- Podcast
- PhD Paths / Parcours PhD
- Academia & Adjacent Starter Pack
- Business & Entrepreneurship Starter Pack
- Coaching Starter Pack
- Community Building Starter Pack
- Industry Starter Pack
- Medical Communications Starter Pack
- Mental Health Starter Pack
- Science Communication Starter Pack
- Parcours PhD – Affaires et Entrepreneuriat
- Parcours PhD – Communication Scientifique
- Parcours PhD – Université et domaines associés
- About
- Blog
- Contact
- Affiliate Links

About the Podcast
Do you wonder what career you can aim for with a graduate degree? Do you fear you’ll be unemployable as a PhD or after a postdoc? If these are questions you ask yourself, Papa PhD will help you dispel them by bringing you the career journeys and insights of MSc and PhD graduates around the world on job searching, skills development, networking, entrepreneurship, mental health, and more.
David Mendes, PhD
Since completing my PhD in cell biology at the university of Coimbra, based on my research at McGill University, I’ve spent the past 11 years building my career in the medical communication and linguistic services industry.
After my PhD, I worked for 4 years as a Medical Writer in a medical communication agency, perfecting my writing skills and creating content for pharmaceutical sales training materials covering a wide range of therapeutic areas.
I have since started my own business offering linguistic services – translation, revision, and connected services – in the biomedical domain.
Now a father of two, I am interested in exploring the different ways people have juggled professional and personal life after completing their MSc or their PhD.
Past Career Fair/Speaking Engagements
- SICB 2021 Annual Meeting – January 3 to February 28, 2021 – Wellness Track
- Colloque du GRIL – Études supérieures en science et employabilité au Québec – 9, 16 et 23 février 2021
- BEB Day 2019 – Find Your Trail – Center for Neuroscience and Cellular Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal – December 9-10, 2019
- 13e Journée Phare – Congrès québécois en sciences de la santé – Table ronde : La communication et la vulgarisation scientifique dans notre société – 2 et 3 décembre 2021
- GSAN Career Panel – Post-PhD Careers – GSAN, McGill University – May 12th, 2021
- Docteur·e·s mais pas chercheur·euse·s : comment valoriser ses compétences cœurs et son expérience professionnelle acquises en cours de doctorat – Panel organisé par Adoc Talent Management dans le cadre du 88e Congrès de l’Acfas – 3 au 7 mai 2021
- Life as a PhD Student… Symposium 2021 – University of Westminster PhD Society – April 8th-9th, 2021
- Pharmaceutical Career Day – McGill Pharmaceutical Career Student Network – PCSN – McGill Career Planning Service – May 11th, 2018
- IPN Non-Academic Career Panel – Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University – February 1st, 2018
- Science Communication Panel – McGill Career Planning Service – Jan 27th, 2016
- 4e Rencontre des scientifiques portugais en France – AGRAFr – Défis technologiques et éthiques de la nouvelle décennie
Press
- Interview for OkayDoc – Papa Phd : le podcast qui met en lumière les trajets professionnels des docteurs – OkayDoc.fr/papa-phd-le-podcast-original-a-destination-des-chercheurs/
- Interview for the Promouvoir Sa Recherche blog – Exploration de carrière et équilibre de vie après un doctorat : Papa PhD nous parle de sa passion pour les podcasts! – PromouvoirsaRecherche.com/exploration-de-carriere-et-equilibre-de-vie-apres-un-doctorat-papa-phd-nous-parle-de-sa-passion-pour-les-podcasts
- Interview on the Intergrative and Comparative Biology blog – IntegrativeandComparativeBiology.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/an-icb-podcast-referral-a-chat-with-papa-phd