![\"Lana_Gent_CM-2\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/files\/2016\/01\/Lana_Gent_CM-2.jpg\" "\\"Lana_Gent_CM-2\\"")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nI started in phenomenological psychology, looking first at chimpanzees in a zoo and then how dogs were making decisions based on social influences from their species. I did that throughout my graduate school career at the University of Texas at Arlington, but there aren’t a lot of jobs in the consciousness of animals. So I started research in neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center, doing stereotactic surgery on rats and mice, to understand what was happening in the brain during cocaine addiction.<\/p>\n
After a complicated pregnancy, I decided to stay home with my daughter for a year. \u00a0I went back to UT Southwestern in a different lab\u2014my surgical skills were in high demand \u2014this time looking at the effect of estrogen on metabolic syndrome.<\/p>\n
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How did you find this job?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was looking at academia and at going into teaching as well as jobs as a medical science liaison; I wasn’t looking at nonprofits; it was only through a recruiter that I became aware of this position.<\/p>\n Why did the American Heart Association decide to hire you?<\/strong><\/p>\n They could see from my resume and publications that I was bright enough to do the science. I gave a lot of examples of applying creative thinking in my lab, and how I brought people together to make them collaborative. For instance, I met a person tangential to our department who had mastered the technique of gastric bypass surgery in mice and rats. I befriended him and learned the procedure. He had no reason to sacrifice his time to help me, but I ended up working with him and we wrote a grant together. It was a way to get outside my specialty, and to bring new funding into the laboratories.<\/p>\n In my interview for this job, someone asked me what I liked least about working in the lab. It was doing the same surgery every day.\u00a0 On an intellectual basis, it was exciting, but on a day to day basis, it was getting mundane. I’ve never had the same day twice here. I\u2019ve not been bored yet.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your job like?<\/strong><\/p>\n You have to wear a lot of hats. It’s the nature of a not-for-profit; there are more projects than people. You have to work with volunteers and many sorts of people. It’s a different environment than in a lab where everyone you work with is like you\u2014focused on experiments.<\/p>\n I was a bit different than a stereotypical research scientist. Everyone at my lab was very heads down and focused on their project. I wanted to meet and talk to people.<\/p>\n What are some of your projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n I go on video shoots and make sure that people are performing CPR properly.\u00a0 I worked on the CPR Kiosk project, a mannequin placed at the airport so people waiting for a flight can practice their skills. These are all things that take more than knowing the science: it’s the instruction, the implementation, and customer service to our stakeholders. We work with marketing and field operations and project management.<\/p>\n Any final advice?<\/strong><\/p>\n Transitioning out of academia isn’t for everyone; you have to be honest with yourself about what you want.\u00a0 Once I started this position, I realized I was building a different career. I don’t get 1st<\/sup> author publications. You stop building your CV and you start building your resume.<\/p>\n Click here\u00a0<\/a>to read about how Gent found her first position.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tell me about your academic training. Read more<\/a> Continue reading