On November 9, 2007, more than 120 students of professional programs attended iBIO Career Links Conference hosted by the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute  at Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center, in downtown Chicago. Career Links is an annual event that provides students graduating from professional schools with insights into career opportunities and possibilities in life sciences in Illinois. These insights come directly from the experiences of recent graduates and upper-level professionals working in some of the area’s top life-sciences firms.

 After a welcome address by David Johnson, Associate Dean for Research Operations at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Jeffrey Aronin, Founder, President, and CEO of OVATION Pharmaceuticals, Inc. kicked off the event with a keynote presentation describing myriad opportunities for locally and at OVATION. Mr. Aronin also described his experience as a life sciences start-up entrepreneur and encouraged student participants to think about starting up their own companies.

 Two dynamic panels followed the keynote. The Business Panel, skillfully moderated by Ms. Tywnia Brewton, Manager, University Relations, and Talent Acquisition for Baxter Healthcare Corp., gave students a window into careers for graduates of MBA programs. Kristi L. Lengyel, Senior Manager, Government Relations for TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. provided the perspective on using business skills to influence public policy. Karel Schaepman, of Abbott Laboratories discussed his experiences on the inside several diverse technical units of the major pharmaceutical company as a participant in Abbott’s Management Development Program. Komal D. Koya, Innovations and Strategic Initiatives for Baxter Healthcare Corporation, provided deep insight on her experiences working for a large diversified biotech company.  SanoGene Therapeutics’ Caralynn V. Nowinski, Co-Founder,; Associate, ARCH Development Partners described her career path from medical school, to MBA program, to founding her own company.

 The Science Panel, moderated expertly by Jed Weiner, President of White Oak Communications, elicited a lively discussion from participants. Delara Motlagh, PhD, Technology Resources/Cellular Therapies, Baxter Healthcare Corporation and Debra Sutowski-Markmann, Scientific Affairs, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., discussed the career decisions that led them to extremely successful careers in big industry. Dimitra Georganopoulou, PhD, Manager of Research, and Gary Rudgers, PhD, Senior Scientist, of two prominent start-up companies, Ohmx Corporation, and Chromatin Inc. respectively, were a tremendous counterpoint to the large company experience. Student participants reported the panelists’ candid comments about their diverse experiences were enormously helpful in evaluating the career choices available to them as new graduates.

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