Written by Tara Schwetz, Ph.D.
I set foot on the Vanderbilt campus for the first time in 2009. With its brick buildings, southern charm, and impressive reputation, its distinct allure called me to do my postdoc there. I spent 3 years (from late 2009 to late 2012) in Dave Piston’s lab within the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics studying G-protein coupled receptor signaling in the pancreatic islet. Dave has since moved to Washington University in St Louis, and nearly all of my friends have left Nashville, finding career pathways of their own. However, Vanderbilt will always be a special place for me.
I came to Vanderbilt from Florida—where I grew up and went to college (BS in biochemistry from Florida State University) and graduate school (PhD in Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology studying cardiac voltage-gated potassium channel gating at the University of South Florida). I was the first person in my family to go to college, much less get a PhD, and was driven to become a scientist by my interest in how the body works at a molecular level. I was also intrigued and inspired by my family’s history. Type 1 diabetes runs in my family, and I grew up watching my mom monitor her glucose levels and administer insulin injections. I knew that I wanted to contribute to understanding her disease—and that of my aunt, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I specifically chose Dave’s lab because it was an opportunity to do just that.
Nearly immediately, I became involved in the Vanderbilt Postdoc Association—first as an attendee, then as a departmental rep, and finally as the senior co-chair (AKA president). We strove to increase engagement and began pushing for a postdoc database to stay connected with former Vanderbilt postdocs even after leaving.
Before starting my PhD program, I wanted to be a career scientist in industry. I maintained this mindset into the first year of my postdoc. But I was starting to have doubts, and I met a couple other people who were similarly questioning their next steps. So, the three of us, with support from the graduate student/postdoc office, started a seminar series to bring in scientists whose careers led them down routes different from that of an academic or industry scientist. 
This is where I first learned of the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, which brings scientists to DC to share their expertise and learn about science policy. I was hooked. Luckily, I was accepted into the fellowship and started as a AAAS fellow in 2012 at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research.
I spent 13 years in federal public service—mostly at NIH with a roughly 1-year stint at the White House—and spent time at 3 institutes and the NIH Office of the Director. I had the amazing opportunity to build new basic, translational, and clinical research programs (ECHO, Data COUNTS, CARE for Health, NIH Ventures Program, RADx, etc.—an alphabet soup of acronyms), which helped guide national and international efforts to advance scientific discovery. I led many science policy efforts, helping shape the US government’s stance on areas such as the bioeconomy, rigor and reproducibility, AI, and biosafety and biosecurity, and served as a direct conduit with HHS and the White House on issues ranging from pandemic preparedness to women’s health. I even led a working group that resulted in a stipend increase and policy changes for postdocs across the country — something I’m particularly proud of. I managed progressively larger organizations, culminating in being the second in command at NIH.
At the White House, I had the rare opportunity to build an agency from scratch—ARPA-H—designing its mission to be bold in solving health challenges, securing its Congressional authorities, and standing up its initial structure. I also influenced international scientific research through both the international science programs I oversaw at NIH (e.g., DSI-Africa) and as Vice President of the board for the International Human Frontiers Science Program. Many of these activities were passions for me—broadening the participation in research, promoting novel science, increasing efficiency and impact, and supporting early-career scientists.
Now, I’ve embarked on the next step in my career—working in industry. I work for Danaher, a global life sciences and diagnostics company, with a huge footprint across the health and research ecosystem. The company is transforming how it works across its operating companies, and I am leading efforts to build more strategic scientific partnerships with academia, healthcare, and industry (including pharma) to advance diagnostics. It’s been an interesting experience to learn how industry thinks about collaboration and tackling challenges together.
Now, I turn to you—the postdocs at Vanderbilt—to provide some brief words of advice. It boils down to this: trust your gut; it’s never wrong because it’s the right thing for you in the moment. Use that as a guide to say yes.
I look forward to sharing more and meeting you at the postdoc symposium in November!