Accomplished scientists connect with doctoral students and postdocs through QB3-Berkeley’s Professionals in Residence (PIR) program: each semester, PIR mentors visit campus for daylong residencies that feature career talks, small group advising, and one-on-one opportunities for mentorship for graduate students and postdocs. These accomplished scientists share their expertise on career exploration and job searching with UC Berkeley’s bioscience trainees, covering a wide range of career paths that utilize advanced scientific training.
2025-2026 PIRs
Bill (William F.) Burkholder, PhD
Director for Scientific Program Management
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub
Bill's Profile & Advice2024-2025 PIRs
Suzanne Baker, PhD
Department Head, Cellular and Tissue Imaging and Computational Senior Scientist
Berkeley Lab
Suzanne's Profile & Advice
Don't miss this unique opportunity for mentorship!
Interested in becoming a PIR? This is what our accomplished scientists are saying about their experience:
- “My day at UC Berkeley as a PIR reminded me once again about the incredible pool of talent at the University. The opportunity to encourage them to consider the industry as a career choice hopefully provided them with a more balanced view of the professional opportunities waiting for them to explore.”
- “This was a great experience…the immediate feedback from the students made it very rewarding.”
- “I like the idea of giving back to Berkeley… If I can participate in this and help even one person, then I think it’s worthwhile and paying back to all those before me who helped me.”
List of Past PIRs
- Natalia Caporale, PhD, Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at UC Davis
- Annie Tsong, PhD, Chief Strategy and Product Officer at Amyris
- Jaime Yassif, PhD, Vice President of Global Biological Policy and Programs at Nuclear Threat Initiative
- Arne Bakker, PhD, Director of Meetings and Community for Science at Chan Zuckerburg Initiative
- Kara Norman Lino, PhD, Director of R&D, Diagnostic Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Bilge Ozaydin, PhD, Director, Strain Discovery and Development group at Pivot Bio
- Andy Hsieh, PhD, Senior research analyst and partner at William Blair & Company, LLC
- Miki Yamamoto, PhD, Vice President and Head Of Regulatory Affairs at Arrivent Biopharma
- Katja Brose, PhD, Science Program Officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
- Elizabeth Alcamo, PhD, COO Seawolf Therapeutics and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Versant Ventures
- Faith M. Dukes, PhD, Director, Office of Government and Community Relations, K-12 STEM Education Programs at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Erin Dueber, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist, Department of Early Discovery Biochemistry at Genentech
- Lydia The, PhD, Partner at McKinsey & Company
- Elise A. Kikis, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of Biology at the University of the South (Sewanee).
- Christine Ring, PhD, JD, General Counsel and Secretary of Nurix
- Timothy Day, PhD, CSO and Co-founder of DNALite Therapeutics.
- Seth Lieblich, PhD, Principal of 8VC.
- Jodi B. Yellin, PhD, Director of Science Policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
- Gary Lee, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Senti Biosciences.
- Tracy Teal, PhD, Executive Director, Dryad.
- Mike Holmes, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Ambys Medicines.
- Rachel Bernstein, PhD, Editor, Science Careers, AAAS.
- Debkishore Mitra, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Lucira Health
- Alan Sachs, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Lenny Teytelman, PhD, CEO and co-founder of protocols.io
- Katie Krolikowski, PhD, Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at Contra Costa College
- Laleh Shayesteh, JD, PhD, Assistant Director of Administration and Senior Licensing Officer with UC Berkeley’s Office of Intellectual Property & Industry Research Alliances (IPIRA)
- Alison Moore, PhD, Chief Technical Officer, Allogene Therapeutics
- Hemai Parthasarathy, PhD, Scientific Director of Breakout Labs (part of the Thiel Foundation) and CSO and Partner in Breakout Ventures
- Veronique Kiermer, PhD, Publisher & Executive Editor, PLOS
For more information about the QB3-Berkeley Professionals in Residence program, contact Rosanne Lurie at rlurie@berkeley.edu.