Article by Eun Ji Chung, Ph.D.

I met Christine McCary during graduate school. Although our research circles had never overlapped, we both applied to and were accepted to the Management for Scientists and Engineers summer program held by the Graduate School and Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University. In sum, this certificate program aimed to “equip promising doctoral students with the necessary business and leadership skills,” in order to address the gap between the challenges faced when managing and leading teams associated with the commercialization of research and the extremely focused doctoral experience. Attendants of the program can be generalized as open-minded, acutely interested in the application of science, well-versed, and on a personal note, up for a challenge. Christine epitomizes these traits.

Christine McCary, Ph.D., received a Bachelor of Science in Cellular/Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland. During college, she was pre-med and was determined to be a part of science through medicine. While preparing to take the MCATs, Christine had an epiphany. She knew she would love the academic and intellectual experience of medical school, but the unforgiving working hours of a physician would not grant the time she wanted to devote to her family and friends. She decided then that her value system and priorities would be the ultimate arbitrator of her career choices. After this time of introspection, Christine decided that she would need to choose a career in which her curiosity for learning, her passion to mentor and teach, and her desire for work-life balance would be satisfied.

Christine attended Northwestern for graduate school where she looked forward to “taking the academic challenge and overdosing on science.” Her thesis aimed to investigate the effect of Vitamin E on the migration of leukocytes within the lung. Christine enjoyed exploring unchartered territory through novel research, but she also started to investigate post-doctorate options beyond the traditional academic track; while she loved benchwork and teaching, these parts of the job were often minimized by the grants-driven reality of the profession. After graduate school, Christine did a postdoc at the University of Chicago’s Office of Biosafety before joining the Career Advancement team as an Assistant Director for Graduate Services (https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/). Specifically in her current position, Christine works with students and postdocs from the Biological and Physical Sciences Divisions, helping them make informative choices on their career paths through various seminars, CV/application review, and one-on-one sessions. The focus is equally split for the academic track and the nonacademic track. The mission she says is to “help you do what you want to do.”