Jourdan Parent, PhD'24, Psychology
R&D Research Associate, CND Life Sciences
February 24, 2026
Can you describe your career path and how it has led to your current work?
I received my bachelor's degree in 2019 from Boston University in Neuroscience. During my time at BU, I had several different research experiences, including a pharmaceutical industry internship, where I studied neurological diseases and their pathology. This led me to pursue my PhD at Brandeis in Psychology where I used clinical neuroimaging to study age-related changes in neurotransmitter systems in the brain. After graduating from Brandeis, I completed a short post-doctoral opportunity at Massachusetts General Hospital, where I continued my training in clinical neuroimaging and developed skills in clinical data analytics and management. Ultimately, my training led me to my current position as an R&D Research Associate at CND Life Sciences, where I conduct data analysis and create science communication materials for the advancement of neurodiagnostic tools for Parkinson's disease clinical research.
What does a typical day/week look like for you in this position?
A typical day will usually include dedicated time for making progress on abstracts, posters, and symposium presentations for upcoming conference deadlines and for working on manuscripts to meet publication goals. A typical week will include a few meetings with my supervisor to discuss progress on these items and new deliverables. I also occasionally have meetings with the clinical operations team to discuss progress and delays on clinical studies, the strategy team to discuss R&D and Marketing strategies for upcoming conferences, and the data team to align on data programs.
What skills from your Brandeis degree have you found most valuable in your current work?
Science communication and R programming skills have been very useful in my current role. I construct many conference posters and abstracts, so having the skills to clearly communicate the take-home message and generate figures that are clear and concise has been huge. I also use R for all of my statistical testing, plot generation, and data manipulation, so that has been a very valuable skill to have learned and brought with me from Brandeis.
What advice do you have for current students as they embark on their career exploration or job search?
Don't be afraid to explore opportunities outside of your comfort zone. Career paths are rarely linear, and being open to the unexpected can lead you to roles or industries you may never have considered—but end up loving.