Julie Fogarty
Ph.D. ’19
Chemical Engineering
Academic advisor: Professor James Swartz
What have you been up to since Stanford?
Since graduating from Stanford in 2019, I have been working as a Research Scientist in the Formulation and Process Development group at Gilead Sciences, Inc. My role involves supporting candidate therapeutic compounds from the Research stage through Commercialization. As such, in two years, I have had the opportunity to contribute to many research and development programs, including some development work on Remdesivir during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Formulation and Process Development marries the academic curiosity and research skills I developed during my PhD with the more traditional process knowledge I gained as an undergraduate in Chemical Engineering. Every day I come to work presents a new intellectual challenge and allows me to learn something new and grow as a scientist.
What’s your fondest memory about your time at Stanford?
My fondest memories about my time at Stanford are centered around the people I met during graduate school. I will always remember the late nights planning and executing Recruitment Weekend, Action Committee Tailgates, Timoshenko Throwdowns, Flag Day parties, football and baseball games, and so much more. One of the greatest assets of the Chemical Engineering Department at Stanford is the people with which we get to surround ourselves.
Can you share any advice with our current students or postdocs?
Be open to new and different opportunities post-graduation. At the beginning of my PhD journey (and honestly toward the end of my PhD journey) I never would have imagined that I would be in my current role. At that point, I was so married to my protein engineering training that I couldn’t see beyond that field. What drew me to Formulation and Process Development was the incredible people and scientists in the department and their data driven approach to pharmaceutical development. Good science happens in many different fields, so look for the people who make doing that science fun every single day. Working with good people makes the tough days bearable and the good days even better.
