Ep 65: Finding Your Fit: How to Navigate the Transition from Academia to Industry – The Journey

We Love Science

We continue our conversation with Chynna Broxton, an analytical developmental scientist at Spark Therapeutics on her journey to this point in her career. In the early days of her education Chynna vividly remembers the difficulty she had learning how to read; this setback didn’t deter her from doing well generally in her classes. In high school, however, something clicked in her brain in a way that felt very different compared to the struggles she had previously with reading. It was a big wow moment for Chynna as she effortlessly absorbed mathematical theorems and chemical equations in her high school STEM classes. She had an even bigger wow moment in her undergraduate biochemistry course at Saint Elizabeth University–understanding how molecules and compounds are applied to treat diseases. During the summer of her junior year, Chynna was encouraged by a mentor to attend the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which allowed her to spend time at Syracuse University doing research. Chynna remains thankful to the mentor who encouraged her to apply for this foundational program and opened her eyes to the possibility of becoming a scientist. As she looks back, she had many thoughtful mentors from her early days in middle and high school to managers in the workplace who had faith in her and nurtured her abilities. These countless mentors have helped Chynna to tackle a continual battle with imposter syndrome. She could not believe her acceptance to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, initially, and even more recently had doubts about leading a three-hour workshop. Through the doubts, however, Chynna has really learned to persevere. The best advice she gives for handling imposter syndrome is, “Even if you don’t believe in yourself, you have to listen to the people who invited you there. They invited you there for a reason.” Reflecting back on her career journey, Chynna also realizes that her vision of success has changed over time as she has grown and evolved from the time she was a postdoc and defined by her research project, to now, as an analytical developmental scientist.

Tune into this episode to hear about Chynna’s career journey and:

• What influences from her childhood encouraged her to pursue science, despite difficulties
• How the realization that college professors with Ph.D.’s are also called Dr. opened a door for exploring career options
• The impact of mentors in guiding her career journey
• What does it mean to “make more space for [yourself], make more space for rest, and make more space for reflection”

Also check out her YouTube channel: @ChynnaNicoleplans
Instagram: @planning_phd
and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chynna-broxton/

If you enjoyed this episode, check out one more:

Ep 61: The Love Language of Organic Chemistry - The Journey

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Chapters

1. Ep 65: Finding Your Fit: How to Navigate the Transition from Academia to Industry – The Journey (00:00:00)

2. Did you have a science spark? (00:01:13)

3. How did your career plans evolve during your journey? (00:03:51)

4. When and why did you decide to become a scientist (00:06:51)

5. Did you have any influential mentors during your career journey? (00:08:47)

6. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome (00:11:45)

7. When you visualize your successful self, what does that picture look like? (00:15:18)

8. What advice would you give your younger self? (00:17:40)

9. Life Lights - what brings you joy outside of your work? (00:19:43)

10. Chynna's YouTube Channel (00:22:18)