One of the very first graduates of KGI's groundbreaking masters program, Jean Doble ('02) today enjoys a fruitful career as a research director with Amgen, a leader in the biotechnology industry.

After completing her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, where she studied molecular biology and finance, Doble went to work in the financial world for over a year. But she quickly realized she still yearned for a career connected to science.

While searching for PhD programs and applying to graduate schools, she taught AP biology for a year. During this time she learned about KGI's Master of Bioscience program that combines business and science into one professional masters program. With her longing to be on the business side of the bioscience world, Doble decided KGI was the perfect place for her.

After becoming part of KGI's inaugural class of MBS students and graduating in 2002, Doble went on to join Amgen, where today she is a research operations director helping the Chemistry Research and Discovery group with portfolio management, alliance management and operation support.

She reflects fondly on her time at KGI. She saw then the long-term advantages of the MBS program and its hybrid curriculum of business and science. Thanks to the enthusiastic and entrepreneurial spirit of the first class, Doble believes her KGI experience helped shaped her as a businesswoman.

"KGI provided a more applicable training in my personal goals," she says. "It was almost as if it were tailor made for my long term plans."

While at KGI, Doble performed a summer internship at Nanostream. Headquartered in Pasadena, Nanostream provided services to life science companies. Her internship allowed her to conduct a competitive analysis of microfluidic companies. Her second year in the MBS program featured a spot on one of the first Team Masters Projects with Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Doble supports the changes that have been made to KGI since she attended. She always admired the willingness to listen to students and make modifications to the courses. "The faculty really took the input of the student body," she says.

She's also appreciative of the efficiency of getting her MBS, as opposed to the time it would have taken to go through a PhD program. "The KGI program got me to my goals in a reduced time than a traditional PhD," she says. "It gave me the skills and knowledge that I was lacking."

After leaving KGI, Doble and her husband, Marc Doble ('02), both went to work for Amgen. She has now been with Amgen for seven years, working both at the Boston and Thousand Oaks campuses. She served as a project manager in the Project Management and Strategic Operations group before assuming her current position.

She says KGI gave her a foundation, especially in pharmaceutical development, which "helped me leverage my career."

Doble and her husband have stayed connected with KGI, hosting multiple alumni events and actively donating to the school. "We really believe in KGI. We believe in the program," she says. "Especially now in our roles, you can see the impact."

While Doble was one of the first KGI students to become an Amgen employee, the biotech giant has now employed more than two dozen MBS graduates. "You can see the quality of education and the quality of students that come out of KGI," she says. "The school prepares you for the corporate and business world, and we can see that KGI graduates are excelling."

- By Rachelle Fryd

KGI Background

Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree program and its PhD program in Applied Life Sciences. Using team-based learning and real-world projects, KGI's innovative curriculum seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics and business management. KGI also has a robust research program concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.

Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences is dedicated to education and research aimed at translating into practice, for the benefit of society, the power and potential of the life sciences.