Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies can be very complex. Many people think of STEM as being about the researchers working on discovering new treatments, but there are also people in STEM looking at finances, developing processes, checking legalities, and playing countless other essential roles. My job involves finding ways to meet our goals and spot areas where we can do better, both in how we distribute our medicines and how we test them. It’s all about maximizing our impact both as an organization and for the patients we serve.

A lot of my work requires effective communication strategies. I help our teams talk to healthcare professionals, gather data for our scientific communication team, build relationships with other organizations that support similar disease areas, and make sure all of our disease areas and brands are well-prepared to meet their goals. I communicate with company leaders often about what we can do better, so a lot of my work involves emails, presentations, workshops, project timelines, and other types of media.

Developing and distributing new medicines is a big effort, and it’s easy for things to become inefficient or to miss out on making sure all communities are served equally. All of the communication and collaboration that I do helps make sure the pieces are working together smoothly in ways that benefit the company and patients. STEM, and especially healthcare, depends on people who understand the science, but also understand strategy, business, and people so that we can move forward thoughtfully.