An Interview with Dr. Rachel Egger: Pursuing Science in Industry with Curiosity and Courage

Dr. Rachel Egger is a principal scientist at Syngenta. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2016 from Stanford University, where she investigated maize reproductive development. In 2018, she joined Syngenta and has recently been acknowledged as an Inspiring Woman in Plant Science by ASPB (https://blog.aspb.org/25-inspiring-women-in-plant-biology/). Discover more about Dr. Egger in this conversation.

 

Burcu Alptekin: Can you share a bit about yourself? What’s your present role?

Rachel Egger: I’m currently a principal scientist at Syngenta. I was recruited as a senior scientist six years ago to tackle reproductive biology projects hands-on in the lab, given my background in reproductive biology and maize genetics. Since then, my role has expanded a couple of times. Initially, I transitioned to leading a small team of five scientists, concentrating on a specific research topic. Now, I’m overseeing a program that encompasses all technology projects involving plant physiology, reproductive biology, seed production, and novel breeding techniques. I’m presently supervising twelve different projects, and am accountable for making strategic decisions, conducting quality research, and devising appropriate experiments with the technical teams. It’s a little like being a PI in academia, but the scope of research is much more diverse than what a lab would typically cover in an academic environment.

 

Burcu: Twelve projects is quite a load. Do you choose these projects, or does the company assign them to you?

Rachel: It’s a combination of both. As the program lead, I’m constantly scouting for new technologies to develop. Most of the innovations we produce are utilized within the company. One avenue to bring new projects forward is through discussions with colleagues within the organization. These conversations can ignite new ideas to make our processes swifter, more economical, and more efficient. Sometimes, it can also stem from the top down. The business might pinpoint a new focus area, and we’ll begin introducing new technologies to those domains where the company believes it’s crucial to invest. So, it can flow either way.

 

Burcu: How similar are these twelve projects to each other, and what kind of expertise do they require?

Rachel: All twelve projects are distinct from each other, so a wide range of expertise is demanded of me, everything from molecular biology and tissue culture, to breeding and beyond. I’m deeply familiar with the background of some of the projects, while others lie outside my core expertise. Each one has a project lead and a technical team who keeps me updated on their progress. For projects that aren’t in my wheelhouse, it’s vital to choose the right people to spearhead them because I need to trust their judgment. I rely on colleagues with different areas of proficiency to help me make good decisions and interpret the science in areas that are beyond my background.

 

Burcu: It sounds like there’s a great deal of collaboration involved.

Rachel: Absolutely. That’s the biggest difference between academia and industry. It’s very rare here for individuals to work on a project solo. In the corporate world, a project usually needs a minimum of 2-3 people, if not 5-15. So, teamwork is a fundamental component of what we do. For each phase of an individual project, there’s an expert at the company who manages that specific aspect. You don’t need to be a master of every skill, but you do need to communicate upfront with people about who will oversee what part of the process. As a result, we may end up having more meetings in industry than in academia. But if the initial communication is effective, we accomplish tasks efficiently on the first attempt and at scales that you would not be able to achieve as a single scientist alone.

 

Burcu: How did you become interested in plant science? What does your career path look like?

Rachel: I completed my undergraduate degree at UW-Madison in Biochemistry. I then pursued graduate studies at Stanford University and worked in Dr. Ginny Walbot’s lab examining maize reproductive development. After my Ph.D., I took a break from science, but I eventually circled back and had a brief postdoc at the Danforth Center for Plant Science in St. Louis with Dr. Blake Meyers. I was there less than a year before I moved for my position at Syngenta.

As an undergrad in Biochemistry, most of my peers were planning to apply to medical school. But I had little interest in human biology and didn’t want to pursue that path. As a freshman, I sought out labs to gain research experience. My options in the Biochemistry department were single-cell organisms, mice, or two plant labs. Multicellular organisms piqued my interest, and I didn’t want to perform mouse necropsies or anything involving blood. I ended up joining Rick Amasino’s lab, focusing on flowering time mutant analysis for 3.5 years. After that, I was hooked, and I applied to plant biology programs and programs that featured plant biology labs when I decided to go to grad school.

 

Burcu: How did you establish a career in industry? Did you encounter any obstacles finding your first job in the corporate world?

Rachel: I entered grad school believing I wanted to be a professor. In my second or third year, I realized I was one of those students who always had 2-3 projects running concurrently, plus 2-3 side projects, and I was still getting excited about my classmates’ work. I was not good at picking one thing and sticking to it, nor did I find it stimulating to do so. Working on several different topics at once was more fun! When something wasn’t progressing on one project, instead of doubling-down, I wanted to switch to one of my others. As I discovered this about myself, I began to question if academia was the right fit for me and wondered if industry might be more suitable.

Furthermore, my spouse is also a plant biologist, and securing long-term positions for both of us in the same location was another consideration. I didn’t have confidence that we’d both secure academic careers in a place we wanted to live.

At the conclusion of my Ph.D., I was burned out, so I took two years off and did some other things, some related to science and some not. When I began my postdoc, I knew I wanted to be a scientist but was not committed to an academic setting. And during that time, a friend employed at Syngenta informed me about an opening in reproductive biology, which is the role into which I was hired. It was perfect timing. I had just begun searching for industry jobs when this opportunity arose. Now, I’m supposed to be working on 12 projects, and I love it. For me, it was about recognizing what aligns best with my personality and not fighting to fit myself into one definition of what a scientist looks like.

 

Burcu: That’s fantastic. I wasn’t aware you could actively work on so many different projects in industry.

Rachel: In the most reductionist view, there are two types of scientists in industry. There are what we call “pipeline jobs,” where researchers are core experts in one specific subject. For instance, you might be a plant transformation scientist working across different projects performing tissue culture. These positions are more predictable in terms of what each day and week entails. You’re delivering to projects that require your expertise, and you’re essential to the high-level of quality that we expect from our teams. No one is better at their jobs than these experts are.

The other category of scientist in industry is more discovery-oriented, and their main task is to invent new technology. This is my current focus. Discovery is fast paced; we initiate many projects but may discontinue them within 6-12 months if we believe they won’t yield results. So, if you’re a discovery scientist, what you’re working on when you’re hired versus two years later might be vastly different. In those two years, we’ll either complete a project, deliver the technology, or decide to stop or try a different approach.

In practice of course, not all our scientists fit neatly into the pipeline or discovery boxes, there is a lot of cross-pollination. So, when I review applicants’ CVs or resumes for hiring, I look for a demonstrated capacity to learn new things because I know that’ll be crucial for the long term. I also examine whether they’ve collaborated on a team. I’m less concerned with specific lab skills or which crops they’ve studied, and more interested in whether they’ve made pivots in their career, acquired new skills, and how they’ve worked with others along the way.

 

Burcu: Was it challenging to get your first job?

Rachel: Yes, landing your first job is incredibly difficult because what differentiates you from people who already have industry jobs is the industry experience itself. The corporate and academic settings differ in how they approach science, and not everyone from academia adapts smoothly. So, industry experience is highly valued. We know that someone who has worked in industry won’t be surprised by how we conduct science here. For someone who’s only worked in academia, it’s harder to predict how they’ll react to the pace and structure.

If you lack industry experience, people may inquire, “Why do you want to work in industry? Are you familiar with what industry is like?” And truthfully, you don’t really know because you don’t have that experience.

When I was applying for postdocs, I also applied to industry jobs. It was straightforward for me to find a postdoc, but I didn’t secure an industry position until I knew someone on the inside, and that’s unfortunately a common experience. That networking aspect was key to obtaining my job at Syngenta, and connections and networking are incredibly important for landing a position in industry for most people.

That said, the connections don’t necessarily need to be deep or long-standing. It could be someone you encountered at a conference or had an informational interview with on LinkedIn. Most scientists in industry are open to conducting informational interviews where you chat with someone on the phone for about 20 minutes about who they are and what they do in their industry role. It’s surprisingly crucial to establish connections at the place you want to work, as it can be beneficial in the hiring process. In a way, informational interviews also demonstrate that the person who applied for the job is genuinely interested, as they invested time to learn more about a job listing or a specific team.

Candidates can apply to 100 jobs, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as someone involved in the hiring process, I’m more enthusiastic about candidates if this is one of their top preferences. If they took the time to reach out to someone in the company for a specific job listing, they’re excited to join Syngenta. And when you want to be here and feel like you’re an important part of the team, you’re likely to thrive here.

 

Burcu: Thank you, this is all very enlightening. Who is Rachel Egger outside of the job? What do you enjoy doing in your leisure time? What does work-life balance look like in industry?

Rachel: I’m married to another plant biologist, so we maintain a large garden in the summer where we do a lot of canning, pickling, and cooking. Our home is filled with houseplants. I’m outdoorsy and do a lot of hiking. During the two-year gap after my Ph.D., I spent five months backpacking on the Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast. I’m a runner, and I lift weights, so I spend considerable time at the gym. I have a very energetic dog who has completed two marathons and trekked over 1,000 miles backpacking with us. And I’m always looking for something new to try, I recently joined my local curling club and have taken up blacksmithing.

The work-life balance in industry is different from academia. For me, it’s a better fit. It’s a core part of our company culture that you have a life outside of work. It’s emphasized and valued, and being at work 24/7 is not the norm. I have far more time to focus on other aspects of my life than I did during my academic years. Part of this is due to the team structure in the company. If I’m away from the office, someone else can temporarily manage most of my responsibilities.

How work-life balance manifests also depends on which team you’re in. If you’re on a pipeline team, you have a more predictable schedule. Discovery teams are less likely to adhere to a standard Monday to Friday, 9-to-5 schedule due to the nature of the work. For me, because part of our team is in China, I sometimes have meetings early in the morning or late in the evening. My schedule is flexible and adapts to both my needs and the needs of the science my team is working on at that moment.

 

Burcu: What hurdles did you face in your scientific journey? And what guidance do you have for the next generation, particularly for early career researchers?

Rachel: Adapting to industry requires a bit of a mindset shift, and that was an adjustment I needed to make quickly when I was hired at Syngenta. Coming from a two-year break, doing a postdoc, and then transitioning to Syngenta, was a series of changes in how I perceive science and approach work. Developing flexibility and being willing to take risks, telling myself, “You don’t know how to do this now, but you’ll figure it out on the other side.,” was a new challenge for me.

My advice would be to contemplate how to incorporate these opportunities into your educational path. Where are you going to try new things? Where are you going to interact with new people and learn from them? As Ph.D. students and postdocs, we often want to handle everything ourselves and know how to do it all, but we won’t have this luxury forever. We’ll reach a point in our careers where we need to trust others to know what they’re doing. It’s a good idea to start making that pivot earlier in your career and learn how to determine which people to trust and who will be good partners to collaborate with. It’s a crucial step on your career path for both industry and academic scientists. So, don’t just do everything solo; figure out how to allow the people around you to assist you, enrich what you’re doing, and help you acquire new skills – then put those skills on your resume!

For those who aspire to work in industry, industry internships are genuine opportunities, and they’re something you can pursue during your Ph.D. or postdoc. If you want to work in industry, try to carve out a 3-6 month window from your thesis project and apply for an industry internship. It can be an incredibly valuable experience.

 

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About the Author

Burcu Alptekin is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her research aims to improve the abiotic stress tolerance of modern-day crops through omics, molecular genetics, and beneficial plant-microbe interactions. As a first-generation, international woman scientist, Burcu is committed to increasing the representation of women in plant science. She is an early career representative at the Women in Plant Science Committee of ASPB. You can find her on X: @burcuplants.