Her Story
About Delonna
Delonna Ford serves as a Scientist in Upstream Manufacturing Science and Technology at GSK. She began her career in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry in 2018 after graduating from college. Her professional journey includes roles at AstraZeneca in quality control, focusing on assay-based work and GMP environments, followed by four years as an Associate Scientist at Catalent, a CDMO, where she advanced from Associate Scientist 1 to 2 while gaining hands-on experience in cell culture processes and commercial drug and vaccine development. At GSK, she continues similar work in the lab, optimizing cell culture processes to increase protein titer and quality while reducing costs. Ford earned her undergraduate degree in biology, emphasizing cell and molecular biology, from Towson University. She later pursued and completed a master's degree in biomedical science with a concentration in molecular biology and biotechnology from Hood College starting in 2021, all while maintaining full-time employment. She attributes her success to a strong work ethic and hard-working mentality, including commuting an hour and a half daily to show up consistently. Ford values ethical conduct, data integrity, teamwork, and admitting mistakes professionally, while personally emphasizing kindness and respect for people from all backgrounds. She advises young women entering the field to show up, work hard, think critically, be innovative, share ideas, speak up, and build connections through social interactions.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Delonna
01What do you attribute your success to?
My work ethic! I always have a hard-working mentality. My commute is an hour and a half every day from Baltimore to Rockville. I contribute by always showing up. It really just comes down to do you want it bad enough to achieve and grow in your field.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Definitely show up, work hard. Especially in a laboratory space, think critically, be innovative, share your ideas, speak up. Overall just do well and outperform. It's always good to talk, share your life experiences with people. That's probably the easiest way to move up the ladder or showcase your abilities, is just by being social.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is economic, the economy, stakeholders aligned with how well the market is doing. In pharma it's a very unpredictable field with layoffs. But given the opportunity that if one company is struggling there are many others available companies to maneuver to, and learn from different departments.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Professionally: always be ethical, have integrity with data and information shared with team, be a team player, admit mistakes, be present for my team. Personally: always be kind, treat others with respect, respect people from all backgrounds, religions, cultures as human beings.
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