WEST Wisdom Blog

Jo Viney is the President, Co-founder, and Chief Scientific Officer of Pandion Therapeutics. She is a prominent figure in the field of autoimmunity, and a past board member of WEST. She served as the WEST board’s president from 2016 - 2017, and she continues her affiliation with our organization as an active “Friend of WEST” sponsor. She is no stranger when it comes to supporting and inspiring women in the field of STEM. I recently sat down with Jo (virtually), where we talked about her journey. Her smile was infectious, and her journey struck a chord with me.

Topics: Leadership, Science, Transitions, Career, Community, Giving Back, Interview, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Biotech, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Leaders, Impact, Career Development, Mentor, Advice, Advocate, #WESTorg

Dr. Irene Ghobrial is a Professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Lavine Family Chair of Preventative Cancer Therapies. Dr. Ghobrial received her M.D. from Cairo University in 1995. She trained as a medical oncology fellow and became an Instructor in Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota from 2001 to 2005.

Topics: Leadership, Science, Career, Community, Interview, Resilience, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Leaders, Impact, Career Development, Advocate, #WESTorg

 

Anna Barnacka is the CEO and Founder at MindMics. She earned her Master’s in Physics in 2008 and two PhDs in Physics and Astronomy in 2013. Anna worked as a NASA Einstein Fellow at Harvard University from 2015-2018 and focused on turning galaxies into high resolution telescopes. In May 2018, she founded her own company because Anna was interested in applying her knowledge from previous experiences on research on the human body.

Topics: Leadership, Science, Career, Community, Interview, Resilience, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Leaders, Impact, Career Development, Advocate, #WESTorg

Leadership is shown in many ways, and Anne Cheung has turned working with her introverted nature into a strength, focusing on doing the work and cultivating the passion of others in joining her work. Her style of leadership has resulted in work that improves the lives of others. 

Topics: Leadership, Science, Career, Interview, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Leaders, Career Development, Advocate, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave

Katherine Andersen serves as Head of Life Science & Healthcare Relationship Banking at SVB, which covers growth companies from Series A investment all the way up to Middle Market. She also sits on the Board of Directors for SVB's Joint Venture in China, SPD Silicon Valley Bank. Her team spans the U.S. and focuses on providing advice and delivering specialized solutions in the areas of biotech, tools, diagnostics, healthcare services and IT, medical devices and digital health. 

Topics: Leadership, Science, Career, Interview, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Board of Directors, Leaders, Career Development, Advocate, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave

Mariana Nacht, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Cereius, a Biotech startup in North Carolina. She has been a WEST board member for 5 years. Mariana works with scientific personnel on science strategy to meet goals, get funding, and build a successful company.

Topics: Leadership, Science, Career, Interview, Women in STEM, Member Spotlight, Rockstars, Inspiration, Role Models, Board of Directors, Leaders, Career Development, Advocate, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave

On April 2, 2020, WEST will honor those who exemplify the mission of WEST. The two key award categories this year will be Making a Difference in the Community (e.g. running non-profit, helping in a soup kitchen, volunteering with animals) and Making a Difference for Women (e.g. supporting women's causes, mentoring, championing diversity). Do you know someone who is making a difference in one of these categories? If so, please nominate them here by 2/6/2020. Nominations are open to the WEST community including members and the larger community of supporters, friends, and allies. Awardees will be announced mid-February.   

Topics: Events, Gender Balance, Women, Tech, Science, Nominate, Awards, Community, Giving Back, Panel, Network, Giving, Inspire, Making a Difference, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Gender Parity

In the world of business, careers are no longer linear or predictable. What was once a clearly sign-posted path as you progressed through milestones, a career road map is now circuitous presenting new challenges and opportunities at every bend. Life-long careers in one sector or one company are becoming a rarity as new technologies and shifting social norms disrupt traditional careers. Both employers and employees are seeking more diversity of experience, lifestyle flexibility and alternative paths.

These panels are designed to help you think about your career path and the different options that are open to you. Each panel will have an informational interview type feel with panelists sharing their career paths, a look at what their job entails, transferrable skills for those looking to make a change, tips for uncovering opportunities, advice for others, and how to make brave leaps. Then you will get some small group time with the panelists during a few speed networking rounds. 

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Science, Transitions, Career, Panel, Cambridge, Success, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Innovation, Professional, Biotech, Digital, Career Path, Career Development, Career Possibilities, Speed Networking, New Opportunities, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Venture Capital/VC, Business Development, Research & Development, Devices, Medical

Shelia Violette, Ph.D. recently completed her a board member term with the WEST organization and kindly put aside some time to offer some insights into her experience within the Biotech community. Violette is the Chief Scientific Officer at Admirx, a newly formed pre-clinical stage company which aims to fight serious auto-immune and inflammatory diseases. As CSO, she is responsible for overseeing scientific strategy.

Topics: Women, Science, Career, Community, Interview, Women in STEM, Networking, Biotech, Connect, Leaders, Sponsor, Advice, Be Fearless, Be Brave

Regardless of your current LinkedIn title, you are the CEO of your career.

What is the #1 indicator of leadership potential? 

EQ: Emotional intelligence 

Daniel Goleman literally wrote the book on emotional intelligence. In his renowned 2004 Harvard Business Review article, ‘What Makes a Leader,’ he explained: 

‘Most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as “threshold capabilities”; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader.'

But wait, it gets better. 

Topics: Events, Leadership, Science, Career, Inspire, Women in STEM, Workshop, Networking, Upcoming Events, Emotional Intelligence, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave