From USC biomedical labs to D.C. to a Bay Area startup, Eric Schulze makes a difference thanks to career-oriented doctoral education at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Eric Schulze has stayed busy since earning his PhD from the Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

As chief science and technology officer at Evergreen Select, he pushes forward biotechnology for greener, more humane food options. At the same time, he runs an agency called Goodhumans Strategy & Design, hosts the Food Truths podcast and the “Ask Smithsonian” digital show, and teaches science communication.

In all these endeavors, impact is at the center of his personal mission.

“I’ve structured my career around science with a societal, aspirational goal,” Schulze said. “I need to leave the planet a little better than when I arrived.”

Since earning his doctorate in 2010, he has taken on multifaceted roles in government and industry — developing regulations, rebranding scientific agencies and building startup success. Schulze sees his time in USC’s PIBBS as the bedrock for his uniquely varied career.

“When I applied, I had never heard of an interdisciplinary PhD program,” he said. “There was so much freedom. It was incredible to basically learn from whoever I wanted across the program, choosing how I wanted to structure my dissertation and who I wanted to collaborate with.”

From the cornfields to the cutting edge of bioscience

During Schulze’s youth, his family moved every few years to follow his father’s work with local TV stations. He excelled at basketball in his teen years on the outskirts of Houston, and that became the first-generation college graduate’s “ticket out of the cornfields.”

Attending Loyola University New Orleans via a sports scholarship, he considered following in the footsteps of his mother, an artist, before settling on biology as a more practical choice.

“I found science through art,” Schulze said. “I didn’t necessarily see a big distinction; both produce something, put it out into the world and let society determine its value. I wanted to create things, and to me those things are beautiful ideas.”

The power of intellectual freedom

When he looked to continue his studies, the Keck School of Medicine’s interdisciplinary atmosphere and empowerment of students were a major draw.

“The best scientists, historically, have been masters of multiple domains,” Schulze said. “PIBBS trains expert generalists — scientists in the true sense, and the world needs more of them. It’s a modern approach: ‘Let’s teach the most cutting-edge science we possibly can, and let these young minds define it and invent the world of the future.’ I found that irresistible.”

At the outset, Schulze rotated through different labs, and each principal investigator left their mark — instilling the confidence to create new knowledge, modeling the importance of communication, and advocating rigorous attention to detail.

A career vision realized with early opportunity

Schulze ultimately joined the lab of Qilong Ying, PhD, a professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. He credits his mentor with exemplifying discipline and creativity. Their partnership — which yielded new advances in stem cell science — was based in a warm, mutually respectful relationship, which Schulze found typical at PIBBS.

“The faculty treat you like colleagues, not students,” he said.

Thriving in graduate school, Schulze led the student senate and created programming to benefit his peers. His mentor encouraged him to attend professional conferences and connect with researchers across academia and industry. Ying often sent Schulze to handle speaking engagements in his stead.

These opportunities led to the first step in his career, recruitment to the Food and Drug Administration. There, he led development of the original stem cell guidelines for animal drug products and worked to mobilize scientists in the political sphere. At the same time, he consulted about branding and communications for NASA and other scientific arms of the federal government.

Taking a mission of impact into the private sector

Looking for a new challenge after six years, Schulze relocated to the Bay Area as an early hire at the world’s first cultured meat startup, now known as Upside Foods. He wore many hats — from designing cells to working with regulators and policymakers, from leading communications to collaborating with food scientists, food processors and chefs.

Leveraging his FDA experience, Schulze spearheaded a product design process that turned regulatory constraints into an advantage. And he realized a singular business philosophy running counter to the contemporary “move fast and break things” era of startup culture.

“With food, you can’t get away with that,” he said. “Instead, we instituted a big-tent mentality, which I could actually ascribe to PIBBS: All are welcome if they come in good faith, and we achieve more by bringing together our disparate expertise.”

Schulze helped bring Upside’s product from concept to market. Today, he continues his work commercializing technology for sustainable, less cruel meat, advising the federal government and international policymakers on new foods and biotechnologies, and helping make the wonders of science real for average Americans. From his current vantage, he’s grateful for the career advantages the Keck School of Medicine provided.

“I’m deeply appreciative that USC took a chance on me,” he said. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to make the most of this. I don’t want to let them down, and I don’t want to let myself down.’”

Learn more about PhD programs and master’s programs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.