Research to Careers: Alumni Insights Day

Your PhD is just the beginning—discover what’s possible
Join us for Research to Careers: Alumni Insights Day, a career exploration event for graduate students and postdocs focused on the wide range of career opportunities available with a PhD featuring UW School of Medicine alumni from our biomedical research departments. Through interactive panels, you’ll hear firsthand about careers in academia, industry science, biotech roles beyond the bench, and scientific leadership. The program also includes a keynote address from Nobel Laureate Dr. Mary Brunkow, dedicated networking time with other students and alumni, and a practical workshop focused on building transferable skills.
This event is hosted by the Office of Research and Graduate Education and the UW School of Medicine Alumni Association in partnership with Life Science Washington.
Event Details

This event will be held on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 from 9 am – 5:30 pm at UW Medicine South Lake Union.

Registration will open in mid-April. If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to somevent@uw.edu.

Schedule
  • Bill Mahoney, PhD, Associate Dean, Research Education & Training; Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology; Director, Molecular Medicine & Mechanisms of Disease PhD Program
  • Piper Reynolds, Director for Alumni Affairs, UW School of Medicine
  • Tracie Delgado, PhD, Professor, Seattle Pacific University, Immunology 2014
  • Jenny Kanter, PhD, Research Associate Professor, University of Washington, Pathology 2010
  • Henry Olson, PhD, Tenured Faculty, South Seattle Colleges, Biochemistry 2016
  • Shivani Srivastava, PhD, Assistant Professor of Human Biology, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Immunology 2014
  • Bill Mahoney, PhD, Associate Dean, Research Education & Training; Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology; Director, Molecular Medicine & Mechanisms of Disease PhD Program
  • Arya Bahrami, PhD, Associate Director, Bruker Spatial Biology, Pathology 2014
  • Katie Baker, PhD, Medical Science Liaison, Pathology 2018
  • Amanda Woodward Davis, PhD, Senior Science Writer & Editor, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Immunology 2014
  • Cristina Wittkopp, PhD, Senior Patent Agent, 10X Genomics, Microbiology 2016
  • RSVPs are required if you would like to attend lunch. Please only RSVP if you plan to attend so we avoid food waste.
  • Travis Friesen, PhD, Senior Scientist, Umoja Biopharma, Immunology 2016
  • Jeffrey Vierstra, PhD, Investigator, Alitius Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Genome Sciences 2014

Dr. Mary Brunkow is a Distinguished Investigator in the Hood Lab at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle.

Notably, she is a recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Brunkow was recognized along with Drs. Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for groundbreaking discoveries illuminating the mechanisms of peripheral immune tolerance, including the identification of the FOXP3 gene and regulatory T cells’ central role in preventing autoimmune disease.

Born and raised in Portland, Ore., Brunkow attended St. Mary’s Academy before earning a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. She went on to complete MS and PhD degrees in Molecular Biology at Princeton University, where she trained under Dr. Shirley M. Tilghman. Following her graduate studies, she conducted post-doctoral research at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (now the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute) in Toronto under Dr. Alan Bernstein.

In 1994, Brunkow joined Darwin Molecular Corporation, a pioneering gene-discovery biotechnology start-up in Bothell, Wash., co-founded by ISB’s founding president, Dr. Leroy Hood. At Darwin, she worked alongside mentors and collaborators, including Drs. David Galas, Fred Ramsdell, Steve Ziegler, and John Mulligan. During her tenure, Darwin was acquired by Chiroscience Group PLC (UK) in 1996 and later by Celltech Group PLC (UK) in 1999. Brunkow remained through successive transitions until the Bothell site’s closure in 2003, contributing to landmark discoveries that advanced molecular immunology and paved the way for her later Nobel-recognized work.

Between 2003 and 2005, she combined consulting and contract research roles with completing a certificate in technical and scientific writing, while also focusing on her family life. In 2006, she joined ISB as a Science Writer in Dr. Alan Aderem’s laboratory, helping communicate complex systems biology findings to broader audiences. She later served as Associate Director of Program Management at Trubion Pharmaceuticals (2008-2009) before returning to ISB in 2009 as Program Manager, Genetics, a position she still holds today.

At ISB, Brunkow has been instrumental in coordinating and managing complex, multi-disciplinary projects that integrate human genetics, whole-genome sequencing, and computational biology to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and bipolar disorder. Her work exemplifies ISB’s collaborative approach – connecting data, disciplines, and people to accelerate biomedical discovery and ensure that science serves the greater public good.

  • Javier Castellanos, PhD, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Accipiter Biosciences, Biochemistry 2014
  • Joseph Horsman, PhD, Investor, Madrona; Business Development Consultant, Cobalt Holdings, Biochemistry 2016
  • Merika Koday, PhD, Chief Operating Officer, Kayothera, Microbiology 2016
  • Bill Mahoney, PhD, Associate Dean, Research Education & Training; Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology; Director, Molecular Medicine & Mechanisms of Disease PhD Program
  • Piper Reynolds, Director for Alumni Affairs, UW School of Medicine
  • Please only RSVP if you plan to attend so we avoid food waste.
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