Name: Michael Baker (he/him)
PhD: Behavioral Neuroscience, University of California - Berkeley, 1993
What was your main area of research?
I started my Ph.D. program in animal behavior – specifically hormones and behavior – working with a colony of spotted hyenas brought from Kenya to a field station in the Berkeley hills. After completing my Master’s, I moved into human research, with a focus on neurodegenerative disorders and completed my dissertation on the impact of a novel virus (HIV) on central and peripheral nervous system functioning.
What is your current job?
I am the President and Principal of Haselwood Biosciences, and Editor-in-Chief of AMWA Journal (American Medical Writers Association).
I interface with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of biotech/biopharma clients, write documents (primarily regulatory documents summarizing results from clinical trials, though sometimes medical journal articles), project manage document submissions to the FDA and other national health authorities (e.g., applications for drug/biologic approval), and oversee a team of medical writers.
There are a few things I love. I love contributing to advancements in medical care, constantly learning (every workday entails different activities), working as a team on complex research projects, and working with data.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
As a graduate student, my advisor was contacted by a clinical trials site asking if a graduate student was available to conduct neuropsychological examinations on patients in clinical trials. This was my introduction to clinical research, which I found that I loved. About 10 years into my career, I was asked to head up a medical writing department and found it to be a perfect fit – combining my love of data review and writing, project management, and mentoring. Later in my career, I went independent as a medical writer; the business grew organically.
Regarding my role as Editor-in-Chief of AMWA Journal: As a member of AMWA I was asked to interview for the role, went through several interview steps, and was selected. I would describe this as my dream job, which I will continue after I retire from paid employment.
PhD graduate ➡️ clinical research project manager ➡️ medical writer
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?
I absolutely wanted to pursue a career in academia, and for a couple years, had a non-tenure track position at UC Berkeley. However, at the time, I was not driven to do the publication-oriented research necessary for a tenure-track role and found that the standard of living afforded by academia was not acceptable to me (I wanted to stay in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is expensive).
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
Join one or more professional societies of interest, as you are likely to be exposed to career options you would not otherwise know about.
Network, face-to-face if possible, at professional society meetings and/or in online forums or meetings/presentations.
Via LinkedIn, consider seeking a mentor – find someone whose job/career path seems particularly appealing to you, introduce yourself, and ask if that person is willing to answer some questions about their career journey.
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