Dr. Sadie Antine, PhD

Just over a year ago, Sadie (now Dr. Antine!) was finishing her PhD in Dr. Philip Kranzusch’s lab, where a cryo-EM ‘blob’ she once barely knew how to interpret grew into the foundation of her thesis project. Today, she’s traded bacteria for cancer biology, Boston for the suburbs of Philadelphia, and academia for an industry postdoc. Along the way, she’s learning that the skills you carry out of graduate school, and the career you build with them, aren’t always the ones you expect going in.

We caught up with Sadie about making the jump from Harvard Virology to industry, reminiscing on her memorable moments in the program, and what graduate school looks like once you’re on the other side.

THE POSTDOC: 

Q. You’re walking around Philly, stop at a coffee shop, and run into a current Virology student. They ask, “Wait, what do you actually do now?” What do you tell them?

I’m a postdoc in industry working in cancer research using biochemistry and structural biology. 

When I was interviewing, the head of my department gave me advice that I still think about: when you transition from graduate school to a postdoc, either use the same techniques to study a different topic, or study the same topic using different techniques.

In graduate school, I studied bacteria using structural biology and biochemistry. Now I’m doing cancer research, but I’m using the structural biology and protein skills I learned during my PhD. At the same time, I’ve expanded beyond that- I’m a cell-culture girlie now! I do biophysical assays and work with different modalities that I never thought about before.

Having that foundation where I know, Okay, I can purify a protein. I can set a crystal tray, makes learning everything else much easier. 

Q. How has the kind of science you do changed since graduate school?

Day-to-day, it can actually feel pretty similar. But now that I’m doing cancer research, the work feels more directly applicable to translational medicine and potentially benefiting patients.

Graduate school was much more “mess around and find out” in Philip’s lab; which was great for training! There are absolutely links to innate immunity in the work we did, but it wasn’t necessarily something where you could say, “This could benefit a patient in the near future.”

I think doing that kind of basic research during graduate school was important. You build a solid foundation for understanding how to answer a biological question.

Now, in pharma, I have three years for my postdoc and I’m learning: How do I use the resources available to answer that question as efficiently as possible? Time is money. That’s a very different switch from academia, where sometimes it feels like: no money, lots of time. 

Q. Did you always know you wanted to do an industry postdoc?

When I got to Harvard, I was like, “I’m going to be a professor.” I think that was naïve of me going straight from undergrad to graduate school and not really knowing what else was out there. 

I didn’t necessarily know at first that I wanted an industry postdoc, but I think the biggest thing is to explore what you want to do. Harvard has so many opportunities to explore what exists outside of academia. There’s the biotech club, lectures, career events; go to them. See what other people are doing and start figuring out what you might want your next step to look like.

I also joined the HGWISE Women in Science mentoring program early on and had a mentor who works in biotech. Throughout graduate school, I talked to her about what life outside academia looked like, and she connected me with people working in similar fields.

You also have to just go with the flow: see what’s available, use your connections, go to conferences, and figure out who you might actually want to work with. 

Q. Networking can feel really intimidating as a graduate student. What advice would you give someone who doesn’t even know where to start?

Don’t force it.

If you’re at a conference, you’re a human being- just be sociable. Put yourself in situations where you can meet people and show your best self.

I hated going to biotech fairs where everyone was in blazers and suits going, “Hi, I’m this person…” I physically cannot do that. But going and absorbing information is still important. You’re always going to learn something.

So I would say: don’t force yourself to network in a way that feels unnatural but put yourself in situations where connections can happen naturally. 

THE GRADUATE STUDENT:

Q. Someone hands you a magic remote that lets you replay one moment from graduate school. What are you watching again?

My first-ever Virology retreat.

I started during COVID, so we didn’t have a retreat my first year. My first one was in fall 2022. I hadn’t done biochemistry or structural biology in undergrad, so even though I had learned a lot during my rotation in Philip’s lab, I still really didn’t know what the heck was going on.

I had an initial 3D map of my first cryo-EM structure. It ultimately became my entire thesis project- but at the time, I had no idea what I was looking at. To me, it was a blob.

I put the cryo-EM map up during my flash talk, and suddenly all these trained structural biologists- Steve Harrison, Jonathan Abraham, and others- started firing questions at me.

“How many kilodaltons is your protein?”

“What’s your resolution?”

They were asking because they were genuinely interested, but I had no idea what was going on. To this day, that was probably the most scared I was during graduate school.

Now that I’ve finished a PhD, if I saw that same blob, I’d be like, wow, that’s so cool. So I think it would be fun to relive that moment knowing what I know now. 

Q. If you walked back into your old lab tomorrow, what would feel immediately familiar- and what would you happily never touch again?

Before I even walked into the lab, I think I’d glitch a little. In my current role, every time I enter the lab I need safety glasses, and a lab coat. Walking back into an academic bacterial lab would already feel different.

But I think I’d love the smell of the incubators. The agar, the bacteria- it would be nostalgic. I know most people smell agar and think, Ugh, but I’d be like, Oh, we’re back.

On the other hand, the liters and liters of bacteria they grow in that lab might freak me out now. 

Q. Describe Philip Kranzusch (your old PI) in three words.

Enthusiastic. Extremely organized. Supportive.

There is no one more organized than Philip Kranzusch.

And I don't know how to put the last one into a single word, but he pushes you to become the scientist you want to be. He's not trying to push you toward what he wants you to become. He lets you explore what you want and helps you get there.

I really wouldn't have gotten through graduate school without him. 

Q. You unexpectedly get a completely obligation-free weekend. Where do we find you?

During grad school, you'd probably find me at spin class in the morning. My brain is not okay unless I'm working out; I really need that release.

On Saturdays, I played in a tennis league with some of my best friends from undergrad. We'd play and then go out for dinner afterward.

Otherwise, reading a book, exploring Boston, shopping on Newbury Street. Those were my core activities. That's actually what I miss now! I'm more in the suburbs outside Philly. I have a Main Street and can walk to restaurants and bars, but I can't walk to Newbury Street anymore.

Q. What's something you really miss about being a Virology graduate student?

I miss having the brain space to just sit in lab and think about my project.

As you progress in your career, you get more responsibilities and requirements, whether that's at a pharma company, biotech, or whatever you do next. Having that time where you can just sit with your thoughts in lab is amazing.

I also miss being around friends my age all the time. Go out with your friends. Go out with your lab. Have fun with them.

And I miss not having back pain (laughs).

THE GROWTH:

Q. It’s been about a year since you graduated. If you could visit yourself during your final year at Harvard, what would she be most surprised to learn about where you are now?

At that point in my final year, I knew I was transitioning to an industry postdoc, but I literally did not know how much growth I’d make as a scientist and as a person. I feel like in the past year, I’ve learned so much more biochemistry and structural biology along in the context of industry. I also moved! I was in Boston, and now I’m right outside of Philly. I’m from Massachusetts and had never really left, so I was very scared to jump ship. But moving isn’t that scary. You find friends, you find really good people, you pick up new hobbies.

I think I’d tell myself: gear up for a ride. It’s going to be fine, it’s going to be fun, and being out of grad school is even better!

Q. Looking back, what did the Virology Program- and your mentorship in Philip’s lab- prepare you particularly well for?

From the Virology Program, I think it was learning to think deeply about science and how to answer a biological question. From the beginning, you’re doing journal clubs, virus presentations, the PQE; there was a timeline and an expectation that you learned how to juggle everything.

I did my PQE while taking classes within a pretty short period. That actually resembles the timelines I work under in pharma now.

Philip was also very good about keeping things on track. He’d ask, “When do we want to submit this paper?” and we would establish deadlines rather than saying, “Get it back to me whenever.” From the moment I joined his lab, he also asked, “What do you want to do after this?” He wanted us thinking about that early and would connect us with people who could help. I got out in four years because I had the support to do it.

Philip is also incredibly detail-oriented, and I definitely picked that up from him. I will rip apart a slide now. I learned how to give presentations from him: how to tell a scientific story, make it clear, make the slides beautiful, and hook the audience with why this is interesting. I don't think I'll ever reach his level, but I learned a lot from watching him present.

I also think it’s important to actually meet with your mentor. Your professor is a professor for a reason; they know what they're doing! If something is going wrong, go to them. I had weekly Friday meetings with Philip, and having that regular check-in kept me on track.

That translates to industry, too. There are a lot of meetings because decisions need to be made. 

Q. Fast-forward ten years. What's something you hope you're doing that you aren't doing yet?

You're hitting my internal crisis right now!

I would love to be working in industry somewhere in biologics or structural biology. I think that's the ultimate dream right now.

But I also think I would love being a teaching professor. I TA'd for you guys, and I TA'd throughout undergrad. That sounds amazing to me.

So maybe I'll come back and be a teaching professor someday. Who knows?

A year out from graduate school, Sadie may have traded bacterial cultures and Newbury Street for cancer biology and a life in Philly, but a lot of what she learned at Harvard has followed her: how to think deeply about scientific problems, how to be an efficient scientist, and knowing when to ask for help. Her path since graduation showed us that figuring out what comes next means putting yourself in the right rooms, and as Sadie would tell her graduating-year self – gearing up for the ride.

Rapid Fire:

Technique you'd happily never do again?
RNA extraction and purification.

Technique you secretly find therapeutic?
Setting crystal trays.

Go-to coffee order?
Iced cold brew with oat milk and a pump of coconut, or a blueberry iced matcha.

Favorite scientifically inaccurate virus movie?
None. They scare me!

Current non-science obsession?
Dancing with the Stars. I've always loved it. Tatum and I got really into it during grad school, and now I host watch parties every Tuesday.

Lab meeting snack of choice?
Cake. We used to have cakes for birthdays.

This interview was edited for length and clarity; written by Ankita Chopde (G3).