Typically, graduate students spend years earning a Ph.D. and then spend years conducting research and teaching college students. Ana Fiallos, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience, carved out her own path and now helps Ph.D. candidates in the Miller School do the same. 

Dr. Fiallos is the school’s director of career services, a job she came to circuitously after graduating from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2002. “After earning my Ph.D., I realized the traditional academic path wasn’t where I could make my greatest impact. So, instead of following a road map that didn’t fit, I built one that did,” she said. 

Her journey began at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience in Jupiter, an affiliate of a German-based neuroscience research organization. But instead of research, Fiallos engaged in community outreach at schools, science fairs and other venues, advocating for Planck’s mission. “I loved it,” she said, “because it was at the intersection of science, communication and education.” 

So, when the Miller School created Dr. Fiallos’ current position in 2021, she was a perfect fit. Specifically, she makes students in the school’s master’s and Ph.D. programs aware of various career options, in academia as well as the private sector. “With a doctoral degree in a biomedical discipline, the world is your oyster,” Dr. Fiallos said. “You can do science policy, you can do research in industry, you can be an academic, you can be a science communicator.” 

Dr. Fiallos has helped develop a database that backs up her assertion. In collaboration with faculty, she’s customized an existing software application, REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), a platform traditionally used for clinical and translational research. The adapted system follows her Miller School doctoral cohorts’ employment, publications, grants and other activities annually, from graduation and throughout their careers. “I’m able to quantify how many are in academics or in other fields,” she said. “The numbers say that a majority pursue careers in industry.” 

Dr. Fiallos has reinvented another educational rite not typically associated with Ph.D. and master’s candidates — internships — as a way to provide Miller School trainees with real-life experience in the business world. “I reach out to national and local companies to build a pipeline from our students to them,” she said. The program comprises nearly a dozen companies, including Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. “The majority of interns end up receiving a job offer,” she added. 

Dr. Fiallos also taps into the school’s Ph.D. alumni. “They’re eager to come back and talk to students about their own career paths, share tips and connect [students] to opportunities,” she said. 

As she designs these career-development resources, Dr. Fiallos always keeps the students’ best interests top of mind. “That’s what drives me,” she said. “At the end of the day, this work is about service. I’m here to open doors, expand possibilities and help students define success on their own terms.”