Explore the stories of our talented graduates who have pursued diverse career paths after completing their advanced degrees in the Department of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington. Discover the range of job opportunities our alums have secured and gain insights into their professional journeys. Interested in learning more? Send your questions to individual alums and get valuable advice to guide your career aspirations.
Alumni: After the Degree
Meet Zoe Dinges ’21
Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
Career Field: Agriculture, Biosciences, Quality Assurance
Zoe is a Food Safety Coordinator and GLP Study Director at Valent BioSciences. She started working at Valent BioSciences in Feb. 2022 as a Quality Control Analyst in entomology and microbiology. In Sept. 2023, she was promoted to her current position. Her degree at IU prepared her for these roles by enhancing her experience with labwork, technical writing, statistical analysis, and literature review.
Meet Hannah Hughes ’22
Ph.D. in Microbiology with a minor in College Pedagogy
Career Field: Bacterial Physiology Research
Hannah is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She researches the plant-growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense, characterizing the intersection of chemotaxis and metabolism in this system. She primarily conducts research, but she also mentors students in the lab.
Meet Kat Munley ’22
Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
Career Field: Academic
Kat is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston. Her career goal is to become a tenure-track faculty member at a R1 institution in either the U.S. or Canada. She is currently in the middle of her first academic job cycle. Kat is happy to answer any questions about finding a postdoc position, applying for academic jobs, or pursuing the tenure-track route in academia in general. She also has a lot of contacts outside of academia (industry, government, conservation, non-profit) and may be able to put you in touch with someone so feel free to reach out!
Meet Sarah Pottinger ’22
Ph.D. in Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology
Career Field: Research
Sarah works as a postdoctoral scientist at the Sainsbury Laboratory. Her research is focused on how plants recognize pathogens through the use of specialized resistance proteins. She is interested in both the identification of new resistance proteins and the investigation of how these proteins work on the cellular and molecular levels.
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