Emory University News Release

Release date: Feb. 7, 2003
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Atlanta Biotech Network Expands Career Options for Science Ph.D.s

For Ph.D. students in the sciences who want a life outside the lab, career options can be limited. At Emory University, students took their future job potential into their own hands and founded the Atlanta Biotech Network (ABN) to match up their skills and knowledge with Georgia's burgeoning biotechnology field.

Similar to programs at Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Johns Hopkins universities, Emory's ABN is a nonprofit student-run organization that connects students interested in biotechnology with Southeastern biotech and health-care-related firms, as well as venture capitalists and patent lawyers.

"Many science Ph.D.s get kind of stuck doing post-doctoral research rotations, and it's hard to break away if you want to do something different with your education. ABN is working to expand the options facing new graduates," according to ABN chairman Brian Adams, a Ph.D. student in pharmacology. By providing guidance on job opportunities and hands-on career experience for students, ABN also is helping to keep talented Georgia students in the state, he says.

Started in 2000 by two Emory students, ABN now has more than 300 members, with students from a variety of disciplines including medicine, the sciences, business and law. The program is run by Emory students, but membership includes students at Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Morehouse College and the University of Georgia. As part of ABN's rapid growth, local biotechnology firms as well as Emory faculty and the university's Office of Research have enthusiastically supported the group since it began, according to Adams.

In addition to seminars and lectures, students can participate in project teams to perform consulting work for various companies. Such work allows students to gain hands-on, interdisciplinary experience and skills in areas such as product analysis, business plans and marketing. A comprehensive resume database also allows local companies to look for the best homegrown talent. For more information on ABN, go to www.atlantabiotechnetwork.org/index.htm.

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