Growing up in Puerto Rico, Enrique García-Rivera developed a passion for astronomy and other physical phenomena. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Puerto Rico, he moved to Boston to pursue a doctorate in Biological and Biomedical Science at Harvard Medical School.
In the lab, he was researching disease treatment but had entrepreneurial visions of not only developing treatment methods but delivering them to patients. To make the shift, he needed a foundation in business. It was then he discovered Harvard Business School Online and the Credential of Readiness Program (CORe).
García-Rivera is now Head of Oncology Research at nference, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based artificial intelligence firm that synthesizes biomedical research to aid in the development of cutting-edge treatment methods. You can learn more about his career path below, and the role CORe played in his life.
HBS Online: What’s Your Background, and What Do You Do Today?
García-Rivera: I’ve always been curious about the world and its intricacies. Growing up, I became fascinated by stars as I spent countless hours looking through a telescope, and began to grow a passion for understanding physical phenomena.
This took a sharp turn when I became aware of disease and the tremendous impact it can have on a community. How can we know so much about the universe, and yet we are still largely powerless against these afflictions?
I turned my curious mind toward understanding diseases at the molecular level, and underwent training as an interdisciplinary scientist, focusing on bringing a new perspective to this problem.
I went to graduate school at Harvard Medical School to devote myself to using the skills of chemistry and biology to uncover novel ways of treating diseases. I wanted to use the versatility of small molecules to dissect the molecular pathways underpinning various cancers.
Today, I head up oncology research at nference, a biotechnology company at the forefront of developing therapies to treat cancer.
What Did You Hope to Get Out of CORe?
At the time of starting CORe, I was in the middle of completing a PhD at Harvard Medical School studying Chemical Biology. After being immersed in the drug discovery process in the lab, I wanted to take the next step and bring these discoveries to the bedside. But I realized doing so required the power of the private enterprise. This meant that business was going to be as fundamental to this goal as science, and that’s where CORe came into play.
By taking CORe, I successfully learned important topics in economics, accounting, and business analytics. More importantly, I gained confidence in pursuing careers with high exposure to management and strategy.
How Would You Describe the Learning Process? How Did You Fit CORe Into Your Busy Schedule?
As a full-time graduate student, CORe fit perfectly into my schedule. I would routinely set up experiments during the day and, while they were progressing, would log into CORe to advance the curriculum. In the afternoons, I would carve out time to do the more time-consuming exercises, such as quizzes and evaluations.
Being an online platform gave me the flexibility to complete the program that would not be possible otherwise. I found the quality to be on par with in-person education. Several software achievements made the experience memorable, including online “cold-calls” and collaborative forums.
In What Ways Did Taking an HBS Online Course Impact You Professionally?
I believe the key improvement for me was the ability to understand operations around me at a higher level. Not only can I understand good science worth pursuing, but I can also consider the business implications of these investments. This is critical to arriving at the best strategies to pursue.
Are you interested in transitioning from science to business? Explore CORe and other participant stories to discover how the program can help you advance your career.
This post was previously published as a student story and was updated on December 12, 2019, to capture García-Rivera's career path since completing CORe in 2014.