From Lab to Life: Non-Academic Careers Panel

The Attending Panelists are:

Francesca Bargiacchi, PhD (Senior Director in Medical Affairs at Relay Therapeutics)
Dr. Bargiacchi has 17 years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industries. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a PhD in Pharmacology in 2015. Currently, she is a senior director in Medical Affairs at Relay Therapeutics where she is responsible for building out a Medical Affairs team over the next year.

Laurel Kartchner, PhD (Medical Science Liaison at Natera)
She received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona, and her PhD in immunology at UNC Chapel Hill in the lab of Bruce Cairns and Rob Maile. She worked as a regulatory medical writer at IMPACT Pharmaceutical Services for 3 years before starting as an MSL for Natera in April of 2021.

Ian McDonald, PhD (Consultant at Bain & Co.)
He attended Hood College (Frederick, MD) for undergrad, where hereceived a BA in Biology in 2014. After undergrad, he came to UNC to pursue a PhD in Pharmacology, which he completed in Spring 2020. His thesis research was done in the lab of Lee Graves, and was focused on investigating the role of a poorly understood protein kinase named MELK in cancer cell proliferation. He moved to Atlanta in Fall 2020 to start as a consultant with the management consulting firm Bain & Co., where he has worked for the last year.