Proactive Worldwide’s Travis Smith, Ph.D. Featured on Vanderbilt University’s Beyond the Lab Podcast


In this podcast, Smith spoke about the history of his career and how he moved forward with a successful career in research and consulting.

The Beyond the Lab Podcast is an interview series initiated by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s ASPIRE Program. Its episodes feature interviews from alumni who have jobs in the biomedical field — and in these interviews, the alumni discuss the different facets, challenges and advantages of their careers. In the consulting podcast, Smith was interviewed by Vanderbilt’s Assistant Director of the Office of Career Development Kate Stuart, who asked him a variety of career-related questions.

A Brief Overview of the Topics Covered in the Podcast

Topics in the interview ranged from Smith’s path that led him to Proactive Worldwide and the qualities he and his team look for in a job candidate to how his Ph.D. prepared him for his current position.

“There is no typical day,” Smith said as he explained the many layers of his job and the jobs of the people on his team. He went on to discuss the complex schedules of the people of Proactive Worldwide and how they can vary from day to day, as well as the importance of having certain skills in the company and much more. The 20-minute interview gave listeners a brief but detailed look into the world of a research consultant.

The Beyond the Lab Podcast was an opportunity for Smith to educate and inform some of Vanderbilt University’s graduate students in the biomedical area of study while also discussing the diversity of careers within the field. He is one of ten alumni from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who now works as part of the Proactive Worldwide team.

Smith started attending Vanderbilt University back in 2000 and graduated in 2006 with his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology. He has been with Proactive Worldwide for over four years, and he has led projects and engagements in many different areas of the healthcare and life science industries. Before joining with the company, he worked as an Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton and managed a variety of research and analysis projects with multiple organizations across the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.

About Proactive Worldwide

Proactive Worldwide is a competitive intelligence (CI) agency that has been working with clients since 1995. As seasoned professionals in the world of marketing, research and strategic planning, we serve businesses all over the globe in industries such as pharmaceuticals, technology, consumer goods, financial services and more. Our main goal is to help companies improve their business strategies by providing them with the most reliable research and data from competitors and best industry practices. Services offered include competitive assessments, customer insights, transformational business modeling, scenario planning, forecasting and many other evidence-based solutions.

Contact us to find out if our services are right for your business.

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