Explain what you do at Personalis?
I have the honor and privilege of being part of the Quality, Regulatory and Clinical Compliance (QRC) team which is responsible for overseeing quality and compliance of the CLIA lab and of all our product offerings. We also partner very closely with business development and R&D teams to drive pharma partnerships for regulatory collaborations. Our team is also responsible for clinical interpretation and for ensuring the compliance of our clinical trials.
What led you down the career path you’re on today?
“Challenge the WAY it’s Always Been Done” is my personal mantra. My quest to walk on the untrodden path led me to take an orthopedic marketing role at Japan Medico (now ICU Medical) Tokyo, where I was literally one of the first foreign women in the Japan medical device industry at the time, and could be found walking through rice fields with the sales team trying to get to hospitals in rural areas. Then, as a newbie to the coronary arena (Guidant which was later acquired by Abbott), my first job within weeks of joining the company was to teach cardiovascular anatomy and products to the newly hired team of seasoned sales reps (imagine how well that went!). Next, I did an almost overnight transition from marketing to regulatory affairs and was transferred to the US, my first deliverable being the clinical trial submission for a flagship cardiovascular stent (no surprise, I have a soft spot for sales and marketing!). After an amazing stint at Abbott Vascular where I was fortunate to have global stretch roles almost every 1-2 years, I felt a strong need to push myself out of my comfort zone and went into IVDs and oncology at Roche Diagnostics. Working in the oncology space reopened past memories of when I had breast cancer, an experience so traumatic that I had shut it out completely from my mind. But I was ready to move on from the past and I felt that I had finally found my calling. I then fulfilled my curiosity about working at smaller, agile companies such as GRAIL and now at Personalis. I’ve had my moments of fear and uncertainty as I chartered my course. I give kudos to my managers, mentors, teammates, friends and family who trusted me and had confidence in my ability to tackle and learn from challenges and charge forward. I am on the cusp of completing almost 6 months at Personalis, I am enjoying every moment and am excited about our future.
