PhD in Psychology

Evan Kleiman, 2014

Evan Kleiman

What work are you doing now?

I'm currently a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. In this capacity I am an investigator on several research studies that explore novel ways to predict and prevent suicide. I also teach a number of undergraduate classes per year.

What do you like about it?

My work is very rewarding because I get to dedicate the majority of my time to conducting research on a topic that I am very passionate about. I am fortunate to work under the mentorship of one of the world's leading suicide experts, Dr. Matthew Nock, and have also had many opportunities to learn about technologically advanced research methods from our collaborators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School. I am also fortunate to get to teach undergraduate classes in a variety of topics that I find personally interesting (for example, I am currently teaching an upper-level course on stress and coping).

How did your degree in the college prepare you to do this work?

I use a lot of what I learned about teaching and basic research methods on a daily basis. Currently, as I begin to develop novel interventions for suicide risk reduction, I rely on a lot of the skills I acquired in my clinical training in the program.

What advice would you give current students about developing their careers?

It's very important to be willing to take a risk when searching for a job. This was not the job that I would have imagined I would end up with after graduation—there were far safer choices, but this position has given me unprecedented learning opportunities that I would never have had in another role. I will certainly use the skills from this job as I transition into a more permanent one.