>> I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED TO BE RESPECTFUL OF EVERYONE'S TIME. IF YOU WOULD TAKE A SEAT. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT. WE'RE HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, AND WE TAKE PRIDE WITHIN OEODM FOR ADVANCING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION FOR ALL PEOPLE BUT DURING THIS PARTICULAR MONTH OF MARCH, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE BUT ALSO THE VALUE THAT WOMEN BRING TO THE WORKFORCE. SO TODAY WE CELEBRATE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AND AS A PART OF THE CELEBRATION, I WANT TO REAFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING NIH TRULY CREATE AN INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN AND ALL EMPLOYEES. TO THAT END, OUR OFFICE IS IN THE MIDST OF A LARGE TRANSPOREMATION, REBUILDING OUR PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP TO BETTER SERVE THE NIH BUT ALSO TO ADVANCE THESE PRINCIPLES MORE EFFECTIVELY. I WANT TO THANK OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DR. LYDIA VILLA-KOMAROFF, FOR BEING WITH US TODAY AND FOR WHAT I'M SURE WILL BE AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. SOME OF MY STAFF HAD LUNCH WITH HER JUST BEFORE THIS MEETING AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT SHE'S HERE TO BE WITH US. I ALSO WANT TO THANK DR. SHARON MILGRAM FROM THE OFFICE OF INTRAMURAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION AND DR. SUSAN MAYOR FROM THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S HEALTH FOR JOINING US AND BEING A PART OF THE PROGRAM TODAY. I HAD THE DISTINCT HONOR OF INTRODUCING DR. LARRY TABAK, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE NIH, WHO WILL PRESENT THE SPEAKER, BUT LARRY HAS BEEN AN ARDENT SUPPORTER OF OEODM PROGRAMS, IS CERTAINLY A CHAMPION FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND IS A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN AT NIH AND WOMEN IN GENERAL. SO I HAVE THE DISTINCT PLEASURE OF INTRODUCING DR. TABAK. [APPLAUSE] >> WELL THANK YOU, DEBORAH, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. I'D LIKE TO FORMALLY WELCOME YOU TO NIH'S 2013 WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH OBSERVANCE PROGRAM. WHILE WE LOOK FORWARD TO THIS PROGRAM EVERY YEAR, THE NATIONAL THEME THIS YEAR, WOMEN INSPIRING INNOVATION THROUGH IMAGINATION, CELEBRATING WOMEN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS, THAT HAS SPECIAL MEANING FOR US HERE AT NIH OF COURSE, AND THAT EMPHASIS GIVES US REALLY THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNIFICANT AND FAR REACHING ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN IN ALL OF THE STEM FIELDS, AND I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO SALUTE SOME OF NIH'S OWN VERY SCIENTIFICALLY GIFTED AND ACCOMPLISHED WOMEN. SO I CAN GO ALL THE WAY BACK INTO OUR HISTORY TO DR. MAR MARGARET PITTMAN, THE FIRST WOMAN LAB CHIEF AT NIH. IN THE YEARS SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE REMARKABLE WOMEN BOTH CONDUCT AND OVERSEE RESEARCH FROM BENCH SCIENCE TO CLINICAL SCIENCE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, AND THESE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES, I'M THINKING OF NHLBI'S DR. CLAIRE WATERMAN, WHO IS USING NANOMEDICINE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY TO STUDY CELL MOVEMENT AND THE DYNAMIC ASSEMBLY OF PROTEINS, OR NIDCR'S DR. AMBUKAR, WHO'S UNRAVELED THE COMPLEXITIES BY WHICH NEUROTRANSMITTERS SIGNAL FUNCTIONAL SECRETORY RESPONSES IN EPITHELIAL CELLS, DR. LESLIE FOR HER RESEARCH TRACKING THE INCREDIBLE COMPLEXITIES OF THE BRAIN PATHWAYS, AND I WOULD BE REMISS SITTING WHERE I DO HERE AT NIH IF I DIDN'T MENTION DR. RUTH KIRSHTING. I TALK TO RUTH ALL THE TIME, AND I DO THINK SOMETIMES SHE ANSWERS ME BACK WHEN I HAVE A PARTICULARLY VEXING PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY I CAN GO ON AND ON ABOUT ALL THE MANY, MANY OTHER WOMEN SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE MADE SUCH EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS, BUT I WAS TOLD I HAD FIVE MINUTES ONLY. SO I'M GOING TO KEEP GOING HERE. AND IN FACT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO LEAVE AS MUCH TIME FOR OUR GUEST SPEAKER TODAY, AND SHE'LL BE INTRODUCED FORMALLY IN A MOMENT, BUT I WILL TELL YOU OUR GUEST TODAY, DR. LYDIA VILLA-KOMAROFF, IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF A SCIENTIFIC TRAILBLAZER, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT NO FEWER THAN THREE PEOPLE CAME UP TO ME AS I WAS WALKING IN AND SAYING, WE'VE READ ALL HER PAPERS! SO THAT SAYS IT ALL. BUT AS YOU'LL SOON FIND OUT, HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS REALLY SPAN THE ENTIRE GAMUT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCITEMENT AND DISCOVERY FROM THE LAB, ACADEMIA, AND TO THE CORPORATE BOARDROOM. SO WE DO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR PRESENTATION. NOW ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE WORLD AND ACROSS OUR CAMPUS, WOMEN HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF CRITICAL SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND HAVE RISEN TO THE HIGHEST POSITIONS IN LABORATORIES AND UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENT, AND WOMEN SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE NIH, BOTH INTRAMURALLY AND EXTRAMURALLY, AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE CRUCIAL LEADERSHIP IN THE FUTURE OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, BUT EVEN AS WE ACKNOWLEDGE THESE SEMINAL CONTRIBUTIONS, WOMEN AND GIRLS CONTINUE TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS. IT'S A TREND THAT UNFORTUNATELY BEGINS IN SCIENCE AND MATH CLASSROOMS, AND THEN IT SNOWBALLS. IT MANIFESTS AT EVERY STAGE OF A WOMAN'S CAREER. THAT'S WHY PROGRAMS LIKE THIS ARE SO IMPORTANT. IT'S WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH. NOT ONLY ALLOWS US TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE SOME OF THE WORLD'S EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN, TO SEE THE PRODUCTS OF THEIR IMAGINATION AND INTELLECT, BUT ALSO THE MONTH GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES AND MANY OBSTACLES THAT WOMEN IN STEM HAVE HAD TO SURMOUNT AND THE BARRIERS THAT THEY CONTINUE TO FACE. SO APPARENTLY ONE OF THESE BARRIERS HAS TO DO WITH PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND HOW THE SOCIETY SEES THINGS. ACCORDING TO SOME STUDIES, MANY YOUNG WOMEN DON'T ENTER SCIENCE BECAUSE IT GOES AGAINST THE SOCIETAL NORM. IF THAT'S TRUE, WE'VE GOT TO REPLACE NORM. SO LET ME LEAVE YOU WITH A COMMITMENT AND A QUOTATION. THE COMMITMENT COMES FROM ONE OF OUR GREATEST SCIENTIFIC PIONEERS, THE PHYSICIAN ELIZABETH BLACKWELL. THE FIRST WOMAN TO EARN A MEDICAL DEGREE IN THIS COUNTRY. SHE POINTED OUT, AND I QUOTE, MEDICINE IS SO BROAD AFIELD, SO CLOSELY INTERWOVEN WITH GENERAL INTERESTS, DEALING AS IT DOES WITH ALL AGES, SEXES AND CLASSES, AND YET OF SO PERSONAL A CHARACTER IN ITS INDIVIDUAL APPRECIATIONS, THAT IT MUST BE REGARDED AS ONE OF THOSE GREAT DEPARTMENTS OF WORK IN WHICH THE COOPERATION OF MEN AND WOMEN IS NEEDED TO FULFILL ALL ITS REQUIREMENTS. THAT SAYS A LOT. AND IT WAS CERTAINLY PR PRESCIENT. I THINK ALL OF US IN THE MEDICAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY HAVE TO AGREE WITH DR. BLACKWELL. MEDICINE AND ALL OF THE STEM FIELDS AND BRANCHES NEED BOTH MEN AND WOMEN TO REACH FULL POTENTIAL. SO LET ME END BY REAFFIRMING NIH'S COMMITMENT TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES GIRLS AND WOMEN FACE IN PURSUING CAREERS IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES. WE HAVE TO BE DETERMINED TO LEVERAGE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF OUR ENTIRE WORKFORCE. THIS IS NOT ABOUT QUOTAS, NOT ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OR -- THIS IS ABOUT GETTING THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST TO THE WORKFORCE SO THAT WE SUCCEED IN OUR MISSION AS AN AGENCY TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF ALL, SO I ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY A AND AS COLLECTIVE TO TRY AND BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS WHERE WE CAN IN OUR OWN ENVIRONMENTS AND PROVIDE NOT ONLY THE OPPORTUNITIES BUT ALSO THE ENCOURAGEMENT, SO I'M GOING TO GO OFF SCRIPT FOR A COUPLE SECONDS. SO I THINK OF THE UNSUNG MOTHERS WHO MAYBE DON'T HAVE BACKGROUNDS IN STEM BUT ARE SO VERY IMPORTANT IN ENCOURAGING THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO GO INTO FIELDS THAT PERHAPS THEY ONLY DREAMT OF. I REMEMBER MY MOM ALMOST BLEEDING HERSELF TO DEATH TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAD SAMPLES TO LOOK UNDER THE MICROSCOPE WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID. SO THERE ARE REALLY THE UNSUNG HEROS. SO THANK YOU, AND WE CERTAINLY LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR COMMENTS TODAY. [APPLAUSE] >> GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. I'M REALLY HONORED TO BE HERE, AND FIRST I'M GOING TO TAKE A MINUTE AND WELCOME ALL OF THE NIH FELLOWS, THE POST DOCS, GRADUATE STUDENTS. I DIRECT THE NIH OFFICE OF INTRAMURAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION, AND I KNOW THAT PROBABLY UNIVERSALLY ACROSS THE ENTIRE CAMPUS, THE NIH MOST GREATLY APPRECIATES ALL OF ITS STAFF BUT REALLY ESPECIALLY APPRECIATES FELLOWS AND HAVING A SCIENTIST WHO HAS LED THE WAY AND PROMOTED CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR MANY YOUNG SCIENTISTS IS REALLY MEANINGFUL. I ALSO REALLY WANT TO WELCOME THE NIH MEMBERS OF THE CHAPTER BECAUSE DR. VILLA-KOMAROFF IS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS. I WANTED TO WEAR MY T-SHIRT, %UT I ONCE PROMISED MY BOSS I WOULD NOT EMBARRASS THE NIH IN PUBLIC AND I'M TRYING VERY, VERY HARD TO DO THAT. BUT NIH IS VERY PROUD TO HAVE THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL CHAPTER, AND WE HOPE THAT YOUR VISIT HERE TODAY MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THAT REALLY IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION. THE ACTUAL REALLY EXCITING THING I WANT TO SAY IS I'M REALLY EXCITED TO INVITE LYDIA BACK TO NIH, BECAUSE ACTUALLY I FOUND OUT THAT SHE'S AN ALUM OF THE NIH SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. I'M UPSET THAT SHE'S NOT IN THE ALUMNI DATABASE, BUT IT DIDN'T EXIST BACK THEN, WE DID THAT LATER, BUT I THINK NOW WE KNOW THE BEGINNING OF HER SUCCESS. WE WON'T CLAIM CREDIT FOR ALL OF IT, BUT I THINK WE MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF CREDIT. SO NOW YOU KNOW TWO OF HER MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS, TRAINING HERE AT NIH AND STARTING SAGNES. SHE SENT ME AN EMAIL EARLIER THIS WEEK WHEN WE HAD A BRIEF COMMUNICATION ABOUT HER VISIT AND SHE SAID HER MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IS THAT SCIENCE IS ABOUT OPENING DOORS AND BROADENING HORIZONS FOR EVERYBODY, AND I THINK THAT'S THE REAL MESSAGE THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER IN WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH. I REALLY THINK WATCHING HER PBS INTERVIEW IN THE MAKERS SERIES, A SERIES FOCUSED ON IMPORTANT AMERICAN WOMEN, I THINK IF YOU WATCH THAT, YOU'LL GET A LOT OF SENSE OF HOW SHE'S DONE THAT THROUGHOUT HER CAREER. ONE THING SHE SAID THERE, AND SHE SAID YEARS BACK AT A MEETING THAT I ATTENDED IS THAT WHEN SHE WAS IN COLLEGE, SOMEBODY TOLD HER THAT GIRLS WEREN'T GOOD IN MATH. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT PROBABLY RESONATES FOR A LOT OF US BECAUSE MANY OF US HEARD SIMILAR THINGS. WE WEREN'T GOING TO BE GOOD IN WHATEVER IT WAS WE WANTED TO DO. AND I THINK THE PROBLEM IS THAT LITTLE GIRLS STILL HEAR THAT TODAY. SO WHY WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW THE MEDIA AND SOCIETY TO TELL GIRLS IT'S BETTER TO BE A PRINCESS THAN A PHYSICIST JUST REALLY BAFFLES ME. AND ANYTHING THAT ALL OF US CAN DO AS PART OF THE NIH COMMUNITY TO CHANGE THAT MESSAGE, I THINK IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. EVERYBODY, ALL WOMEN AND ALL PEOPLE OF COLOR, PEOPLE FROM MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, ALL IMMIGRANTS, EVERYONE HERE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS INDEPENDENT OF BIASES AND STEREOTYPES, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE NIH CAN MAKE A BIG IMPACT ON. WHEN I THINK ABOUT LYDIA'S CAREER, I THINK ABOUT A SPEECH THAT I HEARD MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN HILLARY CLINTON CONCEDED THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE TO BARACK OBAMA, AND INDEPENDENT OF WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE POLITICS AND WHAT HAPPENED, I THINK YOU CAN AGREE THAT THIS MESSAGE REALLY RESONATES AND THAT WAS THAT HER CANDIDACY RESULTED IN 18 MILLION CRACKS IN THE GLASS CEILING. AT THAT POINT, SHE MEANT 18 MILLION PEOPLE WHO WENT AND VOTED FOR HER, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, BUT I THINK SHE ALSO MEANT CRACKS LIKE THOSE MADE BY THE SCIENTISTS WHO CAME BEFORE US TO PUT CRACKS IN THE GLASS CEILING SO THAT GIRLS COULD COME BEHIND. AND I THINK THAT IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE WOMEN WHO HAVE MADE CRACKS IN THE GLASS CEILING EVERYWHERE. I THINK WHAT LARRY SAID ABOUT REMEMBERING WOMEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR OWN OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE THEIR OWN CRACK SO THAT WE COULD COME BEHIND IS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT AND I KNOW MANY PEOPLE NOW LIVE THEIR LIFE SOMETIMES FEELING CONSTRAINED, ALMOST LIKE THEIR METAPHORICALLY LIVING IN A ROOM WITH A REALLY LOW GLASS CEILING, AND I KNOW MOST OF THEM ARE DOING IT FOR THEIR CHILDREN TO PUT A CRACK IN THAT WALL. LYDIA HAS SHATTERED LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF GLASS CEILINGS IN HER CAREER. SHE HAS HAD AN AMAZING CAREER IN ACADEMIA OF OVER 20 YEARS, SHE HAS BEEN AN ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATOR AT TWO REMARKABLE INSTITUTIONS, SHE JOINED THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND NOW IS THE CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER AT CYTONOMEST. SHE GOT HER UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE WHEN SHE WAS IN THE NIH SUMMER PROGRAM AND HER PH.D. FROM MIT, WORKING WITH TWO ROCK STARS OF SCIENCE. SHE COMMENTED IN A TALK THAT I HEARD BEFORE HOW THAT'S WHERE SHE LEARNED HOW TO COLLABORATE, AND I THINK THAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT HER CAREER HOW GOOD A COLLABORATOR AND MOTIVATOR SHE IS. SHE WAS THE FIRST TO TAKE A HUMAN PROTEIN AND PUT IT BEHIND A NON-UTERIOTIC CELL PROMOTER AND EXPRESS THE PROTEIN. THE WORK SHE DID WITH INSULIN WAS GROUND BREAKING AND INSPIRATIONAL TO PEOPLE COMING BEHIND. IT HAS HUGE IMPACT IN BASIC SCIENCE AND HUGE IMPACTS IN THERAPEUTICS. MY GUESS IS THAT THOSE PAPERS HAVE BEEN READ AND DEBATED AND TALKED ABOUT TIME AND TIME AGAIN AGAIN. SHE HAS BEEN ON A NUMBER OF REVIEW BOARDS AT NIH, AT NSF, FOR THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, AND IMPORTANTLY SHE DOES WORK IN HER LOCAL COMMUNITY AS WELL BECAUSE CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME, WHEN WE CHANGE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, WE CHANGE THE REST OF WHERE WE ARE, AND SHE'S BEEN THE VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AT NORTHWESTERN AND AT THE WHITEHEAD INSTITUTE. SHE IS A MEMBER OF THE HISPANIC ENGINEER NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT HALL OF FAME AND A FELLOW OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN AND SIGH EBBS, AND SHE ISCIENCE, AND SHE IS THE TYP E OF WOMAN THAT MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES AND I ASPIRED TO BE WHEN WE WERE IN GRADUATE SCHOOL. SHE IS AN AMAZING ROLE MODEL FOR WOMEN SCIENTISTS AND MALE SCIENTISTS ALIKE, AND I AM REALLY, REALLY HONORED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE HER. SHE'S GOING TO TALK TODAY ABOUT HER SCIENCE CAREER FROM CLONING TO CELL THERAPY, AND PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING HER AND I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] >> THANK YOU. WELL, THOSE ARE TWO VERY HARD ACTS TO FOLLOW. THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. IT'S HARD TO SAY A LOT IN A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO TODAY IS TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT A LIFE IN SCIENCE. A LIFE IN SCIENCE CAN SPAN, AS YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD, AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF ACTIVITIES, AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS TOO OFTEN WE DO AS WE TRAIN SCIENTISTS AND THINK ABOUT SCIENCE, IS TO MAKE IT LIMITING. WHEN ONE GETS A PH.D. IN A PARTICULAR DISCIPLINE, THAT THAT IS A LIMITING DEGREE. AND THAT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT THE CASE. IN FACT, IT IS A DEGREE WHICH OPENS WORLDS AND IS AS SPECTACULAR TRAINING FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH ONE CAN INTERACT IN THE WORLD, SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HERE KNOWS THAT AND CARRIES THAT MESSAGE AS WELL. SO THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT ONE CAN DO IN SCIENCE, AND YOU GO THROUGH PHASES AND I THINK I'VE BEEN THROUGH ALL OF THEM, THAT MAY BE BECAUSE I HAVE A SMALL ATTENTION SPAN OR IT MAY BE BECAUSE I FOLLOWED A ROAD WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT WINDING, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WOMEN TEND TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN MEN. IN GRADUATE SCHOOL AS A POST DOC, THE CRITICAL THING WE'RE LEARNING IS OUR CRAFT. HOW DO YOU PHRASE A QUESTION TO MOTHER NATURE SO THAT YOU GET AN ANSWER THAT CAN MAKE SENSE? AND IT TAKES PRACTICE TO DO ANYTHING WELL. AND SO DURING THOSE YEARS WHICH CAN OFTEN SEEM QUITE TRYING, OR VERY EXCITING OR OFTEN BOTH, WE'RE REALLY LEARNING HOW TO BE A SCIENTIST, WHAT IT IS TO ASK A QUESTION THAT IS DIRECTED TO GET THAT TRICKY MOTHER NATURE TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER WHICH IS UNAMBIGUOUS. IT'S REALLY A HARD THING TO DO AND THAT'S THE CRUX OF WHAT WE DO. THEN IF YOU'RE FORTUNATE AND YOU SET UP A LAB, AND WHEN I ENTERED GRADUATE SCHOOL, MIGRATE AMBITION WAS TO HAVE A LAB OF MY OWN. AND I DID. I LEFT MY POSTDOCTORAL WORK AND THERE I STARTED BOTH AS A GRADUATE STUDENT AND AS A POSTDOC, I WAS SURROUNDED BY REMARKABLE COLLEAGUES, HAVING THE JOY OF THE SEARCH, LOOKING FOR THAT ANSWER, LOOKING FOR THE ANSWER THAT ACTUALLY NOBODY ELSE KNOWS. AND THERE IS NOTHING AS THRILLING AS MANY OF YOU KNOW AS GETTING UP ONE MORNING AND GOING INTO THE LABORATORY A, IN MY CASE, OPENING AN INCUBATOR, TAKING OUT A PLATE AND REALIZING THAT YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS AND NOBODY ELSE KNOWS RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT. I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF THOSE MOMENTS AND THAT'S BY ITSELF A GREAT GIFT. THE ONE I'M REFERRING TO IS THE DAY I KNEW WE WERE EXPRESSING INSULIN IN BACTERIA, AND ON THAT DAY, I WAS VERY EXCITED, SO I WAS DOING THAT WORK AT MIT BECAUSE HARVARD DIDN'T HAVE THE FACILITIES NEEDED TO CONTAIN THAT WORK. SO I RAN DOWN THE HALL, AFTER HAVING TAKEN OFF MY LAB COAT, WASHED MY HANDS, SCRUBBED, ALL THAT STUFF WE HAD TO DO, AND I WENT TO BOB WINEBERG AND SAID I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL NEWS. HE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, YOU'RE PREGNANT! [LAUGHTER] >> SO THAT SUMMARIZES MANY OF THE EXPERIENCES, I THINK, THAT NOT JUST -- IT'S NOT JUST MEN, WE DO IT TOO. WHICH IS WE LOOK AT SOMEONE DOING SOMETHING, AND WE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'RE NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT. AND WE ALL DO IT. IT'S NOT JUST THE GUYS. WE DO IT TOO. AND THIS IS UNAMBIGUOUS. IT'S NOW CLEAR THAT IF YOU TAKE TWO CVs AND ONE IS KEN JONES AND ONE IS CARLA JONES, AND YOU GIVE THOSE IDENTICAL CVs TO A BUNCH OF MEN AND A BUNCH OF WOMEN WHO ARE LOOKING FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, LAB ASSISTANTS, EVERYBODY, MEN AND WOMEN BOTH, WILL RATE THE WOMAN LOWER. NOW YOU CAN OVERCOME THIS. IT COMES FROM THE WAY WE EVOLVE. AFTER ALL, IT WAS PROTECTIVE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS WERE, AND WE'VE OUTGROWN THE NEED FOR THAT IN MANY CASES, BUT WE STILL THINK IN TERMS OF OUR GROUP AND OUR TRIBE. AND THOSE ARE OUR INSTANT REACTIONS. SO WHEN YOU GET THAT CV, YOU HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE MEANS TO PREVENT YOURSELF AS AN INDIVIDUAL OR YOURSELF AS A SEARCH COMMITTEE OR YOURSELF AS ANY GROUP FROM ALLOWING THAT TO LEAD THE PROCEEDINGS. THEN, OF COURSE, THAT'S THE DISCOVERY PHASE WHICH IS UNPAIR UNPARALLELED. NOW IF YOU'RE FORTUNATE, THAT DISCOVERY CAN ALSO BE USED IN SOME APPLICATIONS. THERE ARE SOME PARTS OF SCIENCE WHICH LEAD TO KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS NOT IMMEDIATELY APPLICABLE, LIKE THE HIGGS-BOZON, WHICH WE'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT LATELY. THE THING I LOVE ABOUT THAT KIND OF SCIENCE OF ALL THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS IS THEY EXPAND THE REALM OF THE POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF US. THOSE KINDS OF DISCOVERIES STRETCH OUR MINDS AND HELP US IN OTHER FIELDS TO THINK IN NEW DIRECTIONS. THE KIND OF RESEARCH THAT WE DO AS BU BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS, VERY OFTEN WE DO THAT BECAUSE WE WANT IT TO HAVE AN APPLICATION IN THE REAL WORLD. AND IT'S VERY EXCITING TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THE WORK THAT I DID NOW ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO, I'M IN A MIXED MARRIAGE. MY HUSBAND IS AN M.D., I'M A PH.D. [LAUGHTER] >> IN MANY WAYS, I HAVE TOUCHED MORE LIVES MEDICALLY THAN HE HAS, BECAUSE NOW, ANYBODY IN THE COUNTRY WHO RECEIVES INSULIN FOR THEIR DIABETES IS USING RECOME RECOMBINANT INSULIN. SO BASIC DEGREE CAN HAVE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT IN MEDICINE. AT THE TIME I DID THIS, I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT THAT AT ALL. IT WAS JUST REALLY VERY COOL. WHILE THE GILBERT, WHOSE LAB I WAS IN, HE HAD THOUGHT AHEAD. HE WAS THINKING THIS WAS POSSIBLE. SO THAT IS THE APPLICATION OR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE ON WHICH THERE IS NOW RENEWED ATTENTION. THEN CONCURRENT WITH ALL OF THESE SUBSEQUENT TO SOME OF THESE VERY FREQUENTLY OUR LIFE AS SCIENTISTS INVOLVES TEACHING. YOU TEACH WITHIN YOUR LABORATORY, YOU TEACH THE COMMUNITY, YOU TEACH STUDENTS FORMALLY IN CLASSES TO PASS ON HOW IT IS THAT YOU PHRASE A QUESTION, THE JOY OF DISCOVERY, THE THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT WE'VE LEARNED AND WHY THOSE ARE EXCITING, THAT, TOO, IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR JOB AS SCIENTISTS. THEN AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, REALLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS IS YOU'RE ENABLING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY AND APPLICATION IN A VERY BROAD BASE. SO BY TAKING CHARGE OF AN INSTITUTION BY BEING A VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH, BY BEING AN ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE NIH, BY RUNNING AN INSTITUTE, ANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE JOBS IN SCIENCE WHICH THROUGH YOUR ACTION, YOU CAN ENABLE AND EXPAND THE WORK OF SCIENTISTS AROUND YOU. THEN FINALLY, AND PERHAPS EQUALLY IMPORTANTLY, IS TO DEFINE THE FIELD. THAT'S TAKING PART IN ACTIVITIES THAT SET THE GROUNDWORK FOR WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD BE ASKED, WHAT FIELDS SHOULD WE BE DIGGING INTO, HOW SHOULD WE DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES, HOW SHOULD WE DO TRAINING? THAT IS ALL PART OF SETTING THE POLICY FIELDS, AND THERE TOO, ONE CAN HAVE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT AND ALL OF THIS IS POSSIBLE THROUGH SCIENCE. AND THEN THERE'S THE ANCILLARY THINGS. I'VE BEEN IN A COURTROOM, BECAUSE THAT INTERSECTION BETWEEN LAW AND SCIENCE, WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES FOR DISCOVERY WHICH YOU SHOULD BE HAVING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR, AND WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE MORE WIDESPREAD? IT TURNS OUT THAT TRUTH IN A COURT OF LAW IS DEFINED SOMEWHAT DIFFERENTLY THAN TRUTH AT THE BENCH. IT TAKES SCIENTISTS AND LAWYERS TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH THE REASONING AND THE THINKING THAT ALLOWS THE LAW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SCIENCE AND THEY'RE OFTEN OUT OF SYNC. SO DOING THIS, I WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT I'VE DONE. WHEN I WENT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, THE WORK WITH DAVID AND HARVEY, IT WAS A SMALL CLASS, THERE WERE ONLY 16 OF US, AND WE DID SOMETHING WHICH OTHER CLASSES HADN'T DONE, WE DIVVIED UP THE FACULTY BEFORE THE FACULTY DIVVIED US UP. SO WE SAT DOWN TOGETHER AND NEGOTIATED WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT WHO WOULD APPROACH WHICH FACULTIES GO INTO THEIR LAB FNLT IN THOSE DAYS, WE DIDN'T DO ROTATIONS. WHEN I WENT TO DAVID BALTIMORE AND ASKED HIM IF I COULD BE IN HIS LAB, HE SAID HE WAS TOO FULL, HE HAD A LOT OF POSTDOCS, DIDN'T HAVE ROOM FOR ANY MORE GRADUATE STUDENTS, THAT WASN'T GOING TO WORK. WELL, DAVID HAD JUST COME TO MIT AND HIS NEIGHBOR, IN THE NEIGHBORING OFFICE, WAS HARVEY LODUS AND THEY SHARED A SECRETARY, AND IN FACT THEIR LABS WERE ALSO JOINING AND SHARED, SO I WENT TO HARVEY AND I SAID HARVEY, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN VIRUSES AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, WHAT IF WE DID A JOINT PROJECT? HE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA, I WENT BACK TO DAVID AND HE SAID OH, ALL RIGHT. SO I WAS THE FIRST STUDENT AT MIH TO HAVE TWO ADVISORS. THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT LESSON. YOU HAVE TO THINK SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT BEYOND WHAT IS THE WAY TO DO THINGS IN ORDER TO GET THE THING YOU WANT DONE DONE. WHEN I LEFT THE BALTIMORE LAB, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON THAT I HAD LEARNED IN THE BALDFISH LAB, WHICH WE CALLED IT, WAS THAT ONE OF THE HALL MARKS OF SCIENCE IS THAT IT'S NOT HOW SENIOR YOU ARE, IT'S NOT HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE YOU'VE HAD. YOU HAVE TO DO THE EXPERIMENT. THE PERSON WHO'S RUNNING THE LAB MAY NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION THAT YOU ARE ASKING. THE FIRST EXPERIMENT THAT DAVID HAD ME DO WASN'T REALLY AN EXPERIMENT, IT WAS TO GROW A VIRUS. I WAS GOING TO GROW A VIRUS CALLED THE MC, AND IT WAS VERY MUCH LIKE A POLIO VIRUS, WHICH IS WHAT HE HAD DONE. SO HE HANDED ME THE RECIPE FOR GROWING POLIO VIRUS SO HE SAID THIS SHOULD WORK. I DID THAT AND IT DIDN'T WORK. I GOT NO EMC VIRUS. HE SAID YOU DID IT WRONG, ONE OF YOUR REAGENTS IS OFF, DO IT AGAIN. SO I WENT OFF, I MADE ALL MY REAGENTS, I DID IT AGAIN. IT DIDN'T WORK AGAIN. SO I SAID, DAVID, YOU KNOW, NO VIRUS. DO YOU SUPPOSE MAYBE I SHOULD CHANGE THE DETERGENT? HE SAID DON'T BE SILLY. THEY'RE THE SAME KIND OF VIRUS. THIS SHOULD BE FINE. SO I WENT BACK TO THE BENCH AND I REMADE ALL THE REAGENTS BUT I CHANGED THE DETERGENT IN THE GRADIENT AND LO AND BEHOLD, I GOT EMC. NOW, AT THAT POINT, WE ALL KNEW THAT DAVID BALTIMORE WOULD SOME DAY WIN THE NOBLE PRIZE. HE HAD DESCRIBED REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE. THOSE THAT ARE YOUNGER, YOU CAN BUY THIS IN A KIT. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE, THERE WERE NO KITS. WE MADE IT, DAVID FOUND IT, BY THE WAY THAT WAS ONE OF HIS POSTDOCTORAL PROJECTS, I THINK, AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, HE IDENTIFIED THE POLIO VIRUS RNA ENZYME THAT REPLICATED POLIO VIRUS. SO HE KNEW A LOT ABOUT BOTH VIRUSES AND ENZYMES. SO WE KNEW THAT THIS WAS A GUY WHO COULD THINK STRINGENTLY. WE SAW IT EVERY WEEK IN OUR LAB MEETINGS WHEN HE ASKED PROBING QUESTIONS, BUT HE HAD BEEN WRONG ABOUT THE DETERGENT. AND THAT WAS -- THAT IS A LESSON THAT HAS STOOD ME IN VERY GOOD STEAD. YOU REALLY DO HAVE TO DO THE EXPERIMENT AND YOU REALLY DO HAVE TO THINK FOR YOURSELF. THEN I WENT OFF AND SET UP MY OWN LAB AND I LEARNED WHAT ALL OF YOU MAY HAVE LEARNED, WHICH IS THAT NOBODY TEACHES YOU WELL ENOUGH HOW TO RUN A LAB. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU LEARN AT THE BENCH. MANAGING PEOPLE, MANAGING A BUDGET, ARE THINGS WHICH ARE ABSOLUTE LIE CRITICAL TO RUNNING YOUR OWN LABORATORY AND BEING SUCCESSFUL AT IT, BUT WE HAD NOT IN THE PAST BEEN VERY GOOD AT IT AND STILL, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE NOW MECHANISMS TO HELP YOU LEARN THESE THINGS, IT IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH YOU ARE NECESSARILY GOING TO GET A LOT OF EXPOSURE TO SO IT'S INCUMBENT UPON YOU TO LEARN HOW TO DO THAT. AS IT TURNS OUT, IT'S VERY USEFUL TO BE ABLE TO BUDGET AND BE ABLE TO MANAGE PEOPLE. YOU DO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE TO WORK WITH YOU, HOW DO YOU BUILD THE TEAM? WHEN SOMEBODY'S NOT WORKING IN THAT TEAM, HOW DO YOU FIRE PEOPLE? HOW DO YOU MOVE THEM INTO SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE A BETTER FIT? HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH WHAT THAT DOES TO YOURSELF AS YOU SET UP YOUR LABORATORY? THESE ARE SKILLS THAT YOU NEED IN LIFE. AND ARE CERTAINLY USEFUL IN SETTING UP THE LAB, SO I LEARNED THEM. I ALSO LEARNED THE HARD WAY, SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO MANY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR. AS A GRADUATE STUDENT IN POSTDOC, AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, I WAS VERY PRODUCTIVE, I HAD SIX PAPERS. AS A POSTDOC, THINGS ARE A LITTLE ROUGHER, THAT'S A WHOLE STORY, YOU CAN READ IT IN VISIBLE FRONTIERS, THE RACE TO CLONE THE INSULIN GENE. I ONLY HAD ONE PAPER BUT IT HAPPENED TO BE ONE THAT GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION SO THAT'S GOOD BECAUSE AS A POSTDOC, YOU'RE TRYING TO SET UP THE REST OF YOUR CAREER. WHEN I GOT IN MY JOB AT U-MASS, I WAS A VERY GOOD CITIZEN. I WAS -- I MEAN, HERE I AM, A WOMAN AND A MINORITY, SO I WAS ON EVERY COMMITTEE THAT THERE WAS TO BE ON. I WAS ON -- INCLUDING THESIS COMMITTEES AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEES, I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO SAY NO. NO IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO LEARN. YOU CAN PRACTICE. I'M SO SORRY, I CAN'T DO THAT. NO, IN ORDER FOR ME TO MAKE THE NEXT STEP, I REALLY DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT RIGHT NOW. AND I DIDN'T DO THAT. AND AS A RESULT, WHEN I DID COME UP FOR TENURE, LET'S JUST SAY IT WASN'T A SLAM DUNK. IT WAS SO PAINFUL AND SO DIFFICULT THAT WHEN I DID GET TENURE A YEAR LATER, I LEFT A TENURED POSITION AT U-MASS MEDICAL SCHOOL WHERE I WAS AND I WENT TO AN UNTENURED POSITION AT HARVARD SAYING IF IT'S GOING TO BE THIS HARD, I MIGHT AS WELL GO PLAY WITH THE BIG BOYS. SO I DID, I HAD A WONDERFUL TIME THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS, WRITING PAPERS AND DOING SOME INTERESTING THINGS AND TRAINING A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE. BUT THEN I BEGAN TO FEEL PERHAPS IT WAS TIME TO DO SOMETHING ELSE AND THAT'S WHEN I MOVED INTO ADMINISTRATION AT NORTHWESTERN AND DISCOVERED THE REALLY -- I MEAN, THAT IS A JOB THAT IS JUST FABULOUS IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF INTEREST BECAUSE YOU REALLY HAVE THE WHOLE UNIVERSITY TO LEARN WITH AND PLAY WITH AND DO THINGS FORWARD, TRY TO MOVE IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION. I LOVE THAT JOB, IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE BEST JOB I EVER HAD, BUT YOU KNOW, I WAS COMMUTING AT THE TIME, MY HUSBAND STAYED IN BOSTON AND I WAS IN CHICAGO, SO AFTER A WHILE GOING BACK AND FORTH ON AIRPLANES TURNED OUT TO BE NOT SO GREAT. BUT IT DIDN'T NOT WORK. WE ACTUALLY HAD A LITTLE MINI HONEYMOON EVERY TWO WEEKENDS. THAT WASN'T SO BAD. SO YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER TRADE-OFFS. THERE'S A CONVERSATION GOING ON NOW, CAN YOUNG WOMEN HAVE IT ALL. WELL, MEN HAVE NEVER HAD IT ALL. EVERYBODY HAS TO MAKE CHOICES AT PARTICULAR POINTS IN YOUR LIFE. YOU MAKE CHOICES AND YOU SET PRIORITIES. THIS IS NOT A FUNCTION OF SCIENCE, THIS IS A FUNCTION OF LIFE. SO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IS WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO DO, AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW IT IS YOU CAN DO IT, AND I'M SAD TO SAY THAT THAT IS STILL PRIMARILY THE WOMAN'S JOB TO DO. SOCIETY IS CHANGING BUT VERY SLOWLY, SO YOU HAVE TO DO IT SO THAT YOU CAN GET TO THE TABLE, SO THAT WE CAN CHANGE A FEW RULES AND MOVE A FEW INSTITUTIONS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AFTER NORTHWESTERN, WHEN I CAME BACK, I WAS AT WHITEHEAD FOR THREE YEARS WORKING WITH SUSAN LINQUIST, REMARKABLE SCIENTIST AND FIRST WOMAN DIRECTOR FOR A WHILE THERE. WHITEHEAD, THAT HAD BEEN A VERY MALE PLACE, HAD A WOMAN DIRECTOR, I WAS THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, THE RESEARCH VICE PRESIDENT, AND MAXINE SINGER WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. THEY WERE THREE GOOD YEARS. BUT SUSAN DECIDED SOMETHING AND THIS IS ANOTHER THING THAT ONE HAS TO KNOW WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO DO, WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO AND WHAT YOU DO WELL. SUSAN IS A PHENOMENAL SCIENTIST. I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU DIDN'T SEE HER NAME ON THE NOBEL LIST ONE DAY ON HER WORK. SHE DECIDED IT WAS BETTER FOR HER TO SPEND MORE OF HER TIME THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE INSTEAD OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THE INSTITUTE AND HOW IT COULD GROW, SO SHE WENT BACK TO BEING A BENCH SCIENTIST AND A FELLOW AND EXTRAORDINARY RUNNER OF A VERY LARGE LABORATORY. I BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I WOULD DO NEXT. WELL, I HAD BEEN ON A BOARD, I'D BEEN INTERESTED IN THE BUSINESS END OF SCIENCE SINCE WALLY GILBERT, WHO WAS MY MENTOR AT HARVARD. AFTER WE CLONED THE GENE AND AFTER WE WROTE THE PAPER, WHICH WAS A 36-HOUR MARATHON WHERE WE TOOK WHAT WALLY HAD DRAFTED, TORE IT APART, REASSEMBLED IT, HE SAID GO HOME, GET A COUPLE HOURS SLEEP AND MEET ME AT THIS ADDRESS. THIS ADDRESS WAS A LAW FIRM IN BOSTON, WHERE HE HAD SOME OF US SIGN ON TO THE PATENT WHICH HE HAD DONE FOR THAT INSULIN WORK. THAT BROUGHT A WHOLE NEW ASPECT OF SCIENCE TO ME, YOU CAN ACTUALLY MAKE PRETTY GOOD MONEY OFF OF ROYALTIES FOR A PATENT. IT PAID FOR OUR CONDOMINIUM IN CHICAGO! NOT SO BAD. SO THAT GOT ME INTERESTED BECAUSE WHAT HE WAS DOING BESIDES WRITING PATENTS WAS THAT WAS ABOUT THE TIME HE WAS PUTTING BIODP BIOGEN TOGETHER. THEY'VE NEVER MADE INSULIN. WE COULDN'T MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND THERE'S A WHOLE STORY ABOUT OUR TRIP TO ENGLAND TO TRY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, WHICH HAS ITS OWN INS AND OUTS AND IT WAS A GREAT DEAL OF FUN ON THAT TRIP, I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING, IT WAS WALLY GILBERT WHO MADE THE MEDIA IN THE PRESSURE COOKER IN THE P4 BECAUSE WE WERE CONSIDERED TOO SKILLED TO USE THE AUTOCLAVE. SO WALLY MADE THE MEDIA AND POURED THE PLATES WHILE THE OTHER THREE OF US, MYSELF AND STEPHANIE, DID THE EXPERIMENTS IN THE P4. SO I CAME BACK TO BOSTON FROM CHICAGO, AND WALLY WAS ON THE BOARD OF A COMPANY, AND THE CHAIRMAN OR CEO WAS A GUY WHO HAD BEEN A LAWYER AT BIOGEN IN ITS VERY EARLY DAYS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW, YOUR NETWORK IS WITH YOU FOREVER. PEOPLE YOU MEET TODAY COULD BE VERY USEFUL TO YOU IN YOUR CAREER TOMORROW, SO KEEP THAT LIST. THESE PEOPLE WON'T LEAVE YOUR LIFE. SO HE PUT ME ON THE BOARD AND WALLY AND I WERE COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD AND I WAS LEARNING A LOT WITH MY FIRST CORPORATE BOARD. THEN ONE JANUARY, WE GOT AN OFFER FROM ANOTHER COMPANY, BIG MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANY, TO BUY IT. THE CEO DID NOT WANT TO SELL. THE BOARD SPLIT RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE. SOME WANTED TO, SOME DIDN'T WANT TO. AND IT BECAME VERY BITTER, PARTICULARLY SINCE THE CEO SORT OF WENT OFF TO TALK TO THE PRESS. AND SO WE DECIDED WE NEEDED TO HAVE A NEW DHAIRN OF THE BOARD CHAISH OF C HAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BECAUSE HE WAS NOT GETTING ALONG WITH THE CHAIRMAN. WE THOUGHT WALLY WOULD BECOME THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD BECAUSE HE WAS ON MANY BOARDS, HE FOUNDED BIOGEN AND SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES BESIDES. SO WE WENT INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. EIGHT HOURS LATER, I WALKED OUT CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. THERE WERE A COUPLE OF REASONS FOR THAT. WALLY HAD SAID HE WOULD PREFER NOT TO BECOME -- NOT TO SELL THE COMPANY AND SO THOSE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO WANTED TO SELL THOUGHT THAT HE MIGHT BE OVERLY INFLUENTIAL, AND HE IS A VERY PERSUASIVE GUY. I WAS THE -- I WASN'T THE YOUNGEST BUT I WAS THE ONLY WOMAN ON THE BOARD, THERE WERE ONLY SEVEN OF US, AND THE LEAST EXPERIENCED. I THINK BOTH FACTIONS OF THE BOARD FELT I WAS SOMEBODY WHO COULD BE MANIPULATED TO THEIR POINT OF VIEW. THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT I HAD GROWN UP WITH FIVE YOUNGER BROTHERS AND SISTERS, OVER 101ST COUSINS, IN A VERY RAMBUNCTIOUS MEXICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY. CONFLICT OF THAT SORT, I CAN DEAL WITH. SO I BECAME CHAIR OF THE BOARD AND ONE HAS RESPONSIBILITIES, SO I RAN THAT BOARD OVER THE NEXT -- OH, IT WAS ABOUT SIX -- THREE MONTHS AND KEPT THE BOARD MEMBERS TALKING IF NOT TO EACH OTHER, AT LEAST TO ME, NEGOTIATING WITH SHIRE, FINDING AN INDEPENDENT LAWYER FROM NEW YORK FROM THE BEST MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS FIRM IN THE COUNTRY, BOTH FACTIONS OF THE BOARD AGREED ON THE FIRM, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT THE LAWYER THAT WE GOT WHO HAD DONE THE TIME-WARNER MERGER WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS NOT SHORT AND DARK LIKE ME, WHICH I EXPECTED, BUT RATHER A TALL BLOND FROM CALIFORNIA AND A REMARKABLE LAWYER. SO I MADE A DEAL WITH HER. IT WAS A FLAT FEE. I DIDN'T WANT -- BECAUSE MOST LAWYERS IN THESE KIND OF THINGS GET THEIR MONEY IF THEY SELL THE COMPANY. SO I SAID NOPE, LET'S NEGOTIATE A FLAT FEE. I WANT YOU DOING WHAT YOU THINK THE BEST OUT COME, I DON'T WANT IT CONTINGENT ON WHETHER THE COMPANY SELLS OR NOT, SO WE SETTLED ON A FEE WHICH WAS BREATHTAKING, EVEN NOW, BUT SHE AGREED TO DO THAT. I FOUND AN INDEPENDENT BANKER. WE DID STUFF FOR SIX MONTHS, KIND OF ROUND THE CLOCK, ENDED UP SELLING THE COMPANY FOR A COUPLE BILLION DOLLARS. I CAN BENEFIT THERE TOO BECAUSE AS A BOARD MEMBER, YOU GET SHARES, BUT NOT VERY MUCH, I HADN'T BEEN A MEMBER THAT LONG. WE LATER GOT SUED BY CARL IEPAN AND HIS GROUP BECAUSE HE BOUGHT SHARES IN THE COMPANY IN THE LAST FLURRY. WE WON THAT CASE. I WAS ONCE AT A TABLE WHERE THERE WAS ME AND 14 LAWYERS. TWO OF THEM FOR TKT AND THE REST OF THEM WERE ALL CARL'S LAWYERS, IN A DEPOSITION. DEPOSITIONS CAN BE FUN BUT IT'S NOT THE KIND OF THING YOU WANT TO DO ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO THAT GAVE ME A TASTE FOR THAT LIFE. THE OTHER THING ABOUT CORPORATE BOARDS, BY THE WAY, IS YOU GET PAID FOR DOING THAT JOB, WHICH IS KIND OF A NICE THING. SO WHEN I CAME BACK TO BOSTON AND AFTER THIS TKT THING, WALLY SAID AT SOME POINT AFTER WHITEHEAD, MY SON HAS STARTED A COMPANY AND I WOULD LIKE YOU TO HELP HIM OUT. AND THAT COMPANY WAS A CELL THERAPY COMPANY, I HAVE ABOUT FIVE MORE SLIDES AND I'LL GO THROUGH THEM QUICKLY. WE'RE JUST ABOUT THERE. SO JOHN GILBERT, WHO IS ALMOST AS SMART AS HIS FATHER, HAD FOUNDED THIS COMPANY, IT WAS THE SECOND COMPANY, AND HE HAD A TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS MICRO FLUID EX-, HE SPENT A YEAR LOOKING AROUND SAYING HOW CAN I USE THIS IN A WAY THAT'S NEEDED. WHAT HE HIT UPON WAS CELL THERAPY. THIS WAS IN 2002, WHEN CELL THERAPY WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHEN THERE WAS A LOT OF SCREPT SKEPTICISM. CERTAINLY THERE WAS VERY LITTLE REAL STUFF OUT THERE. WHAT HE FOUND WAS A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION, A CELL THERAPY WELL ESTABLISHED, WORKED, AND HAD BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY. SO HE SAID OH, WHAT WE NEED IS THE ABILITY TO -- FOR HUMANS THE WAY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING FOR MICE FOR A LONG TIME. WE CAN CURE MICE OF A LOT OF THINGS. BUT IT HAD BEEN DIFFICULT TO DO THESE EXPERIMENTS IN HUMANS BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GET ENOUGH CELLS FAST ENOUGH, STERILELY ENOUGH, SO JOHN SAID I WILL BUILD A MACHINE THAT WILL DO THIS. SO THAT'S ANOTHER ASPECT OF SCIENCE, IS YOU CAN ADVANCE ONLY AS FAR AS YOUR TOOLS CAN TAKE YOU, SO THIS WAS TO BUILD A NEW TOOL WHICH WOULD ADVANCE THE USE OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS, AND THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WHICH THESE ARE POSSIBLE FOR. THAT BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT NOW IS BEING USED FOR. IT'S REMARKABLE. THESE ARE CELLS THAT CAN TREAT A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF DISEASES, AND NOW, TODAY, MANY OF THESE ARE IN CLINICAL TRIALS, AND I MAY HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THAT OR NOT. SO AT THE TIME THE COMPANY WAS FOUNDED, AND YET EVEN TODAY, THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO SORT CELLS. ONE IS A WELL-KNOWN TECHNOLOGY, VERY IMPORTANT IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF AIDS, TURNS OUT. AND THEN THERE'S -- MACHINES. EVERY MAJOR MEDICAL CENTER HAS ONE, BUT THE CELL SORTER, EVEN THOUGH HAS SEVERAL PROBLEMS. IT'S NOT FAST ENOUGH, REALLY, TO MAKE HUMAN SIZE DOSE OF SOME KIND OF CELL AND IT'S NOT STERILE. AND IN FACT, NIH HAS JUST ISSUED GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF CELL SORTERS IN LABORATORIES WHICH SAYS YOU'VE GOT TO CONTAIN THOSE AEROSOLS BECAUSE NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE TO PROTECT CELLS, BUT YOU WANT TO PROTECT THE OPERATORS FROM NASTY THINGS THAT MIGHT BE IN THE TISSUES. SO TO DO CELL SORTING FOR THERAPY, YOU NEED SOMETHING THAT IS SUFFICIENTLY FAST TO GET YOU THE CELLS YOU NEED, THAT WILL GIVE YOU HIGH PURITY, SUFFICIENT YIELD, THAT YOU CAN THWART ON MULTIPLE COMPONENTS OF THE CELL SURFACE, MEASURED BY I HUE KNOW FLUORESCENCE. THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH CELL SORTING, COME AND ASK ME AFTERWARDS, AND IT NEEDS TO BE CLOSED AND STERILE. SO MAGNETIC BEADS GET YOU TWO OF THOSE THINGS. IT'S REALLY FAST. YOU PULL THEM OUT IN A MAGNET, BASICALLY, AND IT'S CLOSED, VERY, VERY QUICK, BUT THE YIELD IS EA IR REPRODUCIBLE. YOU CAN SEE NOT ONLY DIFFERENCES IN THE AMOUNT OF SOMETHING ON THE CELL SURFACE BUT YOU CAN ALSO -- YOU CAN, OF COURSE, DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT MARKERS AS WELL. OUR MACHINE IS GOING TO DO BOTH. GOING TO DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS. WE DO IT BY USING FLUIDEX INSTEAD OF DROPLETS BUT THEY HAVE ALL THE SAME PIECES. WE HAVE A PIECE WHERE YOU MAKE THE CELLS GO IN THROUGH -- INTO A TUBE, YOU HAVE A REGION WHERE THE LASER GOES THROUGH AND SAYS OKAY, WHAT IS THIS AND WHAT HAS THAT GOT ON IT AND DO I WANT IT OR NOT, AND BY THE TIME THE CELL FALLS INTO THE SWITCH REGION IN BOTH PLACES, A COMPUTER HAS DECIDED IF YOU WANT THE CELL TO GO THIS WAY OR THAT WAY, IN ONE CASE YOU CHARGE THE CELL TO MAKE IT GO IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION, IN ANOTHER CASE, WE USE A LITTLE SWITCH, AND OURS IS VERY SLOW LITTLE MICRO SORTER. ONLY 2,000 EVENTS PER SECOND PER MICRO SORTER BUT WE CAN PUT MORE THAN ONE ON A CHIP, SO THAT CHIP THAT YOU SEE THERE HAS 72 OF THESE LITTLE MICRO SORTERS ON THEM, SO IT CAN DO 144,000 EVENTS PER SECOND, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD. THE NEXT ONE WILL BE FASTER. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SWITCH. WHICH I'M NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN. WHAT I WILL SAY, JUST BECAUSE I KNOW WE NEED SOME TIME AT THE END HERE. WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT THE ENGINEERING HAS BEEN AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE. THIS COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 2002, I BECAME THE CEO OF THE COMPANY IN 2006. I JOINED THE COMPANY IN MID 2005. WE ALMOST RAN OUT OF MONEY. IF YOU HAVE A COMPANY IF YOU RUN OUT OF MONEY, YOU'RE DEAD. SO I SAY WE HAD A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY TOUGH KEEPING THAT COMPANY ALIVE. THERE WAS A POINT AT WHICH I HAD TO LAY OFF EVERYBODY EXCEPT FOR EIGHT CRITICAL PEOPLE, AND THEN WE SPENT TWO YEARS RATTLING AROUND OUR FACILITY, WHICH IS 18,000 SQUARE FEET. I FOUND FUNDING, I FOUND A PARTNER IN TEXAS. THEY ARE INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY'RE AN AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS. THEY SORT BULL SPERM FOR A LIVING. YOU HAVE TO MAKE -- YOU HAVE TO REPLACE MILK COWS EVERY THREE YEARS, AND SO IT'S REALLY VERY EFFECTIVE IF YOU CAN GET MALE SPERM AND FEMALE SPERM SEPARATE AND HE'S DONE THAT BY BUYING USED CONVENTIONAL SORTERS, AND PUTTING THEM ON A FLOOR. SO HE WANTED TO TIE UP OUR TECHNOLOGY SO PEOPLE COULDN'T USE IT TO SORT SPERM. IN FACT, WE ARE MAKING MACHINES FOR HIM NOW, WHICH USE A KIND OF MODIFIED DROPLET, AND WE HAVE MACHINES WORKING IN 11 COUNTRIES, 24/7, SORTING BOTH BULL SPERM. WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS MACHINE, WHICH HAS THE MICRO -- PARALLEL MICRO FLOW I TICK SORTERS. THAT PART ALMOST WORKS, A STERILE DISPOSABLE CARTRIDGE WHICH ALSO CONCENTRATES THE CELLS. IT REQUIRES REMARKABLY GOOD ACTUATION IN ORDER TO MAKE THE SWITCH WORK. WE CAN DETECT FOR COLORS. WE TAKE A VERY POWERFUL LASER, 10 WATTS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW OR CARE, AND SPLIT IT INTO 72 PRECISE BEAMS. IF YOU COME UP, THAT IS JUST A BOTTLE FULL OF FLOOR SEEN, YOU'LL SEE 72 VERY SHARP LITTLE LASER LINES THROUGH THERE. AND THE OPTICS AND THE SOFTWARE IS QUITE REMARKABLE BECAUSE REALLY, THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF 12 -- IN TERMS OF THE DATA THAT COMES THROUGH. SO ONE OF OUR SOFTWARE GUIDES, FOR EXAMPLE, HIS LAST JOB WAS ANALYZING HIGH PARTICLE PHYSICS COLLISIONS. SO I STARTED OUT IN VIRUSES, TOOK A LITTLE DETOUR INTO RECOMBINANT DNA AND WAS THERE WHEN THAT FIELD WAS INCREDIBLY EXCITING AT ITS BEGINNING. I WATCHED IT GROW INTO WHERE YOU BUY KITS TO DO THOSE THINGS WHICH WE HAD TO MAKE AT THE BENCH. I SPENT SOME TIME TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO JURIES OR LAWYERS OR JUDGES WHY THAT WAS HARD NOW BECAUSE IN RETROSPECT, FROM TODAY, YOU KNOW, THE LAWYER WHOM I FIRST WORKED WITH ON A CASE IS A WOMAN WHO WANTED TO BE A PATENT LAWYER SINCE SHE WAS 11 YEARS OLD, AND SHE BECAME A VERY SUCCESSFUL PATENT LAWYER, BUT SHE WASN'T A SCIENTIST. AFTER WE HAD GONE THROUGH OUR FIRST CASE TOGETHER, SHE CAME TO MY LAB ONE YEAR AND CLONED INSULIN JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE. AND NOW YOU KNOW IT'S IN EVERY HIGH SCHOOL TEXTBOOK, HOW DO YOU DO THIS. WE CAN BUY KITS AND DO IT VERY EASILY. BUT THE FRONTIERS DON'T END. THEY'RE STILL THERE. THEY'RE THERE FOR YOU, THEY'RE THERE IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, AND PROVIDING THIS TOOL, I THINK, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HAVE AS LARGE AN IMPACT ON THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AS DOES THE INSULIN WORK THAT I DID SO MANY YEARS AGO, WHICH IS WHAT KEEPS ME GOING WITH A COMPANY. THE REST OF MY TIME I SPEND DOING TALKS ON COMMITTEES, WHICH I LOVE, I'M ON A NATIONAL SCIENCE COMMITTEE THAT LOOKS AT THE ISSUES OF WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE, AND IN A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS. SO THAT WAS A REALLY RAPID FIRE FAST THING AND IT WAS STILL TOO LONG, BUT I'M GOING TO STOP NOW AND TURN IT OVER TO THOSE WHO COME NEXT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. [APPLAUSE] >> AND IT WAS ONLY 10 SLIDES. [LAUGHTER] >> I THINK WE HAVE TIME FOR A FEW QUESTIONS, IF THAT'S OKAY. AND I THINK WE HAVE MICROPHONES AROUND THE ROOM. SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK. YES. >> ON THE MAKERS SERIES, YOU NOTED THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND HAD MADE THE DECISION NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN. DID YOU RECEIVE ANY PRESSURE FROM YOUR FAMILY ABOUT THAT DECISION, AND ONCE YOU MADE IT, DID YOU NOTICE ANY BIASES EITHER FOR OR AGAINST WOMEN IN YOUR CAREER? >> YOU KNOW, AT THE TIME THAT I WAS SETTING UP MY LAB, WHEN I JOINED THE FIRST LAB I HAD AT U-MASS MEDICAL SCHOOL, THAT WAS A DEPARTMENT WHICH I LIKED BECAUSE FIVE OF THE FACULTY WERE WOMEN AND FIVE OF THE FACULTY WERE MEN. ALL OF US WERE MARRIED. ALL OF THE MEN HAD CHILDREN. NONE OF THE WOMEN DID. I THINK THAT'S A GENERATIONAL THING MOSTLY BUT NEVERTHELESS, I THINK IT SPEAKS TO DIFFICULTIES. I DID NOT GET PRESSURE FROM MY FAMILY BUT REMEMBER I HAD FIVE SIBLINGS. I HAD 17 NIECES AND NEPHEWS. AS OF LAST WEEK, I HAD 19 GRAND NIECES AND NEPHEWS. SO MY PARENTS DID NOT LACK FOR GRANDCHILDREN SO THEY DON'T -- IT'S INTERESTING, ME AND MY YOUNGEST SISTER DO NOT HAVE KIDS. MY YOUNGEST BROTHER HAS 10 GRANDCHILDREN. SO NO, WE DIDN'T. SESOCIETAL PRESSURE IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION. I THINK THE REASON WE DECIDED ULTIMATELY NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN HAVE THE QUESTION THAT KIND OF WOULD COME UP -- WE GOT MARRIED ASSUMING WE DID HAVE CHILDREN. WE BOTH LIKE KIDS A LOT. AS I WAS -- I'M RATHER -- I'M YOUNGER THAN MY HUSBAND. HE'S SIX YEARS OLDER THAN I AM. SO MANY OF HIS FRIENDS WERE GETTING MARRIED AND HAVING THEIR KIDS AT THE TIME WE WERE JUST BEGINNING OUR MARRIED LIFE. SO WE SAW THE STRAINS THAT THAT WOULD HAVE. I HAD BEEN AN ELDEST DAUGHTER. I RAISED MY YOUNGEST THREE SIBS. MY MOTHER ALWAYS WORKED, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS I THINK IT WAS ALWAYS SO IMPORTANT FOR ME. SO FOR ME, IT WAS AN "I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT," AND I REALLY ENJOYED BEING THE AUNT WHO DIDN'T HAVE KIDS SO THAT WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE'S CHILDREN WERE LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL TO GO TO COLLEGE, MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS WERE COMING TO SEE US. SO WE ENJOYED THAT, WE HAVE FOUR GODCHILDREN AS WELL, AND SO CHILDREN ARE VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR LIFE. BUT IN OUR LIVES, WE DECIDED WE AREN'T GOING TO HAVE THEM ON OUR OWN. IT'S AN EXTREMELY PERSONAL DECISION THAT EACH PERSON, EACH FAMILY HAS TO MAKE. IT'S NON-AN EASY ONE. AS I SAY, WE WOULD KIND OF ADDRESS IT EVERY FIVE YEARS. PART OF OUR CALCULUS WAS THE FOLLOWING: I TOLD MY HUSBAND, IF YOU REALLY WANT CHILDREN AND YOU'RE WILLING TO DO THE MAJORITY, NOT HALF, THE MAJORITY OF THE CHILD CARE, THEN FINE. IT DOESN'T MATTER, YOU KNOW, I'LL DO IT. EVEN IF I'M NOT -- EVEN IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING I FEEL COMPELLED TO DO, I WILL DO THAT. HE DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT. SO WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR OWN KIDS. AND THERE ARE TIMES, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE ONES, I JUST LOVE MY LITTLE NIECES AND INEPHEWS, THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN, AND IT'S VERY SATISFYING TO SEE MY OLDER NIECES AND NEPHEWS GROW UP AND GO THROUGH THEIR LIVES AND TO BE THERE FOR THEM AS AN ADVISOR. BUT THAT'S A TOUGH ONE. YOU REALLY HAVE TO THINK IT THROUGH AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T HAVE A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, CHOOSE THAT PERSON VERY CAREFULLY. REALLY IMPORTANT. >> THOSE ARE GREAT WORDS OF WISDOM. CLOSING REMARKS? OH, WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? >> I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. SO WHAT SUSTAINS YOU IN YOUR NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE? >> TWO THINGS. ONE WAS JUST BLOODY MINDED STUBBORNNESS. THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT THING TO DO AND I REALLY, REALLY WANTED IT TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. SO THAT WAS ONE. AND THE OTHER WAS THAT WAS REALLY MOST OF IT. THE OTHER WAS I REALLY DID BELIEVE, AND I STILL DO, OUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IS GETTING A LITTLE SHORTER NOW, BUT I REALLY BELIEVED THAT THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE SAME KIND OF IMPACT THAT I HAD HAD ONCE BEFORE. SO THAT -- UNTIL WE -- THE DAY THAT WE COULDN'T MAKE PAYROLL OR WE COULDN'T PAY THE RENT, WE WERE DEAD. BUT UNTIL THAT DAY, I WAS GOING TO KEEP GOING. AND I HAD FORTUNATELY A COLLEAGUE, A WOMAN, OUR CFO, WHO THE TWO OF US TOGETHER WENT THROUGH THE HARD TIMES TOGETHER. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ATTENDING THIS EVENT. THIS HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I'M NEW TO THIS EFFORT IN TERMS OF BEING WITH THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH ON ON WOMEN'S HEALTH. IT'S VERY INSPIRING TO LISTEN TO DR. VILLA-KOMAROFF'S SUCCESSES, AND HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT ALSO IN READING UP ON HER LIFE AND HER LIFE STORY, SHE ALSO ADMITS HER FAILURES AND THE THINGS THAT WERE VERY FRUSTRATING FOR HER, AND FOR ME, THAT WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT TURNING POINTS COME ABOUT FROM THOSE FAILURES AND FROM THE THINGS THAT DISCOURAGE US THE MOST. AND THAT'S NOT UNIQUE TO WOMEN. BUT I THINK WOMEN OFTEN TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATION AS THEY DECIDE HOW TO MOVE FORWARD. DR. VILLA-KOMAROFF'S DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED PROVIDES INSPIRATION FOR EVERYONE. WOMEN AND GIRLS AND MEN AND BOYS IN THEIR ROLE IN SUPPORTING US. THE ROLE OF MENTOR, FOUNDER, PROMOTER OF WOMEN IN SCIENCE, IS EXEMPLIFIED THROUGH DR. VILLA-KOMAROFF'S RESEARCH AND HER LIFE STORY. WHICH I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO READ. THESE ACTIONS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE MISSION OF THE NIH OFFICE OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S HEALTH. WE DEVELOP AND SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES TO RECRUIT, RETAIN AND ADVANCE WOMEN IN BIOMEDICAL CAREERS, AND WE DEVELOP AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR BOTH WOMEN AND MEN IN WOMEN'S HEALTH AND SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES RESEARCH. WE WORK TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SCIENTISTS STUDYING WOMEN'S HEALTH AND SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES RESEARCH, AND WE SUPPORT MENTORED CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS, AND THE NIH INTRAMURAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN'S HEALTH AGENDA REMAINS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE NIH. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES. AND THEY'RE RELATED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. I BROUGHT IT WITH ME. I HAVE ONLY ONE COPY, BUT I'M WILLING TO SHARE. AND PARTICULARLY GOAL SIX. THERE ARE SIX GOALS IN HERE. GOAL SIX. EMPLOY INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES TO BUILD A WELL TRAINED DIVERSE VIGOROUS WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH WORKFORCE. I THINK THIS IS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE TALK TODAY, AND BY ALL OF OUR EXPERIENCES IN THE COLLECTIVE. OUR WORK TOWARDS THIS EFFORT INCLUDES A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES PERFORMED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN NIH AND BEYOND. PROVIDE OVERSIGHT IN FUNDING FOR THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, PARTNERING WITH THE OFFICE OF INTRAMURAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION TO DEVELOP AND FUND THE COLLABORATIVE TRAINING AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GEARED TO THE UNIQUE ISSUES FACED BY WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE, SUPPORTING THE MISSION AND VISION OF THE NIH WORKING GROUP ON WOMEN AND BIOMEDICAL CAREERS FOR DEVELOPING POLICIES FOR RECRUITING AND RETAINING WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN THE NIH INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, HERE'S SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT THIS WORKING GROUP HAS ACCOMPLISHED. THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGE TO MATERNITY LEAVE POLICIES UNDER NRSA AWARDS FOR GRANTEES, IMPLEMENTATION OF GRANT PROGRAMS FOR RE-ENTRY INTO THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES ALONG APPLICANTS TO ACCOUNT FOR VARIATION IN SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY DUE TO FAMILY ISSUES DURING THEIR TIME AS A SCIENTIST. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME FOR ALL OF US TO SPEAK UP AND STEP UP INTO THOSE LEADERSHIP ROLES NEEDED TO PROMOTE WOMEN IN THE FIELDS OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH. EVERYONE HERE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A LYDIA VILLA-KOMAROFF. SO IN CLOSING, DR. VICE MAYOR, WE'D LIKE TO THANDR. VILLA-KOMAROFF, WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR REMARKABLE STORY FOR SUCCESSES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO NURTURING AND ENCOURAGING WOMEN IN STEM AND BEYOND. YOU'RE TRULY A PIONEER IN THIS AREA. THANK YOU. AND WE HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU. THIS IS TO COMMEMORATE YOUR VISIT HERE, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER NIH AS YOUR GOOD FRIEND, AND THAT YOU WILL TURN AND PROVIDE YOUR GUIDANCE TO US. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. I THINK IT WAS A TERRIFIC PROGRAM. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION. THERE ARE PROGRAM EVALUATIONS. WE'D ASK THAT YOU COMPLETE THOSE. YOUR FEEDBACK IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR PROGRAMS FOR ALL OF OUR OBSERVANCES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.