Consultant Spotlight - June 2021

How long have you been with miLEAD? 

I joined miLEAD in Fall 2020.

What is the focus of your research?

Our lab studies the main characteristics of biological clocks and how they respond to internal or external perturbations. My recent project is about the robustness of the cell cycle clock in response to cytoplasmic density changes in early Xenopus embryogenesis.

What are your career goals? 

My current career goal is to join a consulting or healthcare venture capital firm.

What roles have you played on projects? 

I have been on only one project so far which just completed. I was a junior consultant on the team and focused mainly on conducting primary research. I helped design our recruitment emails and interview scripts with the other consultants on the team, interviewed several experts in the field, and helped synthesize data for executive summaries.

What led you to seek out milead?

Last year, I realized that my enthusiasm was not in academia, and I wanted to look for more opportunities outside of a purely academic environment. Consulting has been a perfect route for this opportunity; here I can use my expertise to help clients solve problems and make more tangible and immediate impacts. miLEAD allowed me to interact with real clients and experience how suitable I might be in a consulting role. This experience has also really helped me be better prepared for future job hunting.

Since joining miLEAD, what skills have you been able to develop?

Interpersonal skills have been my biggest area of growth. Communication is my weakness, but I had many opportunities to engage in meaningful discussion with my teammates since joining the project and while presenting the deliverables to our clients. Our project manager, advisors, and other consultants gave me a lot of precious advice to help me develop my communication skills, which helped me to deliver messages more concisely and professionally.

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences thus far working with miLEAD? 

The most rewarding experiences thus far were clients' satisfaction with our deliverables. These results might make a great impact on the sustainable expansion of the startup. Meanwhile, I'm so glad to work within such a friendly and professional team, and look forward to more projects and challenges in the future!