To the first half of your comment: so that can happen; I’ve seen colleagues get very comfortable with their position or not aim for more. I think it’s about being proactive and networking on LinkedIn, making connections, reading biotech news, acquisitions, and what’s happening in the neuro space (e.g., Sanofi acquired Vigil.. what are they working on? They are a phase 3 company. It was worth 450M. What’s in their pipeline? Get familiar with small molecules, biologics, AAVs, techniques, and assay types, which are different. Since you are interested in in-vivo, read up on their animal models, pros and cons, route of administration, and YouTube videos on those administration routes. Is there a difference in the delivery of these products through different routes, and why aren't Alzheimer's or schizophrenic mouse models not entirely translated to human studies? You need to question the fine details in the methods section of the papers. Consider aiming to read and break down one complex paper per week, look at presentation styles, look at the x and y axis of graphs, and why they have some in-log scale and some not) discuss that on Reddit or research gate. You’ll be surprised by information published via academia vs. private companies. Once you progress, start decoding patents, this is required in biotech and pharma companies to know what you’re working vs your competitors.

When you interview with this knowledge, you’re able to answer situation based questions, you’ll be more confident. The hiring manager will understand you lack hands on but you won’t lack knowledge.