In this episode of Exiting Academia, I sit down with someone who earned a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and then made the jump into a U.S. FDA Research Fellowship. If you’re in a lab-based PhD or postdoc and you’re wondering whether your skills “count” outside the university, this conversation is meant to make the pathway feel concrete. We talk about what the FDA actually looks for in research fellows, how to translate academic research into mission-driven public service work, and how to position yourself when your experience is highly specialized. I also emphasize a theme that comes up again and again on this channel: you don’t need to abandon your scientific identity to leave academia—you need to learn how to communicate it in the language of the next environment. That means being clear about your impact, your technical strengths, and the kind of problems you want to solve. If you’re considering government research, regulatory science, or adjacent science-policy roles, this episode will help you see how a biomedical PhD can become a credible, competitive profile for the FDA and beyond.