Name: Carolyn Anderson (she/her)
PhD: Organic Chemistry, University of California - Irvine, 2003
What was your main area of research?
I worked to develop an asymmetric allylic imidate rearrangement in the lab of Professor Larry Overman. The original achiral transformation (i.e., imidate to allylic amine) was first pioneered by Overman in the early 1970s. My work brought the process full circle, allowing for the rearrangement of unprotected allylic trichloroacetimidates in high yield and enantioselectivity in the presence of a chiral palladium catalyst. Absolute stereochemical configurations of the allylic amine products correlated to the E or Z geometry of the starting material.
What is your current job?
I am the Principal and Owner of Grant Foundry LLC in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Grant Foundry LLC, founded in October 2023, provides technical writing and strategic consulting support, which is individualized to each client's unique needs. We seek to meet other chemists where they are and enable them to advance their careers. Thus far, we have provided a variety of services, including: grant strategy and direction, grant and manuscript editing and organization, proofreading, ghost writing, and grant program analysis, among others.
I love to improve the lives and careers of fellow chemists. Whether by proofreading supporting information, helping a PI to tell a better story, highlighting the significance of their work, or analyzing the efficacy of a foundation award, Grant Foundry LLC intercedes exactly where we can help the most.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
I started Grant Foundry LLC in October 2023 after a short stint as a biomedical grant writer.
PhD graduate ➡️ postdoctoral fellow at Pomona College (a primarily undergraduate institution) ➡️ tenure track faculty member at Calvin College/University (a primarily undergraduate institution; 2006 till 2022; progressed from Assistant-->Associate-->Full Professor) ➡️ retired young as Emerita (2022, I was 45) ➡️ Biomedical Grant Writer ➡️ Launched Grant Foundry LLC (October 2023)
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?
The majority of my career (16 years) was spent as a professor at a research intensive primarily undergraduate institution. I decided to retire under a voluntary exit program in 2022 and try my hand at something different. Deciding to leave the academy was challenging, and yet, I have never regretted either my time as a professor or choosing to leave.
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
Do what you love and don't believe anyone who tells you it isn't worth pursuing. When I was a graduate student looking towards an academic career at a primarily undergraduate institution, one of the postdocs in my group asked me why I'd bothered to get a PhD in our group, "if I was ONLY going to teach at a primarily undergraduate institution." I was furious, but his dismissal of my plans made me want to prove that I could add value to the chemical enterprise with undergraduates, and I did!
Make sure to learn from every disappointment. It is often easy to lean into our successes, while we try to distance ourselves from our (perceived) failures. Yet, our failures and mistakes provide us with the best opportunities to learn and grow. Always ask yourself, what went wrong? What would I have had to do to make it go right? What could I control and what was out of my control? How would I approach this situation differently in the future? What does this situation show me about myself and my likes and dislikes? Answering these questions will help you to make the most of every situation.
Never be afraid to ask for help. As PhDs, we are taught that we can do it all on our own, but the reality is often quite different. Balancing a family and a career is tricky for everyone, so figure out what tasks only you can do and outsource as many of the rest as you can. For example, if you hate to grocery shop or clean your house, pay someone else to do it. Then you can use that time for something only you can do. If you hate part of the writing process or aren't very good at it, seek out a consultant, someone like Grant Foundry LLC, to help improve your efficiency and lower your stress. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness, but rather, demonstrates that you know where you bring value and are looking to maximize your impact.
Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?
I am a mother, a wife, a Christian, and a recovering academic. I'd be happy to connect with anyone around these characteristics.