#108: Adriana Bankston Story

PhD Career Stories

In this new episode, Adriana Bankston tells us about her career story. Adriana is a Principal Legislative Analyst at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations in Washington, DC, where she serves as an advocate for the university with Congress, the administration and federal agencies.

Adriana grew up in a family of scientists, which made her interested in pursuing a research career. She earned her PhD in Biochemistry from Emory University and later on she managed to transition into science policy through a number of volunteering opportunities. While exploring the several options, she became interested in academic training and the connection between science and society and got involved in organizations that work on training the next generation of scientists. Along the way, she held some leadership positions where she built her brand in science policy coupled to training activities and got involved with non-profits that advocate for early career trainees. This has opened a new avenue to her to connect federal policy to university research and training the next generation of scientists. And made her realize that it is a path for her!

Finally, Adriana shares key skills and qualifications that one needs in science policy:

• Be used to fast-paced environments.
• Prioritize projects and be able to shift from one to another.
• Look at how you might be able to impact policy in real time by responding to agency requests for information or contributing to legislation.

Interested in policy and science? Listen to this episode to get insights into policy roles and skills for a career path in science policy. Maybe it will also be a path for you? Enjoy listening! The interviewed author expressed their personal views and not the views of their employer.

For show transcript click here: https://phdcareerstories.com/pub/z2hfd5ou

PhD Career Stories is now on major social media channels. To receive more content regularly, follow us on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and on our Website.