Her Story
About Jun
I've always been deeply curious about biology and how the body works. I did my undergrad in biotechnology when molecular biology was booming, fascinated by DNA, RNA, and how they influence physiology and behavior. I pursued a master's in molecular biology, studying genes that give yeast strains extra tolerance to ethanol for use in the brewery industry and bioethanol production. This work developed into a spin-out company supported by AMBEV. During my time in Belgium, I fell in love with neuroscience and began studying gene mutations and their effects on aging behavior. I came to the U.S. for my PhD, where I studied developmental disorders like epilepsy and became an American Epilepsy Foundation fellow. My research trajectory went from basic science to increasingly translational work, including screening genetic mutations to predict prognosis for pediatric epilepsy patients. I worked as an R&D manager in industry for about 4 years, learning to work across disciplines and making lifelong friends. I then joined my current consulting firm about 6 years ago after working with them as a client. I was impressed by their culture, depth of knowledge, and impact on innovators, and I wanted to help more companies. I live in Colorado and am passionate about mentoring startups and early innovators in the local innovation ecosystem, doing due diligence work and providing technical and business consulting advice. I'm especially passionate about women's health because there's a tremendous gap and opportunity, and I deeply believe that if we activate every single woman in all walks of life and every position, this can be addressed in no time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jun
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to figure out what brings them joy and pursue that. Everything is hard, nothing is easy, but if you like it, you'll do well. Rely on your network, rely on your relationships. Relationships are everything. Seek external mentors. They're going to look at your situation objectively and help you independently, give you independent advice. Always have external mentors. I have always sought an external mentor through different situations. You just know when you meet somebody that you're gonna click, and that helps me to get out of my own bubble, trying to be a high performer instead of looking things a step back and looking at things from a different perspective. I think that is going to help people, and especially women, to accelerate their growth even more.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I want to make sure my priorities are that I want to be a good mom, a good wife, and a productive member of society. I actively reach out to and connect with women professionals inside and outside my organization to support them, sometimes people need support, sometimes people need guidance, just to be there. I actively participate in that because I have been helped by so many women. I try to find allies in men as well because good people are good people, they're not all bad, and sometimes they need more education about what we're going through and they're trying to do their best. I tend to look from the positive, look for the positive things and look from the positive perspective. Most people want to do good, I think that's my perspective. I'm passionate about women's health because there's a tremendous gap and opportunity, and I deeply believe that if we activate every single woman in all walks of life, every position, this can be done in no time.
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