Two Paths to a PhD: A Q&A with Josie Krepps, Food Science PhD Student

How we chose our graduate programs, advice for prospective students, and what makes us passionate about research!

If you ask a group of 100 PhD students why they joined their programs, you’ll get a ton of different answers. For some, they choose to do so for career prospects, because they love science, or because they enjoy mentoring and teaching. Since a Q&A with 100 PhD students would be an extremely long post, in this post, I’m sharing the insights of Josie Krepps, a Food Science Student at Penn State, with an extremely interesting path to a PhD. Read below to learn all about both our reasoning for joining our programs and how we got there!

Describe what kind of graduate program you are in/ which school

Josie: I’m a second-year PhD student in Food Science at Penn State. I also have a graduate minor in Biotechnology.

Bella: I am a first-year PhD student in biomedical sciences at NYU Grossman School of Medicine!

What led you to this kind of program?

Josie: In my undergraduate program, I had five different research experiences. While not every project was exactly the subject I wanted to be studying, I really enjoyed collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Food science is an inherently interdisciplinary area with lots of applications-focused projects, which I felt were important for me when choosing a graduate program.

Bella: I always had an affinity towards biology, but like Josie, I had a few different research projects, all in different subsets of biology. My undergraduate research in evodevo was my first exposure to interdisciplinary work. It wasn’t until my time as a Research Assistant that I was exposed to more translational research. I chose to study biomedical sciences, and specifically a program at a medical school, so that I can explore my interest in developmental biology, while also having the ability to ask questions about health and disease.

Describe your research area. Why did you choose to pursue this?

Josie: I have always been fascinated with how food creates such strong social connections. At the same time, I am very passionate about working on challenges related to food security in high-risk scenarios like space travel, military operations, and public health crises. These two interests have landed me in alternative proteins, which are food technology alternatives to conventional animal protein sources. I specifically work on cell-cultivated or cultured meat, which is producing meat from cells grown outside of a living animal. This is a very, very new research area (<15 years), so the research community is quite small, and there are many interesting questions to pursue.

Bella: I find that I love seeing biology with my own eyes under the microscope, and being able to identify patterns and morphological changes has always been so exciting to me, so I have been gravitating towards rotation labs that have a strong focus on techniques like microscopy, immunofluorescence, and In Situ Hybridization. Unlike Josie, I am still rotating in labs, so I have not defined my research area yet. Broadly, I am interested in developmental biology and how our tissues pattern themselves. Beyond this, I am interested in how the dysregulation of early development can lead to pathologies later on in life.

What about research is particularly exciting and enjoyable to you (mentorship, conferences, etc.)

Josie: I feel most excited by the last step of the scientific process, which is communicating your research to different audiences. This includes publishing, presenting at conferences, outreach activities, and Substack! Our biggest obligation as scientists is to report what we have contributed to the ever-growing set of knowledge. I also love that research requires you to wear a lot of hats; experiment design, data analysis, and scientific writing all require different but complementary skills, which I find very stimulating.

Bella: I completely agree with Josie! I love communicating my science to others and feel a strong obligation to do so in a way that is accessible. I am also so passionate about mentoring younger scientists. As a former high school and undergraduate researcher, I have had the opportunity to have amazing mentors, who are also still some of my closest friends. I’ve really enjoyed getting to mentor students virtually, as well as in my own labs, whether it be by helping students apply for summer programs or teaching them various protocols in the lab.

What advice do you have for young researchers?

Josie: We give this advice too often, but networking is critical. More specifically, networking at different scales. I think about this as a series of concentric circles. I started within my department at Penn State, then the College of Agricultural Sciences and other disciplines, then at conferences, then my LinkedIn network, and then my Substack. Communicating what you are actively working on with other people can open so many doors. Maybe one of these connections can refer you to a funding opportunity, collaborator, or a job opening. If you’re an undergraduate or a high school student, you can start by emailing someone who does something you’re interested in and asking for an informal 30 minute chat to learn more about the topic or the job. Do this with as many people as you can, especially in college.

Bella: One piece of advice I have is to never be afraid of making mistakes. When I’ve mentored younger students, this is always a concern they bring to me. I simply tell them that making a mistake, identifying where you went wrong, troubleshooting if needed, and then trying again is simply part of the scientific process. In reality, it’s more likely that you’ll have to repeat an experiment two, three, or four times than get it perfect on the first try. However, I always stress that if you do make a mistake and something goes wrong, to be honest and tell someone. You won’t get in trouble for making a genuine mistake, but leaving it unaddressed may be harmful to your own project, or the work of your labmates.

Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Hi, I’m Isabella!

I’m a Ph.D. student passionate about science communication and mentoring younger scientists. I post on My Ph.Diary. on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, sharing my lab experiences, advice on navigating research, and any biological topics that pique my curiosity. Subscribe below to stay updated!

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