Northwestern University I'm a PhD (in Biomedical science) looking to move into data science/ML. My main PhD project was molecular in nature. I have a second, unpublished project that involves ML. Since it's unpublished my advisor does not want me to share our code/data (waitingNor on somd related molecular studies in human samples). I did two side projects: multi-classv/label NLP and a regression task where I perform model inference and built a dashboard. Would this be enough to pique your interest as a hiring manager?
Not a hiring manager but as a Data Science student, your profile is definitely interesting. You have a PhD from a top school and also have previous ML experience.
Not sure how good your mathematical/statistical background is but if you have that down, I am sure you will have success in transitioning to a computationally heavy role.
Mentor
There are some many data science roles in Health Care too - you understand the science, I might look for entry level DS roles at pharma places, CVS, etc
As an aside I am classically trained as a molecular biologist, but during undergrad I published/worked in a bioinformatics lab. In the past 3-4 yeses of my PhD I started realizing I wanted to shift exclusively to computational work. My main project involved some fairly simple sequencing analysis, but I picked up the other project while sidelined from my dissertation topic for 9 months during COVID lockdowns.
I took a about half the coursework needed for a biostats MSc as electives the past several years, including a formal ML course, so although my BSc/PhD are really in molecular biology I do have some formal classroom education in data science.
New grad data science is crazy impacted. What you describe shows you've done something relevant and have an interest, but you haven't described anything differentiating enough for a DS generalist except a recognizable school PhD. If all you care about is maximizing your chances for entering industry, I'd workshop the elevator pitch to make you seem more unique/ML savy (ok to get technical) and maybe angle at biotech companies where your molecular skills will count