For graduate students curious about careers beyond academia, a recent lunch in the Guarini Commons offered a chance to hear from someone who has successfully made that transition. Kristen Garner Amanti, GR ’10 MED ’10, shared how her training as a pharmacologist turned life sciences strategy consultant led to a career in life sciences strategy consulting. Amanti is now a partner at ClearView Healthcare Partners and serves on the Guarini School Board of Advisors.
The conversation was part of the Guarini Advisory Board Career Talks, a series that connects Guarini graduate students and postdocs with industry leaders to tackle questions about launching careers, navigating professional pivots, and understanding hiring trends across their fields.
The event touched upon questions many researchers may face during training:
How do you know you’re on the right path?
How do you position yourself to be hired?
How do you determine what kind of career is right for you?
Amanti drew on her own path in life sciences consulting, offering frank insights into the industry and the ways doctoral training can serve as a foundation for careers in the business world.
From bench science to strategy
While in graduate school at Guarini, Amanti said she enjoyed research but realized she wanted a career that involved more collaboration and involvement with people.
With no formal consulting club for graduate students on campus at the time, Amanti took the initiative to connect with students at the Tuck School of Business, joining an informal group to practice case interviews and explore what a career in consulting could look like. That early resourcefulness proved pivotal.
The experience helped her break into life sciences consulting, a field where teams partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to tackle complex questions that sit at the intersection of science and business strategy.
Translating PhD skills
For researchers considering a move into consulting, Amanti offered a clear directive: learn to articulate what you bring to the table.
“You need to tell your impact story,” she said, describing that experiences such as research, mentoring, and leadership can demonstrate analytical thinking and the ability to work as part of a team.
That storytelling matters because the work itself draws on many of the same skills. Amanti described how consulting projects often weave together data analysis, interviews with scientific experts, and strategic recommendations for clients, whether that means helping design clinical trials, evaluating drug safety for specific patient populations, or analyzing pricing and market access.
A difference that Amanti flagged: the pace. While scientific studies can take years, consulting teams may be tasked with answering major strategic questions in just a few weeks.
Finding the right fit
Not all consulting firms are alike, Amanti noted. Larger firms may offer extensive resources and training, but sometimes assign consultants to projects outside their interests. Smaller or more specialized firms, on the other hand, may focus squarely on pharmaceutical and biotechnology strategy.
Amanti encouraged attendees to think carefully about what matters most to them when evaluating potential employers. Culture, collaboration, and the types of projects a firm typically takes on can all shape day-to-day experience. She suggested that prospective consultants may want to consider how projects are staffed (whether analysts are assigned teams or expected to seek out their own work), and whether the firm fosters mentorship and meaningful access to senior leaders.
Regardless of the firm, the work is highly collaborative.
“Consulting is completely team-based,” she said. “Being able to show that you work well with others is extremely important.”
A launching point for many careers
According to Amanti, it’s not uncommon for consultants to use their first few years in the field to explore different projects before moving into roles in biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies that reflect the interests they develop along the way. Others may go on to start companies, pursue business or medical degrees, or work in areas such as patient advocacy.
Amanti noted that the field continues to evolve as new technologies emerge. Artificial intelligence tools can now help streamline tasks like building presentations, but consultants still need to interpret the data, shape the narrative, and answer clients’ questions.
For the Guarini community members in the room, the lunch offered a candid look at how doctoral training can translate into industry careers and how to determine whether consulting might be the right next step.
“At the end of the day, consulting is about solving complex problems,” Amanti said. “That’s exactly what PhDs are trained to do.”
