Ep017 - Rose De Guzman: Making science more accessible through Product Management and Mentoring

Science on Trial [and Error]

What does the position of Product Manager entail? What makes someone who has a good chance of becoming a PI leave academia? How to deal with imposter syndrome during big career transitions?

Our guest is Rose De Guzman - a Filipino-American scientist, currently working as a Product Manager at Evident Scientific. Rose is a passionate advocate for making science more accessible. In her current role, she is dedicated to improving the lives of researchers. Through her mentoring initiatives, she seeks to empower women scientists and help students from historically marginalized backgrounds find their paths.

Rose and Kasia delve into the challenges of exploring diverse career paths, refining academic resumes for non-academic roles, and recount surprising experiences that can help in getting a job. They offer advice on seeking assistance, navigating potential pitfalls, and strategizing the transition process. Rose discusses her own career redirection, revealing what she discovered about herself in the journey beyond academia. In the latter part of the interview, Rose and Kasia bond over their shared experiences as first-generation Ph.D. holders. Finally, Rose shares her deep-seated motivations for giving back - to her family, her community, and society as a whole - while also sharing her big dream aspirations.

Expect laughter, honesty but also tears. Oh and books recommendations (of course). As Rose said: Sometimes it only really takes one person to change your path. Enjoy and welcome Rose de Guzman! -------------

Find Rose on Instagram and LinkedIn

Rose's journey began in the Philippines, where she witnessed first-hand how poverty stifled educational opportunities. Moving to the US at a young age, her family became her bedrock of strength and motivation as she pursued her scientific endeavors. She proudly stands as a first-generation PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University at Albany NY. She also pursued a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Mass General Hospital - Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Rose is the founder of two impactful mentoring initiatives: Women in Neuroscience (IG), dedicated to advancing women in the field through focus groups, webinars, and workshops, and Pathways to Science and Medicine (web), fostering connections between MGH/HMS professionals and Bunker Hill Community College students from underrepresented communities. Furthermore, she actively contributes as a Board Member for Families for Depression Awareness (IG, web)—an organization dedicated to helping families recognize and cope with depression and bipolar disorder, aiming to promote well-being and prevent suicides. She is committed to destigmatizing mental health needs, especially for students.

Rose’s book recommendations: Mommy Brain by Dr. Jodi Pawluski and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

-------------

Follow Science on Trial [and Error] on Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠

If you would like to support the Podcast, you can buy me a coffee here - Thanks :)

Look for Kasia's BookTube channel Reading In-Between ⁠here⁠.

Music and Sound Engineering: Lukasz Kowalski