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Through Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship, neurobiologist Kayla Fernando is merging scientific precision with entrepreneurial imagination, finding new ways to translate research into real-world value.
In a quiet training studio in Raleigh, Kayla Fernando adjusts her stance. A wooden stick flashes as she practices a Filipino martial arts drill: block, check, counter. The rhythm is deliberate: make contact, recover balance, try again.
“In martial arts, you’re constantly finding equilibrium,” she says. “You fail, recalibrate, and adapt.”
It’s a lesson that now defines more than her movements. As a sixth-year PhD candidate in Neurobiology at Duke University, Kayla studies how the brain learns to control motion, how neural circuits in the cerebellum change and strengthen through practice. Yet in many ways, her most profound learning has come outside the lab, through Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Duke I&E).
By applying the same resilience she practices on the mat to her academic and professional path, Kayla has discovered a way to merge deep scientific expertise with an entrepreneurial mindset, charting a new course for what a scientist’s career can look like.
An Inflection Point
Kayla’s early years in Duke’s PhD program followed a familiar rhythm: experiments, data, papers. Her research in the Hull Lab investigates synaptic plasticity, the mechanisms that allow the brain to adapt and form new motor skills.
But by her second year, she began to question where that work might lead. “I knew I wouldn’t feel confident in my decision if I didn’t explore all my options,” she says of the choice between staying in academia and trying industry roles. “I wanted to see how science could make a difference beyond the academic world.”
That reflection led her to a new opportunity: the Duke I&E Graduate Certificate, a program designed to help students from all disciplines learn to think creatively about impact.
“I had no idea what to expect,” she recalls. “I came in as a neuroscientist and suddenly found myself learning about markets, regulations, and storytelling. It was like learning a new language, but it was exciting.”
Learning to Think Like an Entrepreneur
For Kayla, one course in particular, Commercializing Healthcare Technologies, became a turning point.
Offered through Duke I&E, this course challenges interdisciplinary student teams to analyze real Duke-invented technologies, collaborate with inventors and mentors, and develop commercialization strategies to bring new ideas to market. Kayla’s team had to consider everything from intellectual property and regulatory approval to reimbursement strategies.
“Those are angles you just don’t get as a bench scientist,” she says. “It taught me how to apply the critical thinking skills I use in research to the business world and to think about who the work is for.”
Equally important, she learned to tell a compelling story about her science. “The Duke I&E certificate was one of the highlights of my time at Duke,” she says. “It taught me how to construct a strong narrative. That became essential not just for pitching ideas, but for my dissertation.”
Applying Innovation to Science
The lessons from Duke I&E soon began to influence her day-to-day research. As she prepared to defend her dissertation, Kayla started thinking in terms of stakeholder engagement, a concept she had first encountered in her I&E coursework.
“My stakeholders are my thesis committee,” she says with a laugh. “I’m pitching my project to them, trying to persuade them that I’ve advanced my field forward.”
She also adopted business frameworks like the target product profile, which defines the ideal attributes of a successful innovation. “I used that model to describe what an ideal method in my field should achieve,” she explains. “It helped me see gaps in the existing research and articulate how my work fills them.”
That mindset shift, she says, has been transformative. “It’s not that I’m starting a company, but I’ve learned how to think about science as something that needs to connect with people. That’s the entrepreneurial mindset.”
A Safe Place to Experiment
When Kayla describes Duke I&E, she often compares it to martial arts, a structured environment where it’s safe to fail, learn, and grow.
“I started training in Filipino Modern Arnis and Balintawak because I needed balance,” she says. “Grad school can be all-consuming. Martial arts gave me a life outside the lab, and it taught me resilience.”
That same resilience helped her step into the unfamiliar terrain of business and innovation. “At I&E, I was constantly uncomfortable, but in the best way,” she says. “I was surrounded by people who would challenge me, then help me back up. It was like learning to spar; you improve by testing yourself.”
Duke I&E, she adds, created a rare space within academia where it was okay to explore. “Instead of being thrown into the deep end after graduation, I got to test things out while I still had mentors around me. That made all the difference.”
Real-World Impact
Last summer, Kayla joined the corporate development team at Merz Aesthetics, a medical aesthetics company, where she analyzed potential ultrasound technologies for acquisition.
“The graduate certificate was directly responsible for me landing that internship,” she says. “I was able to talk about commercialization and regulatory strategy with confidence because of what I learned at Duke I&E.”
The experience confirmed that her skill set, equal parts scientist and strategist, fit naturally into roles that bridge research and business. “It showed me that I could take the analytical mindset from my PhD and apply it to problems that affect patients and markets directly,” she says.
She’s now interviewing for consulting positions ahead of her 2026 graduation, eager to continue building on that intersection of science and impact.
Giving Back and Paying It Forward
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Kayla’s transformation has inspired her to mentor other PhD students exploring nontraditional paths. Through
the Duke Advanced Degree Consulting Club and her leadership roles in Duke F1RSTS, she’s helping others navigate uncertainty with confidence.
“I remember being lost as a second-year student,” she says. “Now I share the resources and lessons that helped me. Even if someone decides to stay in academia, at least they’re doing it with their eyes open.”
She also continues to find strength in the Duke community that has shaped her: organizations like BioCoRE, Duke Pamilya, and mentors across campus, from staff who supported her department to instructors who challenged her to think differently.
The New Definition of a Scientist
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Today, as she prepares to finish her dissertation, Kayla sees herself not as someone who stepped away from traditional science, but as someone expanding its boundaries.
“Duke I&E helped me realize that innovation isn’t a separate thing; it’s a way of approaching problems,” she says. “Curiosity, empathy, resilience; all of those traits make you a better scientist.”
Her martial arts practice still offers a grounding metaphor for that mindset: motion, balance, and growth through practice. “Things are more similar than they are different,” she reflects. “Once you understand that, you know you’ll land on your feet, literally and figuratively.”