Learning to Love the Biotech Industry - Academia to Industry with Brent Cezairliyan

More and more, people with advanced degrees in biology are finding that their future lies, not in academia, but in private industry, and more and more, that industry takes the form of biotechnology startups exploring niche approaches, problems, and research areas. Dr. Brent Cezairliyan got his start on the academic career path and found his way to the very different world of private industry, where he is now the Vice President of Biology at Octagon Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And unlike most people who make this switch, it happened to Dr. Cezairliyan rather by accident.

“The switch to industry was really a fortuitous one,” Dr. Cezairliyan explains. “It happened because one of my colleagues during my post-doctoral fellowship decided to start a company and asked me to come aboard shortly after it began. Both of us have an interest in the regulation of metabolism, and he was taking that angle towards developing novel drugs, and I thought it sounded exciting, and it was the easiest job I ever got. So, I’m thrilled to still be on board.” Since then, Octagon Therapeutics has grown to a team of nine devoted to developing new treatments for autoimmune conditions. Working for Octagon has given Dr. Cezairliyan a proper taste of the differences between life as a private researcher versus life as an academic.

In Brent’s view, one of the biggest differences is the funding model. Both scientists and researchers in private startups need to impress funding sources to gain the capital they need to succeed, but in academia, this usually takes the form of importuning grant agencies with written applications. By contrast, in private industry, text-based communication often takes a back seat to formal presentations, short “elevator pitches” during spare moments in conferences when it comes to convincing potential investors. Presentations in academic settings, as a result, are lower-stakes affairs that can focus purely on the science, saving practical applications for others to explore. At the same time, academia often has room for research whose practical applications are far less obvious or close at hand, which has forced Brent to be far more restrained and focused on the near term than he might like to be. “Biological research can get quite abstract, and that’s where I was, and that’s what I was enjoying doing in the academic setting. And part of me still pines for that.” It’s hard to argue with directly helping people with new drugs for autoimmune conditions, however, and Dr. Cezairliyan is happy with his current role.

As private sector becomes a larger and larger employer of people with advanced biology degrees, Dr. Cezairliyan recommends that biology graduate students take that into account when envisioning their career paths. “I think I would encourage everyone to dip their toe in the pool and just to do an internship or spend some substantial amount of time in an industry setting,” Brent explains. “At our company, you know, we often employ young people, bachelor’s level and master’s students, short-term kind of six-month types of stints. They get a pretty good idea what it’s like to work at a small biotech from that kind of experience, and I think it’s something that anyone who is seriously considering a bachelor’s or a post-bachelor’s degree in the sciences should explore.” Biology graduate and undergraduate programs are only beginning to adjust to this new reality, and until they do, students will have to pursue this horizon-broadening themselves. “We have not seen this level of job opportunity in entrepreneurship in the biological sciences ever,” he describes, and this new world will shape the landscape of biotechnology’s future.

For more of Dr. Cezairliyan’s thoughts on academia, private biotech, and the tradeoffs that come with choosing one or the other, have a listen to our podcast.