Consultant Spotlight - November 2020

How long have you been with miLEAD? 

One year.

What is the focus of your research?

I study the role of adhesion molecules in intestinal epithelial cell migration, proliferation, and wound healing under normal and inflammatory conditions characteristic of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).

What are your career goals? 

I plan to pursue a career path in which I can be part of a team that employs analytic and creative approaches to advance our health and healthcare systems.

What roles have you played on projects? 

I have consulted on two projects and started on a project manager role for an exciting project that includes both primary and secondary research.

What led you so seek out milead?

I initially sought out miLEAD to gain exposure to nonacademic career paths. I particularly liked that miLEAD offered student-to-student leadership through client-driven projects to facilitate member growth.

Since joining miLEAD, what skills have you been able to develop?

As a consultant, I had the opportunity to grow my business knowledge significantly. Moreover, I learned how to efficiently research, identify requested information, and anticipate client needs and questions to better present my work. As a project manager, I have been learning how to train and facilitate the growth of my team to position us to have a successful project.

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences thus far working with miLEAD? 

My first project with miLEAD was far removed from my scientific expertise, which I was initially apprehensive about, but ended up embracing and really enjoyed. I dove into background research that would help me understand the client’s technology and asked a lot of questions of my teammates. As a part of this project, I had the opportunity to independently generate a bonus deliverable. Because some information the client had requested was difficult to find, I was able to think creatively to answer the client’s questions. Not only was it truly exciting to discover these answers, but my findings impacted the design of the product. Becoming reasonably familiar with a field I knew nothing about, successfully solving problems presented to me, and seeing the impact of my work were all very rewarding experiences.