Ph.D. Career Stories: The Good, The Messy, and The Pivot
July 16 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Join us for Ph.D. Career Stories: The Good, the Messy, and the Pivot—a virtual conversation series featuring guests who hold doctoral degrees and have pursued diverse careers beyond academia.
In this session, you’ll hear from Dr. Yvonne Masters, Ph.D. (Food Science, Cornell), a food safety & quality leader with nearly two decades of global CPG experience and technical expertise in compliance, auditing, and supplier risk mitigation. Dr. Jenny Valentine, Ph.D. (Chemistry, Yale) is a Senior Principal Scientist at Regeneron, where she leads bioanalytical strategy for oncology programs using both traditional and emerging drug modalities.
What to expect:
- Candid, informal conversation—no slides, just real stories
- Insights on working in industry, biotech, and food safety
- Q&A and advice from experienced Ph.D. professionals
Whether you’re actively exploring careers beyond academia or simply curious about what’s possible, this session offers a unique opportunity to hear from those who’ve charted new paths—with all the complexity, creativity, and learning that comes with it.
Dr. Yvonne Masters, Director of Food Safety and Quality Policy at John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., brings nearly two decades of leadership in food safety across the nut, dairy, and snack food sectors. A Cornell alumna, she has also served as a Senior Microbiologist and Quality Leader, earning recognition through the 2022 IAFP Harold Barnum Industry Award and her company’s 2024 Vision Award. Her academic foundation from the University of Illinois and Cornell continues to inform her impactful work in advancing industry standards.
Dr. Jenny Valentine currently works in the Bioanalytical Sciences Department at Regeneron. In her role, she leads bioanalytical strategy for multiple programs in oncology that utilize both traditional and emerging drug modalities. She has eight years of experience in large molecule bioanalysis, with previous roles focusing on immunogenicity assay development, validation, and sample testing. Jenny earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University in the Matthew DeLisa Laboratory from 2012–2015. She is an active participant in several AAPS working groups.
