UAC Career Day 2025: Alumni stories, real talk, and career insights

On May 19, we hosted our very first UAC Career Day, an afternoon packed with inspiration, honest reflections, and practical advice for PhD students exploring life beyond their doctoral degrees.

The event focused on real career paths taken by UAC alumni and collaborators. From the lively discussions and thoughtful questions in the room, one thing was clear: this kind of open, peer-driven career event can be extremely rewarding and inspiring to our younger researchers.

The speakers shared candid reflections on:

• Moving between sectors, such as academia, industry, government, and public health
• Building confidence in your own skill set and training
• The value of curiosity, collaboration, and adaptability
• Finding roles where research has a direct impact on health and policy
• Navigating uncertainty and being open to unexpected opportunities
• The power of networks and mentors throughout one’s career
• The academic field as a career path, where specific merits are essential

Many highlighted how their PhD gave them more than academic knowledge. Skills like critical thinking, data handling, communication, and persistence turned out to be assets across very different job settings.

The speaker lineup included:

• Dr. Christer Malmberg – Chief Scientist at Gradientech and UAC alumnus
• Dr. Gbemisola Allwell-Brown – Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden (PHAS) and UAC alumnus
• Dr. Jenny Jagdmann – Analyst at PHAS and former co-host of our UAC’s podcast.
• Dr. Carl Björvang – Analyst at the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) and UAC alumnus
• Dr. Olof Lindahl – Assistant Professor in Business Studies and member of the UAC Management Team
• Prof. Linus Sandegren – Professor at Uppsala University and member of the UAC Management Team
• Dr. Bengt Mattson – Coordinator of the Swedish Industry Alliance Against AMR, representing LIF – the trade association for the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Sweden

Each speaker offered a unique take on working life after the PhD, from navigating job transitions and finding new purpose, to staying grounded in the “big picture” of AMR.

The mix of experiences, from science communication and policy to diagnostic development, regulatory work, and academia, made for lively discussions and lots of follow-up questions from students.

Across presentations, a few messages kept coming up:

• Your background is valuable, even if it’s not technical. Social scientists, policy experts, and communicators are needed in the AMR field just as much as experimental scientists.
• You won’t have all the answers at the start of your career, but that’s okay. Being a beginner again can be a strength.
• You don’t have to do it alone. Teamwork and cross-disciplinary collaboration are key, and success often comes from knowing who to ask and when.
• Career paths are rarely straight lines. What looks like a plan in hindsight often started with someone saying “yes” to an unexpected opportunity.

We’re proud to have kicked off this new format at UAC and look forward to making career-focused conversations a regular part of our calendar.