discussions can also lead to developing new contacts in policy, and opportunities for participating in policy events or writing blog posts or op-eds for various sources. I think that LinkedIn is also useful for continuing to grow your policy network, and keeping an updated profile can help when you are applying for jobs. Your website can also provide opportunities for people to quickly learn about your interests. So that's another plug:
“Have a website up with all of your accomplishments in the career area that you want to go into, in particular if you have additional ones which you may not list on your resume. Your website can provide an opportunity to showcase a more well-rounded version of yourself as a professional, and that can help in job interviews.”
One final thing I would like to add: the idea of flipping your resume around for a non-academic position doesn't come naturally to academics. While applying for jobs, I had several people read my resume and shift things around, and it took multiple drafts to showcase what I actually wanted up front and center. I had a master CV, and different resume versions that I made for various job postings. I think that it is also important to have a good cover letter that you can tailor to a particular job, and have several individuals in your field of interest provide feedback on it. That's one other thing I wish that I had learned in academia- how to tailor your resume for different careers. I think in the real world, that is really important to know, especially as your career goals might shift overtime. So if you were a leader on a committee or did any substantial policy research, that is valuable experience that can make you stand out in a pile of resumes, and will also show your commitment to this direction during the in-person interview.
CM: Thanks so much for the valuable advice. We really appreciate your time and insight!
This post represents Adriana’s personal views and not the views of her employer, University of California.