Academia vs Industry

28 May 2025 - Utrecht

This interesting discussion is for MSc and PhD students and postdocs who are on the fence. Do you want to continue your career in academic research, or should you try working in the industry? In this session our academic or industry experts will discuss the pros and cons of both paths. At the end of the session, the audience (you!) will get the opportunity to get involved.

Panel members Academia

Frank Klont | Assistant Professor | Rijks Universiteit Groningen

Frank Klont is a tenure track assistant professor in the department of PharmacoTherapy, -Epidemiology & -Economics at the University of Groningen (RUG) and the department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). In this role, he focuses on pharmacotherapy education and advancing the personalization of pharmacotherapeutic treatments, with a particular interest in utilizing ‘omics’ techniques (e.g., genomics, metabolomics) to study drug metabolism in real-world, heterogeneous populations.

Carla Ribeiro | Associate Professor - PI | Amsterdam UMC

Carla Ribeiro is a team leader at the Center for Infection and Molecular Medicine (CIMM), exploring how autophagy shapes mucosal immunity and viral pathogenesis. With over a decade of experience managing international and cross-disciplinary projects in translational immunology, our work aims to uncover therapeutic targets to intervene in human viral diseases (HIV-1, Dengue virus and SARS-CoV-2) and reshape deranged chronic inflammation in post-acute infection syndromes. We use immune-competent organoid models, alongside patient cohorts, to define impacts of immuno-autophagy networks on clinical outcomes and guide cost-effective, host-directed therapies. Her ambition is to create inclusive and synergistic platforms to empower the next-generation scientists and to spur animal-free scientific progress with impact on human health.

Panel members Industry

Paula Miranda, PhD | Director Pre-Clinical Translation | VectorY

Paula Miranda is the Director of Preclinical Translation at VectorY Therapeutics, where she leads a team dedicated to developing vectorized antibodies for neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS and Huntington’s disease. At VectorY, Dr. Miranda plays a crucial role in advancing preclinical programs, overseeing proof-of-concept, efficacy, safety studies, and biomarker discovery. With a solid background in gene therapy, she has significant experience bridging scientific research and its practical applications across both academia and industry. Prior to joining VectorY, Dr. Miranda was part of R&D teams at UniQure, contributing to the successful approval of Hemgenix, a gene therapy for Hemophilia. She completed her postdoctoral research and PhD at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, focusing on gene therapy development and stem cell biology.

Michaela Lipkin, PhD | Senior Marketing Leader | IDEXX Laboratories

Michaela Lipkin is a Senior Marketing Leader at IDEXX Laboratories in Europe. With over 13 years of experience in marketing leadership within Life Sciences and Academia, Michaela specializes in B2B marketing strategy, digital transformation, and revenue generation. She focuses on building strong marketing teams and aligning marketing with business objectives to drive growth. Michaela holds a PhD from Hanken School of Economics and has published her research on customer experiences with smart healthcare technology in various peer-reviewed journals. Outside of work, Michaela enjoys exploring the world with her daughter, creating pottery, and hiking in the Alps.

Moderator

Remco Jongkind | Programme Manager Education | Hyphen Projects

Remco Jongkind's aim is to help people move their careers forward. He does this by hosting several presentations on behalf of Hyphen Projects, the organizer of the BCF Career Event. Remco works as a lecturer, bachelor thesis coordinator and project leader at the faculty of medicine of the University of Amsterdam. His background is in Biochemistry (Amsterdam University College) and Pharmacology (University of Oxford). His Life Science background allows him to relate to the problems faced by young professionals in finding their ideal career paths. During his career he especially enjoyed helping others and teaching, e.g at the University of Amsterdam, Hyphen Projects and University of Oxford.

FULL PROGRAMME HERE