How LEADERs Transformed PhD Student Farnaz Nouraei’s View of Creating Value Beyond Academia

By Enryka Christopher

As a PhD student in Computer Science at Khoury College, Farnaz Nouraei felt the all-too-common weight of academic perfectionism. Her research in human-computer interaction focuses on an increasingly utilized solution in society – using AI for healthcare. Nouraei was involved in building systems that could simulate counseling conversations with patients and train medical professionals. However, she still worried about her ability to reach career prospects beyond the ivory tower.  

“PhD students are at such a disadvantage when it comes to industry,” Nouraei reflected. “We’re assumed to want to be faculty members, and people don’t necessarily see us as successful professionals in industry.” That concern led her to explore opportunities that could bridge the gap between academic research and real-world applications. When she learned about the LEADERs program through an information session, the idea of earning a leadership certificate immediately caught her attention. She had been researching various credentials, including a project management certification, to help distinguish herself in the job market. What started as a preliminary exploration of the LEADERs program soon became a transformative experience. Initially unsure about committing to a placement while managing her PhD timeline, Nouraei’s perspective changed when Cedar, an innovative company dedicated to making the healthcare financial experience more affordable and accessible, emerged as a potential partner organization. 

“It was such an interesting problem that they were solving,” said Nouraei. “It was so related to my research—not from a research perspective, but in terms of the skills I would need from my PhD and the things I was already doing on a day-to-day basis.” Cedar was developing voice conversational AI to automate patient billing inquiries—calls about confusing bills, payment questions, and financial assistance requests. The project relied heavily on Large Language Models (LLMs), which was precisely the technology Nouraei had been working with in her academic research. The match proved ideal. While Cedar has used AI since they were founded in 2016, they needed additional resources to be first-to-market with purpose-built voice AI for patient billing. Nouraei’s expertise in prompt engineering and fine-tuning language models made her an invaluable addition to the team. Her initial four-month placement from January to April 2025 went so well that Cedar invited her to extend her work with them through the summer. 

The transition from academia to industry also brought with it unexpected challenges and revelations. The most significant shift involved abandoning a perfectionist mindset that had served her well thus far in research. “As a PhD candidate, I’ve been so used to being perfect,” Nouraei explained, “One of researchers’ main goals is to publish, and when you want to publish papers, you want to think about everything a reviewer might see and try to perfect your work for someone else’s taste.” However, in the corporate environment, she discovered that perfection wasn’t just unnecessary—it was counterproductive. “People don’t care about a fully-fledged idea. You need to set aside that perfectionist mentality and try to have a decent, bare-bones plan or experimentation. Show something really small but powerful and communicate that with the team.” 

This approach to rapid iteration and collaboration was initially uncomfortable but ultimately liberating. When she shared early-stage ideas with her team, colleagues could build upon them, creating value through collective effort rather than individual perfection. “The concept of value, both in terms of business metrics and real-world impact is not the main focus in a PhD program, but it is big in industry,” she notes. “You have to balance the novelty of ideas and things you’re passionate about versus looking at the value it’s bringing.” 

The experience fundamentally changed how Nouraei views both her career trajectory and her doctoral work. Before her placement, she had assumed research was her calling. “Coming to Cedar, I realized I actually like the engineering side of things, but also a little bit of research and learning new things,” she says. “It helped me understand what I like and don’t like in terms of my future job.” Now she sees herself as better suited for a product environment where teams rally around building something tangible while moving quickly toward shared goals. The industry experience also enhanced her academic work. While she doesn’t believe PhD programs require the same rapid iteration process, she found that incorporating these approaches made her more efficient and helped identify unworkable ideas more quickly. “You can save time in that sense—you don’t spend three years on something that just doesn’t work, and I’m sure that has happened to a lot of PhD students,” she observed. 

Looking back, Nouraei recognized that the LEADERs first course, “Leading Self and Others” prepared her for many challenges she encountered, directly translating to and positively impacting her industry experience. The course’s focus on team dynamics, including conflict resolution and manager communication, proved particularly valuable, “Working alongside others, storming and forming and all those processes you go through when you’re in a team—it was definitely really helpful.” She encourages students to embrace the discomfort of working with people from different backgrounds and research areas. “If you really take it in and go with the flow in the class, you will definitely be prepared for what’s actually going to happen in the workplace,” she explains. “You’re going to see people who are coming from very different backgrounds as opposed to your lab mates who have usually had a similar career trajectory to yours.” This preparation proves invaluable when navigating diverse teams with varying training and mindsets, a reality that extends far beyond any single placement experience. 

Nouraei’s journey through the LEADERs program illustrates the potential for meaningful collaboration between academia and industry. Her experience demonstrates that the skills developed during doctoral research—deep technical expertise, analytical thinking, and subject matter knowledge—can translate effectively to corporate environments when combined with leadership training and real-world application. Her story also highlights the value of programs that help PhD students expand their perspectives beyond traditional academic paths. By providing structured opportunities to explore industry roles while maintaining academic connections, initiatives like LEADERs can help bridge the gap between research and practical application. For Nouraei, the program delivered more than professional development—it provided clarity about her career direction and confidence in her ability to create value in diverse environments. As she continues her doctoral studies with her expanded perspective, she carries forward both the technical skills honed in her research and the collaborative leadership capabilities developed through her industry experience. The combination promises to serve her well, regardless of whether her path ultimately leads to academia, industry, or somewhere in between. 

Upon completion of the “Leading Self and Others” course, LEADERs program staff and partner companies select fellows who align with specific industry needs. PhDs are supported through the fellowship application process and placed in a specialized role to solve a problem in industry. They go on to earn a LEADERs’ Experiential PhD leadership certificate, with guidance from an industry mentor and faculty advisor. The program is run by the PhD Network, which helps prepare students to enter the workforce as impactful researchers. 

If you are a postdoc interested in the LEADERs program, sign up or contact Wendy Eaton, Director of LEADERs Partnership Relations. Follow us on LinkedIn. 

Photo Credit: Northeastern, Farnaz Nouraei