<p>In my experience in grad study in the biomedical sciences, it’s probably better career-wise to have earned your Ph.D. from a state or second-tier school in the lab of a well-known and well-connected professor who ran an active and well-funded program that published a lot rather than in a few-or-no publications lab in a prestigious name university. </p>
<p>Ideal would be to have both of course, but if forced to choose, a strong publication record will trump a glittering Name university when it comes to landing that key post-doc or first job.</p>