Every year, hundreds of graduate students across the nation apply for the prestigious Scientist Mentoring and Diversity Program (SMDP), a one-year initiative program that pairs graduate students and early-career researchers with industry mentors. The program offers a week-long training session at a major industry conference, personalized career coaching, and networking opportunities to help participants develop skills for careers in these fields. SMDP is a highly effective and impactful program that has helped countless scholars transition seamlessly into industry. This year, GSBS Student, Esteban Castro, was selected as an SMDP Scholar. Esteban was selected alongside his GSBS peers, Ishana Syed, Shahad Abdulsahib, and Francine Nihozeko-Haswell.

Esteban, a fourth-year Integrated Biomedical Sciences Student in the Molecular Immunology & Microbiology (MIM) Discipline, learned about the program from previous GSBS participants. Hearing about former scholars’ experiences at a GSBS SMDP Student Panel last year sparked his interest in the program. The chance to receive one-on-one industry mentoring, connect with a network of industry scientists, visit top biotech research sites, meet executives from companies like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, and attend the BIO International Convention in Boston sounded like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With his long-term goal of working in research and development in the biotechnology industry, SMDP seemed like the perfect fit.

As an SMDP Scholar, Esteban attended this year’s BIO International, where he found inspiration at every turn surrounded by graduate students from a variety of backgrounds and accomplished leaders in biotechnology. “The sense of community from my fellow cohort members was inspiring, and the empowerment from our various cultural backgrounds was immense as everyone’s unique story came together under a SMDP family. It made me proud to be who I am, a first-generation Latino American in STEM from immigrant parents,” Esteban explains. For Esteban, BIO International was impactful personally and professionally as he listened to industry leaders share their stories, perspectives, and insights into their career journey. They shared advice for young scientists on what it took to get there and reflected on the importance of understanding the current trends in the biotech industry.

As an SMDP Scholar among a talented cohort of graduate students and distinguished industry scientists, Esteban embraced every opportunity to participate fully in the conference sessions and discussions. Esteban attended talks and sessions ranging from leaders of biotech incubators in Boston talking industry trends to networking sessions with executive-level biotech professionals, including medical science liaisons, business leaders, and scientists.

One of the major benefits of the program is the year-long mentorship the SMDP Scholars receive. Scholars are paired with industry mentors from top companies in the biotech, medtech, and consumer healthcare fields. Esteban’s SMDP Mentor is Dr. Sheng Gao, an executive director from the Department of Rheumatology/Autoantibody/MFI translational science at Johnson and Johnson. Through the SMDP program, Esteban received a personalized mentoring plan, including specific goals and action items designed to prepare him for his future career. In their mentoring sessions, Dr. Gao offers Esteban guidance on how to navigate and grow within the biotech industry.

For Esteban, the SMDP program reinforced his belief that he can succeed in biotech as a Latino scientist. “The BIO International Convention was full of knowledge, but also stories of perseverance and success from people of diverse backgrounds,” he said. “It magnified my hope that I too can succeed in this industry.”

Outside of the SMDP Program, Esteban recently presented at the American Society for Virology meeting in Montreal and has been spending long hours in the lab, where he is focused is on understanding the mechanisms of superinfection exclusion in SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. He is also developing a recombinant bireporter MPOX virus to aid in the discovery of new drug treatments.

Esteban is also heavily involved in Nucleate San Antonio and served as a Video Producer for Demo Day this past May. In his free time, Esteba enjoys making music, DJing, singing, and discovering music. Esteban is also an avid rock climber. Rock climbing, he admits, “has become an addiction,” as it is a way to challenge himself physically while recharging away from the lab and from the demands of research.

Esteban credits the SMDP Program for making him a more versatile scientist. As he continues his graduate or academic journey, he is eager to learn about what it takes to be an Executive Director in the Research and Development sector, exploring his career options, and preparing himself for employment after graduation.