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 Career Spotlights
Meet Dawn O’Neal ’10
Ph.D. in Ecology and a certificate in Animal Behavior Major
Career Field: Business owner
An alumni of Ellen Ketterson's lab, Dawn studied the impacts of climate change on migratory behavior and immune function in the dark-eyed junco and then went on to do a postdoc studying immune response variation to gut parasites and TB in pregnant African buffalo before moving to the world of conservation. She has previously worked at the National Audubon Society as Vice President of the Audubon Delta region. In Nov. 2024, Dawn left the world of conservation to start her own business, Second Sun Distilling, LLC which dropped its first offering in its American Whiskey Portfolio under the brand name New Dawn Distilling. As founder and CEO of Second Sun Distilling, LLC, Dawn's mission is to blend excellence in craft distilling with a deep commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
Meet Blake Petersen ’22
Ph.D. in Microbiology with a minor in Genetics
Career Field: Academic
Blake graduated from IU with a Ph.D. in Microbiology in 2022, studying regulation of quorum sensing and bacterial motility in Dr. Julia van Kessel’s laboratory. During his time at IU, Blake found a passion for teaching and mentoring students, both in the classroom and in the research lab. He is now an Assistant Professor of Biology at Baldwin Wallace University, a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) near Cleveland, Ohio. Blake uses his education and graduate training to teach various biology courses including microbiology (for bio majors and nursing students), cellular and molecular biology, and more. One of his favorite parts of his job is working with undergraduates on independent student-driven research projects, ranging from bacterial infections in brine shrimp to rainbow-colored bacteria genetically tagged with chromoproteins. The day-to-day at a PUI is very different from IU, but Blake feels empowered by his personal connections with his students and colleagues and the ability to make a positive and tangible impact on his community.
Meet David Civitello '13
Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Career Field: Academic
David graduated from IU with a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior in 2013. He is an alumnus of Spencer Hall’s laboratory where he focused on environmental factors that influenced the size of fungal disease outbreaks in Daphnia by influencing the traits of hosts and parasites. Now, David is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department and Director of the Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution Ph.D. program at Emory University. David’s lab continues to study the environmental factors and species interactions that influence disease spread, and members of his lab work on many infectious disease systems, such as frogs and chytridiomycosis, Guinea worm, and human schistosomes. Having an awesome mentor and community as a graduate student motivates David every day to do the best for trainees in his lab and program.
Meet Luke Baker '18
Ph.D. in Genomics, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Career Field: Manager / CER Specialist at GLOBAL Regulatory Writing and Consulting
Luke graduated from IU with a Ph.D. in Genomics, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in 2018. He is a proud alumnus of Justin Kumar's laboratory. During his time at IU, Luke focused on identifying additional roles of the Drosophila PAX6 homolog eyeless. Now, he is a team manager at Global Regulatory Writing and Consulting where he works closely with a team of writers to provide superior technical writing services to medical device manufacturers. He and his team work with manufacturers to ensure their medical devices are safe and effective and remain on the market for use by healthcare providers and patients. In his day-to-day responsibilities, Luke uses many of the skills he developed while he was a student at IU including project management, data analysis, and technical writing.
Meet Maureen Onyeziri ‘21
Ph.D. in Microbiology with a minor in Genetics
Career Field: Biotechnology Talent Development
With a Ph.D. in Microbiology from IU Bloomington, Maureen began her industry career as a research scientist at Corteva Agriscience – first supporting herbicide tolerance gene discovery efforts, then leading early-stage crop genome engineering projects. While in the lab, she passionately pursued her interest in people and organizational development. In late 2023, she transitioned to lead talent development for Biotechnology R&D at Corteva. In this role, she collaborates across the organization to develop and execute talent recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and retention strategies to support the over 700 scientists and employees in Biotechnology R&D at Corteva. While at IU Bloomington, her grad school training in scientific research and transferrable skills such as critical thinking, project management, data analysis, and communication, as well as her outreach/extra-curricular activities were crucial in preparing her for her different roles at Corteva and will continue to be beneficial as she advances in her career.
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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