How to Break into Longevity and Biotech with an Engineering Background

Message from Sachi

Hi everyone,

Happy early Halloween 🎃 ! I have been on and off with Invite Health the past few weeks, but have a lot of things cooking up behind the scenes.

If you’ve been following along on my LinkedIn & Instagram, you’ll be able to catch up a bit on what I’ve been up to! World Health Summit in Germany, Impact Labs, College events, school, life… here’s a preview.

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And thank you to you kind readers who keep sharing your support for Invite Health (it means the world to me!!)

This week, I invited Maggie Li to share her story. Shoutout to our friends Sufal & Marvin for connecting us and setting up this collaboration!

What you’ll learn from Maggie:

• What the longevity and aging biology field is and how students can get involved (ex: TIME Initiative and LRC!)

• Maggie’s research + fellowship experiences at VC (venture capital) firms like age1

• Why Maggie chose biomedical engineering

Enjoy today’s read,

Sachi 💌 

How to Break into Longevity and Biotech with an Engineering Background: Interview with Maggie Li

First off, tell us about your journey so far. Where do you study, what inspired you to pursue this, and what’s next? What else do you like to do outside of studying?

• My name is Maggie Li (she/her) and I study Biomedical Systems Engineering in the Engineering Science program at the University of Toronto, it is a usually 5-year program of 4 years of study and 1 PEY (professional experience year) of working/co-op.

• I decided to pursue this program because I wanted an interdisciplinary career and also because I couldn’t decide between biology/biomedical sciences and engineering/physics. This program allows me to pursue both. I also considered biomedical engineering programs at McGill University, McMaster University (iBioMed) and Waterloo University. Many joke that the Biomedical Systems Engineering option in Engineering Science is for those who can’t decide between medical school and graduate school, so maybe it’s not a coincidence I thought I would pursue medical school throughout much of high school (but I’m glad I didn’t because I later realized by learning style doesn’t match very well with that required of in pre-med). 

• I’m exploring what’s next! Besides academic research, there are so many options in the biotech industry that I was previously unaware of, such as early-stage startups, research organizations, and venture capital. I’ve been lucky enough to get early exposure to some of these while I’m still a student. Someday, I also want to pursue art and start a dog cafe (basically, lots of random creative pursuits that got sidelined given I’m studying engineering).

• Some things I like include coffee, matcha, memoirs, art, design, dogs, hiking, cooking, food adventures, and sci-fi.

Can you tell us about some of your research and venture experiences (i.e. age1, LRC), specifically, what these experiences were like, how you found these opportunities, and if they were paid/unpaid? 

• My most recent research experience was in The Wheeler Microfluidics Lab, where I got the opportunity via cold email. I looked through the list of labs in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (University of Toronto) and cold-emailed a few that conducted research in areas I’m interested in. I’ve been in this lab since summer 2023 (so 2 summers in total so far) and have also completed an independent study course during the academic year. The experience was paid for via an NSERC USRA award (from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering), which I applied for after finding out about via searching for undergraduate research funding options on the University of Toronto Engineering Department’s website.

• I’m also a venture fellow at age1, a longevity biotech VC firm based in San Francisco, California, launched by the Longevity Fund. This is a paid opportunity that was organically found and shaped by my building a longevity community in Toronto, and now Canada, with friends who have shared research interests in this area (shoutout David He, Albert Nitu, Victor Li, Cameron Sinclair, and Jenny Min and especially thank you to David who has put in so many hours building this community from ground up). 

• This longevity student community is called the Longevity Research Circle (LRC). This is unpaid and everyone on the team volunteers their free time. This initiative would not have been possible without the mentorship and support of Courtney at the TIME Initiative, where I was a fellow in the inaugural cohort. You can learn more about my experience in the program here. LRC is a focused space and student community for longevity and regenerative medicine research. LRC’s mission is to connect trainees, inspire interest and facilitate thoughtful discourse on longevity and regenerative medicine research. We host journal clubs, community events, and the Toronto Aging Biology Symposium (TABS). If you’d like to get involved, please feel free to reach out directly via contact [@] lrc.bio. I would encourage those just learning to read the following: timeinitiative.org/resources

Can you explain what longevity is for people who may be learning about this for the first time? Please describe it in layman terms. 

• My interpretation of longevity is healthy lifespan extension—anything that can be done to increase both healthspan (quality of life) and lifespan (number of years of life) for better health outcomes. While there are more extreme interpretations, of which those that are scientifically rigorous and grounded in a net positive future for humanity, I care most about the “definition” that can also have a tangible impact on healthcare at large. 

• I would encourage those just learning to read the following: 

  • Laura Deming’s Longevity FAQ: https://www.ldeming.com/longevityfaq 

  • The Longevity Funnel Framework (this one I wrote at age1, which attempts to synthesize personal learnings and conversations about aging biology and longevity, on the more technical end of the spectrum but the visuals are hopefully accessible to all audiences!): https://www.librariesforthefuture.bio/p/lff 

  • A compilation of resources/reading materials from me: Longevity resources

  • A piece on age1’s vision which I contributed to: https://www.librariesforthefuture.bio/p/age1-vision

What advice do you have for students (especially high school + undergrads) who want to break into longevity, especially if they don’t have any experience yet? 

• I wish someone had told me this straight much earlier on, so here is a straight-to-the-point version. It’s quite simple in the sense it takes lots of time and patience because ”breaking in” requires a lot of diligent hard work and self-learning. Everyone’s path to “success” (and even in this vein, the very definition of success) is different and therefore, you should not try to replicate line by line what someone else did. You can, however, learn from their experiences. My advice would be: 

  1. Read a lot and follow your curiosity, there is more than enough material on the internet and AI tools are advanced enough to give you reading material. There is always a lot to learn and go outside of your comfort zone. 

  2. Don’t be scared to reach out to people. Send the cold email, regardless of how cringe you think it might be. The worst is they say no or don’t respond and remind yourself to not take rejection or feedback personally (because truly, it’s not!). Consistent follow-up is how you transform strangers into mentors. 

  3. Invest time into building strong foundations for whatever field you are interested in within longevity and beyond. This means sitting through those “boring” and reading the dry textbooks/etc. Building strong foundations is non-negotiable, especially if you intend to pursue work that requires some level of scientific or technical background. In other words, don’t BS.

  4. Don’t follow most advice (and I mean this unironically, because above is what has worked for me so for anyone reading this, it doesn’t mean this will work for you). Truly, figure out what you want and then try to backtrack how to get there (this will take time). When you do ask for “advice”, instead of asking “What would you do if you were in my situation”, ask people how they figured out what they wanted and how to get there (key decisions they made, etc).

Where can students go if they want to learn more about your experiences?

• You can find me via the following—please reach out if you have questions or would like to chat, always open to meeting new people and I try my best to be responsive.  

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiezli 

  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggiezli 

  • Personal website: https://maggiezli.com/

Is there any final advice or resources that you would like to share with Invite Health readers?

• For how to write good cold emails, here is a helpful resource I used. Write a cold email to someone you look up to and want to learn from! https://paigefinndoherty.com/2020/03/25/a-cold-outreach-workshop/ 

Jobs, Opportunities & Resources 💻️ 

Most of these resources are reposted on Invite Health’s LinkedIn page.

• International Fellowships – McCall MacBain Foundation

• 15 Paid Summer Research Programs for Canadian high school + undergrad students

• Expression of Interest: COP 29 Participation

• How to Build Your Resume in 10 Days (for students)

• Jobs at Golden Ventures Companies | Golden Ventures (Canada)

• Future Works 2025 - Pharma Technical Intern | Roche | LinkedIn

• High School Students - Apply to The Next Surgeon | Toronto Community Housing

• Project Coordinator – Global Youth Ambassador Team 

• Bears' Den Healthcare Innovation Pitch Event | Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite 

• MedTech Innovator - Fellowship Program (paid, part-time opportunity)

• Funding Opportunity for applicants to attend and participate in the Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Summer Institute 2025

• Research & Prospect Data Analyst

About Invite Health 💌 

I started Invite Health for my younger self who was trying to figure out what to do with my health sci degree that wasn’t a career in medicine.

Today, I’d say this quote is the primary reason I continue to build Invite Health:

The mission of Invite Health is to close this talent-opportunity gap for students in the life and health sciences.

Since 2022, we’re the leading resource for students figuring out what to do with a life sci / health sci degree. I interview students pursuing diverse careers in healthcare, and how they got there - no gatekeeping here. Every newsletter is rich with resources and insights.

Our main channel is this newsletter, and I occasionally share resources on social media (LinkedIn and Instagram).

You can read more about why I built Invite Health here

How to get the most out of Invite Health 🫶

1. Connect with the interviewees: At the end of every newsletter, the interviewees leave their contact information for you to contact them. In your message, mention that you learned about their journey through Invite Health, and that you’re curious to learn more!

2. Share the word: Share Invite Health with your friends and networks. Start a conversation about something you learned- an opportunity, a piece of advice, or a recommendation that an interviewee made.

3. Bet on yourself: Apply to the opportunities that are shared in the newsletters. You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain. Circling back to point #1 - always reach out to the interviewees if you want advice!

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Read all of Invite Health’s past interviews

How I Built Invite Health - BTS 🌼 

I’m starting a series where I share insights on how I built Invite Health. In two years, I’ve grown Invite Health organically (meaning, I’ve spent $0) to 1,100+ subscribers, building it sustainably as a solo student founder throughout undergrad and Master’s.

Why I made Invite Health a newsletter, and not a podcast or a YouTube Channel

1. No fighting an algorithm. Newsletters go directly to a subscriber’s inbox, without interference from an algorithm.

2. More sustainable for me to produce. The time spent creating a newsletter is much lower than a podcast or YouTube video. I can write/edit newsletters from anywhere anytime, even on my phone.

3. Low / No cost. All I use to run Invite Health is Google Docs + Beehiiv (which is free up until a certain amount of subscribers). I save money from not paying for microphones or video editing software.

4. Not everyone uses social media, but everyone has an email address. I can reach a larger audience using mail-based newsletters.

5. Lots of flexibility in design and content. If I make an error with a post, it is very easy for me to go back and make changes, which is much more difficult to do with published videos or podcasts.

Free Links & Resources 🫰 

• Applying to Grad Schools Notion Guide by Sachi

• 15 Paid Summer Research Programs in Canada

• Paid Summer Programs in Research, Policy, Tech, etc.

Made with 💝 & 🍵 by Sachi