12. Mickael Dang - Transitions: Medicine to Engineering, France to Canada, and Research to Entrepreneurship

Mickael Dang (Current PhD Candidate in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto) set an expansive tone for the conversation when he told us "I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I tried everything." We talk about his transition from medical school to research and biomedical sciences, trying out law school, eventually stumbling upon biomedical and bioengineering at Harvard Medical School with Prof. Jeff Karp, which led him to completing his PhD here in Toronto under Prof. Molly Shoichet, and building his own PCR testing startup. We also talk about the challenges of being an international student (also, some cultural differences/shocks), why completing a PhD is a lot like being an entrepreneur, work-life balance, and how he has explored making difficult tradeoffs between personal interests and job/financial security at pivotal points of his career.