Alumni Stories: Mace (MeiHsin) Cheng

How do you define professional success?

I define professional success as making an impact doing something you enjoy.

How did you decide you wanted to go into this field?

I knew I wanted to join an early-stage startup company throughout my time at Stanford. I leveraged all aspects of my background, including: entrepreneurship from working on different startup projects, especially Stanford’s Ignite and iFARM; science from my PhD research; and business experience gained from working in life sciences strategy consulting.

What advice do you have for current trainees?

The most important advice is to be open-minded and take advantage of Stanford’s awesome resources and connect with the Stanford community. Take the time you have at Stanford to explore different interests — even those you may not expect to like. For example, I went to many BioSci Careers events to learn about the many options available to PhD graduates. I attended networking events so that I could talk directly to alumni and fully understand what their careers are like on a daily basis. At BioSci Careers, the professional staff gave me personalized help writing my resume and preparing for interviews, which is important for everyone, but even more so when one is entering the business world.

For more on opportunities in this job sector, see Biotechnology/Medical Device Research