Exploring Careers in STEM 2026 : Graduate School : UMass Amherst

People keep saying that generative AI is reshaping the way organizations do business, but what does that mean for your future career? Do you love science, but also wouldn’t mind hanging up your lab coat for good? Explore these questions and more with advanced degree professionals (life science, physical science, and engineering disciplines) working across a variety of organizations (biomedical, biopharma, consulting, intellectual property law, qc/testing, start-up).

A morning Careers in the Data World panel will explore quantitative skills and the ways that generative AI and advanced machine learning are impacting the way all scientists and engineers do their work.
An afternoon Beyond the Bench panel will talk about careers that advance the scientific enterprise through collaboration, business development, intellectual property and medical affairs.

Each session will include a 1-hour moderated panel, followed by optional opportunities for smaller discussions with panelists. Attend one session or attend it all.

This event is co-sponsored by OPD, the CNS Career Center, the Biotechnology Training Program (BTP) and the Chemistry Biology Interface (CBI) Program. All UMass graduate students are postdocs are welcome to attend!

Wednesday, July 15, 2026
10:00-11:45am: Careers in the Data World
1:00-2:45pm: Beyond the Bench

View panelist bios below and register here to attend all or part of the day.

Careers in the Data World

Hui-Hsien (Tanya) Lin, PhD is an in vitro pharmacologist with over 13 years of experience spanning academia, global pharma, and AI-driven drug discovery. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from UMass Amherst, where she studied circadian rhythms in cancer cell models, and went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Eli Lilly, developing high-throughput immunoassay platforms that achieved a 10-fold increase in antibody screening hit rates. She currently works as a Scientist in In Vitro Pharmacology at Genesis Molecular AI in San Diego, where she designs and runs cell-based and biochemical assays to advance small molecule drug candidates through oncology and immunology programs. Throughout her career, she has built expertise at the intersection of rigorous bench science and cross-functional collaboration — working alongside AI scientists, computational biologists, and medicinal chemists to translate data into program decisions.

Narciso Pavon, PhD is a Data Science Advisor at Eli Lilly and Company, where he supports neuroscience RNA therapeutics research as a computational biologist. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience and Behavior from UMass Amherst, where he engineered PDMS-based devices using passive diffusion gradients to guide region-specific patterning of iPSC-derived brain organoids. In his current role, Narciso leads RNAseq pipelines for detecting off-target effects of drug candidates, contributes to next-generation sequencing pipeline development, and supports toxicology investigations across a broad range of projects. His work sits at the intersection of genomics, data science, and drug development.

Johan Sunryd, PhD (he/him) is a Scientific Solutions Consultant at Cradle Bio, a Swiss/Dutch company with a mission to enable scientists to design better proteins with generative AI/ML. He earned his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied protein folding and maturation in the mammalian secretory pathway. After a decade-long research career spanning academic, pharmaceutical, and medical device settings, he transitioned into life sciences software by joining Benchling. Now at Cradle Bio, Johan bridges deep scientific expertise with enterprise sales, helping global pharma organizations adopt and realize the value of AI/ML-powered protein design tools.

Beyond the Bench

Yifan Fang, PhD (she/her/hers) is a Patent Agent in the Intellectual Property division at ⁠Venable. She leverages over a decade of rigorous scientific training to support high-tech clients with complex patent prosecution. Yifan earned her PhD in Physics at Stony Brook University, specializing in optics, atomic and molecular physics, and quantum computing. Bridging the gap between profound technical innovation and legal strategy, she actively drafts claims, navigates intricate patent landscapes, and mitigates risks in Office Action responses. Fluent in English, Mandarin, and Japanese, Yifan is uniquely equipped to handle global cross-border IP matters.

Reeham Motaher, PhD currently serves as the Head of Scientific Collaborations at Celvivo, Inc (MD), a company that specializes in providing solutions for generating and maintaining 3D cell cultures, such as organoids, tumoroids and spheroids. She earned her PhD in Genetics and Neuroscience from the George Washington University, where she employed various molecular tools to decipher the transcriptional regulators of a gene expressing a sodium-potassium, calcium exchanger. She began her career at the bench, as a Scientist III at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she developed reagent systems to grow and differentiate regionally defined brain organoids. Interested in more customer-facing roles, Reeham joined Celvivo as a Field Applications Scientist and progressed into her current role, where she builds collaborations between Celvivo and top institutions and labs in both academia and industry.

Archit Rastogi, PhD (he/him) is a Director of Medical Affairs at BridgeBio. Bio coming soon!

Mahdi Roohnikan, PhD is a Business Development Manager at SGS, a leading Testing, Inspection and Certification company. Bio coming soon!