“The many things a science degree becomes”
Abstract
I spent four years studying spider venoms for my PhD in chronic pain — and then did almost none of the things that usually come next. I loved academia and research. But somewhere along the way I figured it isn't the only way. I'll talk about what a science degree can actually become: ventures, product, writing, leadership paths I never planned that only make sense looking backwards. Mostly I want to show you that the training you're doing right now travels further than the lab, and that not knowing your exact next step is actually an exciting and useful place to begin.
Bio
Dr. Lučka Bibič earned her PhD at the University of East Anglia by studying spider venoms to understand chronic pain. Then she built ventures, led product teams, and now works on how AI can move knowledge faster across 3,000 journals so researchers don't wait so long to see their work out in the world. She's been called Spiderwoman, PhD. Mountain ultramarathon runner. TEDx speaker. She has published on leadership in Science magazine, produced podcasts at the University of Cambridge and BBC Radio shows on science communication, and reached over a million people through her platforms. She was selected from scientists worldwide for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and as a CAS Future Leader, and she won the UK National Entrepreneurship Award. She's learned that judgement in the age of AI doesn't come from expertise alone — it comes from people who integrate their contradictions: the scientist and the storyteller, the analyst and the intuitive, the specialist and the leader. That mix is what she writes about and speaks on.