A reflective career narrative exploring how embracing opportunities, remaining curious, and allowing passions to evolve creates meaningful impact beyond traditional linear success, emphasizing that purposeful growth and influence matter most.
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Resilience is built one challenge at a time. I've learned to let disappointment refine me, using each experience as motivation to grow stronger and move forward.
Allison Danielle Borrelli, ASCP MLS, CT, MHA, PhD · In Her Own Words
Her Story
About Allison
Allison Danielle Borrelli has built a twelve-year career in medicine and life sciences marked by her ability to move fluidly between the laboratory bench, the executive suite, and the clinical trial arena. Her academic path began at Gannon University, where an early interest in physician assistant studies gave way to respiratory therapy before ultimately settling into a dual bachelor's degree spanning medical technology and human genetics. That foundation launched her into a five-year stint at University Hospitals, where she worked as a molecular and cytogeneticist supporting oncology and prenatal patient populations—experience that would later inform her broader understanding of diagnostics and translational medicine.
Never one to stand still, Borrelli continued layering credentials onto her clinical expertise, earning a master's degree in epidemiology and a second master's in health and business administration, both from Ohio University. She then joined the Cleveland Clinic, where she played a foundational role in building the Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology, scaling the department from a handful of employees to a team exceeding two hundred. It was during this period of institutional growth that she also completed her PhD in Clinical Translational Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, balancing doctoral study with the demands of a full-time leadership role.
Today, Borrelli applies her scientific and business acumen within Thermo Fisher's Transplant Diagnostics Division, where she partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies navigating clinical trials on a global scale. In this capacity, she evaluates study designs, matches sponsors with appropriate testing solutions, and acts as a trusted liaison across every stage of a trial's lifecycle, from initial development through final reporting. In recognition of her contributions to the field, she was named an Influential Woman representing the state of Ohio for 2026. Beyond her professional pursuits, Borrelli remains committed to mentorship and community involvement, dedicating her personal time to coaching and developing young athletes on the soccer field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Allison
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to completing my PhD while working full-time, applying the lessons I've learned throughout my career, and maintaining sustained passion and persistence in everything I do.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is to lean on mentors and never be afraid to ask questions. Learning from others and allowing mentors to help guide my decisions has been invaluable to my growth. I've also learned the importance of leading with an employee-first mindset, a lesson I picked up from my boss, Paul Sikorski.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is that your path doesn't need to be direct or linear. Keep pushing forward, seek out mentors, ask questions, and stay focused on where you want to go, even if the route there isn't straightforward.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges and opportunities in my field is the rapid pace of technological change. Precision medicine and new testing approaches are evolving quickly, and transplant diagnostics are increasingly being adapted to support broader disease states and clinical trials. This creates both significant complexity and tremendous opportunity for growth in the field.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me are perseverance and drive, mentorship, people-first leadership, and giving back to my community, which I do notably through coaching youth sports.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Allison
Living with Purpose: A Career Built on Passion, Not a Plan
Embracing the Nonlinear Path: How Curiosity, Purpose, and Adaptability Shape a Meaningful Career
Success is often portrayed as a carefully planned journey, one where each step naturally leads to the next. My experience has been anything but linear, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
Throughout my career, I have learned that growth doesn't come from following a predetermined path. It comes from saying yes to opportunities, embracing challenges, remaining curious, and allowing your passions to evolve. Every experience, whether in the laboratory, on the road, or being apart of and leading multidisciplinary teams, has contributed to who I am today.
From the Laboratory to Leadership
I began my career in clinical laboratory medicine, where I developed a deep appreciation for precision, science, and the impact healthcare professionals have on patients' lives. As a medical technologist, I discovered that I wasn't just passionate about performing the work, I was equally passionate about improving how the work was done. That curiosity led me toward leadership, where I found fulfillment in building teams, optimizing operations, and creating environments where innovation could thrive.
At Cleveland Clinic, I had the opportunity to help build and scale a multidisciplinary research division supporting groundbreaking immunotherapy and translational science initiatives. It's about creating a vision that empowers others to accomplish what once seemed impossible. I have learned that meaningful progress happens when science, collaboration, and purpose intersect.
My Career Has Evolved Once Again
Today, my career has evolved once again. In business development at Thermo Fisher Scientific, I bridge scientific innovation with commercial strategy, partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations to advance clinical research and companion diagnostics. While my title has changed, my mission has not. I continue to connect people, ideas, and opportunities that ultimately improve patient care. Helping organizations accelerate research and bring life-changing therapies closer to patients is simply another way of living out the same passion that first drew me into healthcare.
Learning Never Stops
Education has also been an important part of my journey. Pursuing a Master of Health Administration, a Master of Public Health, and ultimately earning my PhD in Clinical Translational Sciences reinforced something I have always believed: learning never stops. Degrees may mark milestones, but growth comes from remaining open to new perspectives, asking better questions, and continually challenging yourself to become better than you were yesterday.
Looking back, none of my career moves were part of a master plan. Instead, each opportunity built upon the last, often in ways I couldn't have predicted. What may have looked like career pivots were actually purposeful expansions of my skills, perspective, and ability to create impact.
There Is No Single Blueprint for Success
If there is one lesson I hope to share with other women, it is this: don't be afraid if your journey doesn't resemble someone else's. There is no single blueprint for success. Your career is allowed to evolve. Your passions are allowed to change. Every experience, even those that seem unrelated at the time can become part of a much larger story.
Influence isn't measured solely by titles or accomplishments. It's measured by the lives you touch, the people you inspire, and the opportunities you create for others. The most rewarding moments in my career have never been about reaching a destination; they have been about helping others move forward while continuing to grow myself.
Life continues to move, and so do we. The greatest careers aren't built by following a straight line, they're built by remaining curious, embracing change, and living your passion through every avenue available. When purpose guides your decisions, every experience becomes part of a story worth telling.
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