Brianna Kim (MS/MBA 2023)

When she was little, Brianna Kim (MS/MBA 2023) fell in love with the hard sciences and expected to eventually go to medical school or earn a PhD. But her plans changed after college.

Kim grew up outside Washington, DC, as the hearing daughter of two deaf parents who had emigrated from Korea. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, Kim went to work for a biotech startup, Ceres Nanosciences. The company makes nanoparticles that improve early and accurate detection for diseases like Lyme disease and tuberculosis.

After several years working in the lab, Kim began to wonder if she was in the right role. Then COVID hit, and demand for the company’s products surged. “My CEO asked if I could step away from the bench into a business operations role, because we were scaling up so dramatically,” she explains.

She loved being on the business side of the house. “I found I enjoyed the work far more than sitting in a lab by myself all day. I loved engaging with different people and parties, both internally and externally,” she says.

Kim had no previous exposure to business. Both her parents work in education, and she’d never taken a business class. “I didn’t know how to speak the language.” So she decided that business school was her next step.

While Kim wasn’t specifically looking for a dual degree program, she was excited to stumble upon Harvard’s joint MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences. “It was the ideal way to marry my science background with my business aspirations.”

However, cost was a concern. “Contrary to what many people think, the biotech industry—especially a tiny startup like mine—doesn’t pay well.” Fortunately, HBS offered Kim substantial need-based financial aid.

Part of the second cohort of 15 students to enter the joint MS/MBA program, Kim interned for Boston Consulting Group, working with health care clients. She also explored the current landscape of hearing loss therapeutics—“something I'm so passionate about and feel personally connected to.” Her capstone thesis evaluated the potential impact of a new DNA regenerative technology on hearing loss research. “My experience here has been wonderful,” she concludes.

After graduation, she plans to work in consulting for a few years to continue honing her business acumen. In the long-term, she can see herself returning to the biotech industry. “I’d like to be part of innovation in hearing loss research again, perhaps in a strategy or business development role. More importantly, I want to contribute to real progress in accessibility for the Deaf community while also preserving its unique culture.”

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