Her Story
About Kandi
I serve as Cook Research's senior toxicologist, where I am the only toxicologist supporting 15,000 different firm products. My main area of expertise is toxicology, and my day-to-day responsibilities keep me pretty busy - I mentor a lot of the staff and write all the toxicological risk assessments to support our medical devices. Between those two responsibilities, that keeps me pretty busy. I have to think outside the box in my work - we're making decisions, and sometimes you just have to think differently, almost like an art. In my field, integrity is everything, especially since I'm making decisions on people's devices that could potentially harm them. I earned my master's degree in clinical toxicology two years ago and became a European registered toxicologist one year ago, which is important certification that shows the EPA and other regulatory agencies that I'm qualified to perform these risk assessments.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kandi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having a strong work ethic and my ability to adapt. In my field, you have to be able to adjust to changing circumstances and stay committed to doing the work well, especially when you're the only toxicologist supporting 15,000 different products.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever got was if there's a problem, think of a solution, not just bring problems. So please have an idea of what you would want to do. This has really helped me in my role where I have to think outside the box and make decisions - sometimes you just have to think differently, almost like an art.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to get certified, because AI is taking over a lot of the field. So to be able to be creative and do things that the robot can't is really important. Be creative, because the computer can't be creative - it just makes things up sometimes. A lot of times in my job, I have to think outside the box. You know, we're making decisions, and sometimes you just have to think differently, almost like an art. I'm actually afraid for the junior levels coming in, because AI's taking over their positions, and how are we going to get experts if we don't have juniors?
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in my field right now are the regulatory bodies and the divergence that we're seeing between the EU, APAC, and the USA. How we do our submissions has to - we're having to cater to these different agencies, and it's becoming more difficult. We have to navigate these different regulatory requirements across multiple regions, which adds complexity to our work.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think being honest and having ethics are most important to me. Especially in my field, you know, integrity is everything. I'm making decisions on people's devices that could potentially harm them, so maintaining that ethical standard and honesty is critical to everything I do.
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