Kristen Wang
Phd CANDIDATE in Chemistry
EXPECTED graduation 2028
As a fourth-year Chemistry Ph.D. student at Washington University in St. Louis, I’ve spent countless hours in the lab, pipette in hand, carefully running experiments and troubleshooting reactions. I can draw all 20 canonical amino acids from memory and give an hour-long research presentation without hesitation. Yet despite feeling confident in my scientific training, I knew there was another side of biotechnology I wanted to understand before graduating.
My long-term goal has always been to work in drug research and development (R&D) within the pharmaceutical industry. While the underlying science is similar in both academia and industry, industry introduces another critical dimension: science is also a product. Success depends not only on understanding how and why the science works, but also on identifying who needs it, how it fits into the market, and how it can ultimately reach the people who will benefit from it.
That curiosity led me to join Panome Bio, a metabolomics contract research organization (CRO) startup in St. Louis, as a member of the market and internal sales team. Instead of spending my summer at the bench, I found myself behind a computer, developing marketing strategies and exploring the business side of biotechnology. It was a completely different environment, but one that gave me valuable insight into how scientific innovation is translated into commercial success.
During my internship, I worked on two primary projects: developing an email marketing campaign for one of Panome Bio’s technologies and conducting market research to identify potential areas for business expansion. Along the way, I learned to use tools such as Apollo, an AI-powered sales platform that helps identify potential clients, optimize outreach campaigns, and analyze engagement metrics, and how to use AI platforms to support market research by identifying industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging opportunities.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience was seeing how scientific knowledge could be applied in a completely different context. Rather than designing experiments, I was learning how to communicate complex science to potential customers. I also had to quickly become familiar with scientific topics outside my own research area, which challenged me to strengthen my communication skills and adapt to new fields.
Did the internship convince me that marketing is my future career? Not entirely, but that wasn’t the point. While I genuinely enjoyed my experience at Panome Bio, I also realized how much I missed being in the lab, designing experiments and watching the science unfold in real time. At the same time, this internship reinforced something equally important: successful biotechnology companies depend on close collaboration between scientists, marketers, and business development teams. Researchers need market insights to help prioritize the most impactful projects, while business teams rely on scientists to transform ideas into innovative products.
Although my post-graduation plans remain focused on drug R&D, this experience broadened my perspective on the many roles that contribute to bringing scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. I left Panome Bio with a greater appreciation for the intersection of science and business, and with the confidence that, wherever my career takes me, collaborating across both worlds will be an essential part of developing successful therapies. Many thanks to my mentor, Tom Cohen, and the entire Panome Bio team for this amazing opportunity.
