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

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

Join WESTorg at Takeda on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, for the #WESTawards to honor individuals in the Boston science and technology community that embody WEST’s 2018-2019 theme, ‘Own It: Empowering Your Career & Your Life’. 

WEST is a learning community that provides women in the enterprise of science and technology with the inspiration, knowledge and connections to reach their full potential. Please join #WESTorg and our sponsors, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson and Safety Partners at Takeda’s Cambridge offices for the 2019 #WESTawards and Networking Night to honor individuals in Boston’s STEM community who embody WEST’s mission and our ‘Own It’ theme in their service of inclusivity and empowerment in STEM and STEM initiatives that benefit the community at large.

Topics: Events, Women, Science, Career, Awards, Community, Giving Back, Interview, Cambridge, Success, Network, Inspire, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Biotech, Rockstars, Connect, Making a Difference, Inspiration, Role Models, Volunteer, Compensation, Strengths, Support, Leaders, Impact, Own It, Sponsor, Advocate

It was an early October WEST event. Dr. Amy Rebecca Gay had just started her presentation on self-advocacy and negotiating-while-womaning. I wasn’t expecting the rip tide surge of emotion. It barely touched the surface, but it took the room underwater with a collective two-beat sigh, an almost visible miasma of bang-your-head-against-the-wall frustration. Dr. Gay had just explained Dr. Hannah Riley Bowles’ observation that women pay a ‘social cost’ for effectively negotiating for themselves even when the same exact behaviors and outcomes earn men respect and a social capital bonus. Insert two-beat sigh here. Innnnn, and oooooout.  

Topics: Events, Women, Science, Career, Community, Interview, negotiation, Women in STEM, Networking, Biotech, Interactive, Connect, Gender Pay Gap, Compensation, Leaders, Career Development, Advocate

Meena Subramanyam was born a scientist – for as long as she remembers, she was always interested in math, biology and how nature works. She aligned her coursework at school to ensure that she attended as many science classes as she could, and then pursued a degree in microbiology, with a focus on human anatomy, immunology and physiology in college which prepared her for pursuing a career in applied research. She focused on understanding the development of resistance to tuberculosis drugs for her Master’s thesis and shifted to studying the response of the immune system at the molecular level when she came to the USA to continue her graduate studies. From there, hard work, focus, a desire to learn about drug development and commitment to make a meaningful difference drove an impressive career and her current position as a VP and Global Program leader at Takeda.

Topics: Women, Science, Career, Community, Interview, Women in STEM, Networking, Biotech, Connect, Leaders