Our Mission
Founded in 2013—before UChicago’s own PhD careers office—the University of Chicago Biotechnology Association (UCBA) provides career education, skill development, job opportunities, and networking to graduate students and postdocs interested in taking their skills beyond the academy.
UCBA is also an active participant in Chicago’s burgeoning biotech ecosystem, benefiting from long-standing relationships with startup accelerators, local biotech companies, venture capital, the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, and UChicago’s own Polsky Center and Booth School of Business.
Events & Programming
Throughout the academic year, UCBA hosts career panels, site visits, and social events, often in collaboration with myCHOICE/UChicagoGRAD and Gargoyle Consulting Club. For all the latest updates, follow us on LinkedIn!
Leadership
UCBA is an entirely trainee-run organization, mainly consisting of graduate students in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD). Members cover a wide variety of scientific backgrounds, and often bring primary industry experience with them. The Steering Committee regularly recruits new members, so look out for online postings and campus flyers for opportunities to support our mission.
Alumni
Our alumni network has continually grown since our founding, and now includes biotech founders, scientific leaders, business executives, VCs, and consultants from across the industry.