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My job title is Manager, Scientific Medical Writing, and I work
for a small pharmaceutical company called Pharmion Corporation.
I've worked in the pharmaceutical industry before, so this new job
lets me come back to a familiar environment. In my other jobs in
the pharmaceutical industry, I analyzed and interpreted data on
how well potential new drugs worked in human beings. In this job,
I work more with doctors, nurses, scientists, and other writers
to produce educational materials. These materials may be used by
doctors and nurses, or by patients, or by members of our sales force.
The materials describe important information about particular kinds
of diseases and health problems - what to look out for, what are
the underlying conditions of the disease, what kinds of treatment
might be effective. My company has a special focus on hematology
and oncology - that means anything having to do with the blood or
with cancer. This is really interesting for me because this is the
area I used to do research in when I was a laboratory research scientist.
Just before this job, I was the first Director of the Women in Engineering
and Science Program at Kansas State University. In that job, I worked
on development of recruitment and retention programs for women in
engineering and the sciences from the middle school through post-graduate
levels. Previously, I've worked as a research scientist at cancer
research centers in the U.S. and in Germany. In that job, I did
basic cancer research to figure out why some cancer cells are resistant
to treatment.
I always loved school, and some of my friends say I am a chronic
student! I have four degrees and one graduate certificate. I earned
my bachelor's degree in engineering science from the Pennsylvania
State University in 1984, a master's degree in nuclear engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986, and a women's
studies graduate certificate in 1990 and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering
in 1991, both from Duke University. I also earned a second master's
degree in secondary education (mathematics) from Beaver College
(now Arcadia University) in 1998.
In the pharmaceutical industry, I really like the fact that we work
on a big team - each of us relies on the others to get the whole
project done - and I feel like I am doing something that could really
help people out. It is exciting to be part of a team that works
to bring new and useful drugs to the American public! In my previous
job, the thing I liked most was that it let me combine all the things
I've always been interested in during my career - engineering, science,
education, and encouraging other women in careers in science and
engineering. When I worked as a research scientist, the most exciting
part was planning a new experiment - figuring out the right question
to ask, how to collect the data, and then after I had the data,
figuring out what it all meant!
The first barrier I had to overcome in my career was low expectations.
Where I grew up, most people expected boys to become coal miners
or farmers, and girls to become housewives. Fortunately, I had parents
who encouraged my love of reading, math, and learning in general,
and who wanted me to go to college. I began to consider a career
in engineering late in my senior year of high school. Though my
mother didn't really know what engineering was, she encouraged me
to consider it when I was applying to colleges because she felt
it would prepare me for a secure and well-paying profession. She
encouraged me to stick with it through my freshman year of college,
even though I had gotten a D in my first calculus course and wanted
to switch majors. That was my second major barrier, and I almost
quit, but mom kept me going! I repeated the calculus course, got
an A, felt more confident, and discovered I liked engineering very
much. In fact I liked it so much I went on to graduate school in
engineering. The main lessons I learned from those early years were:
1) Don't be afraid to try something new, even if you aren't sure
what it is, and 2) don't give up if you "fail" or have
a setback at something, especially math or science classes. Just
take a deep breath; slow down, keep trying, and eventually it will
all make sense! I also learned that some of the most fun things
to learn and do are things that you can't always be good at the
first time or even very soon. Throughout my career I have occasionally
encountered people who thought that women could not be good at science
or engineering, or could not be as good as men. Fortunately, I knew
they were wrong, and I always looked for good friends and professors
who could encourage me. My favorite quote comes from Dr. Mary Bunting,
who once said, "I have always been much more interested in
being my own fact than in being part of someone else's theory."
That's a good motto for your life. Don't let anyone else define
limitations for you - be your own fact and pursue your own interest
and happiness.
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