In June 2025, The Hormel Institute launched a new program: the Postbaccalaureate Accelerated Career Experience (PACE). PACE is a full-time, yearlong opportunity for recent college graduates. They’re placed in labs throughout the Institute, where they gain hands-on research experience and participate in professional development opportunities that prepare them for graduate programs in biomedical research areas.
This summer, as these early-career scientists were getting their start, we sat down with two PACErs, Sydney Shirk and Francis Perroud, to learn their initial thoughts about the program, their research areas of focus, and their post-PACE goals. That story appeared in the September/October edition of Austin Living magazine.
Now, more than halfway through the program’s first year, Shirk and Perroud are back to discuss how things have been going, what they’re learning, and what’s next on their horizons.
What’s Good
As you’d probably expect, one of the most-loved aspects of the PACE experience for both Shirk and Perroud is the ability to actually participate in biomedical research.
Shirk works closely with Professor Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, PhD, mostly focusing on breast cancer research. The main project Shirk is investigating involves experimenting to see how exposure to volatile compounds called BTEX compounds from vehicle emissions, especially in urban areas, could affect breast cancer risk for pregnant women — both their own, and that of the next generation.
“More specifically, will their daughters get breast cancer, or will it be worse or more aggressive? Will the cancer respond less to treatments because their mom was exposed to car emissions while they were pregnant?” Shirk explained. “We’re also looking to see if obesity makes pregnant mothers even more vulnerable to BTEX compounds.”
The study is important, because BTEX release can be almost completely eliminated from vehicle emissions by adding 10–20% ethanol to gasoline.
The real-world applications of Shirk’s research are something she deeply appreciates.
“I love working in women’s health. It’s been a neglected field for so long. Words cannot describe how good it feels to be doing the science, and understanding the how and the why, and knowing what I’m doing could be helpful later on to me, my mom, or anyone affected by these issues,” Shirk said.
Perroud works in the lab of Assistant Professor Ewa Bielczyk-Maczynska, PhD, where some of the main research focuses are on genetics and the regulation of metabolism. Their research examines diseases including atherosclerosis, diabetes, and liver cancer, to name a few examples.
“My main project focuses on cholesterol synthesis — how our cells produce cholesterol — and how that affects the progression of liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma,” Perroud said.
What does research actually look like on a day-to-day basis for PACErs? Usually, it’s the expected tasks like running experiments, but it also involves more, like reviewing newly published scientific papers to stay updated on recent findings in their fields — and the smaller, still-essential necessities like cleaning lab dishes. Then, there are the professional development activities PACErs participate in as a group.
“In terms of the PACE program, you also meet with your cohort, and you develop professionally by doing other things. As an example, we had a session on how to prepare for and present yourself in an interview,” Perroud explained. “There’s also a lot of talking and networking at a research institution, because there’s a lot of collaboration that happens between labs.”
Something both Shirk and Perroud have said they’ve appreciated about their PACE experiences so far are lab environments that are equal parts supportive and immersive.
“Everyone is so kind and welcoming, and they’ve met me where I’m at,” Shirk said. “They understand I’ve gotten my degree, but I’m still learning the practical stuff, and they’re all so patient with me. It makes for a very positive learning environment.”
“I feel like I own my projects. Of course, I work with Ewa and the others in our lab, but I get a lot of responsibilities,” Perroud said. “I feel like I have a say on where to go with the research. Ewa asks for my opinion on where to go next. It’s a two-way conversation, as opposed to just being told what to do. I think that’s pretty cool.”
What’s New
For Shirk, the PACE program has quite literally brought about a change in pace for her academic and professional life. She explained she’s always been very “go, go, go” — ready to accomplish one thing and move on to the next step as quickly as possible. It’s why she worked to complete her undergraduate degree in three years.
“Now, I’m very much enjoying not rushing into the next step,” Shirk said. “I want to make sure I’m doing things with the right mentor and the right program. I don’t want to just build my resume, I want to find the right people to continue to work with.”
Continuing to work in a research environment has come with all kinds of lessons for Perroud, too.
“Research isn’t always a straight line. We had to adjust our initial hypothesis, because you start an experiment with one hypothesis, and sometimes you find your results are the complete opposite of what you expected. We had moments like that with my project, but we were able to find ways to adjust and move forward. It’s still going, it’s still working. We’re finding good data, so that’s good,” Perroud said.
The PACE cohort has also made ample opportunity for building community with peers.
“I thought the experience was going to look like everyone in the program working in their labs and not talking at all — but actually, we’re meeting pretty often, and we have events and meetings. It’s a really nice cohort,” Perroud said. “Two weeks ago, we went up to the Twin Cities for a career fair.”
But it’s not just the professional development activities they’re enjoying.
“Just for fun, we went kayaking together. A group plays pickleball together on the weekend,” Perroud added.
What’s Next
As for the future? Both Perroud and Shirk are hoping to use the professional development opportunities built into PACE to enhance the lab experience they’ll be gaining this year.
Shirk looks forward to continuing to sharpen her skills — inside the lab and out.
“I’d like to be able to do more procedures and protocols, those kinds of things,” she said. “And also gain more confidence, network more, and build my presentation skills. I feel comfortable with public speaking, but I want to get better at it, especially when it comes to communicating scientific information to the public.”
Perroud hopes to get more experience in the area of grant writing to apply for funding support for his main research project.
“I asked Ewa if I could learn how to write grants, and she’s going to teach me about that process, which is great,” Perroud said.
For Perroud, his post-PACE goal remains the same: applying to both master’s and PhD graduate programs.
“Graduate programs are competitive, but I’m preparing myself now by doing research and gaining experience. I think that will be very helpful for the application process,” Perroud said.
For Shirk, graduate-level study also remains the goal. Between now and then, a second year in PACE, or more generally, a second gap year to continue building skills and experience, are tempting possibilities.
For now, both feel on pace as they contemplate their program experiences so far and their ultimate career trajectories.
“They’re not treating us like we’re only here for a year. They’re building scientists, and you can tell they care about us as students, and it’s very refreshing,” Shirk said. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is I’m in the right field. I’m doing what I want to do. Coming to work, I say, ‘I love my job,’ every day. I feel so comfortable and in place here.”