Karlie Wysong
Karlie Wysong is a Senior Biologist specializing in Cell Biology at ATCC, where she supports the advancement of high-quality biological materials and services used across global life sciences and biomedical research. In her role, she works with cell line production, maintenance, and distribution, helping ensure that researchers in hospitals, academic institutions, and industry have access to reliable and well-characterized models. Her day-to-day work includes client collaboration, cell culture operations, imaging, experimental verification, and detailed batch record documentation to maintain rigorous scientific and regulatory standards.
Karlie’s career is rooted in a deep and long-standing passion for science that began in middle school and solidified in high school after she completed a semester project making aspirin from scratch through a community college program. That experience confirmed her interest in drug development and the broader process of translating science into therapeutics. Encouraged early on by her grandmother—who supported her curiosity with National Geographic kits, a microscope, and hands-on science activities—she developed a strong foundation of curiosity and experimentation. As a first-generation college and graduate student, she navigated her academic path without a formal roadmap, earning an associate’s degree while still in high school and ultimately completing her master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at 21 from the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies.
Professionally, Karlie’s experience spans both academic and industry research, including CAR-T therapy research focused on designing constructs to target cancer cells, as well as prior roles at Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc. and an internship at AstraZeneca. She also completed undergraduate research at Virginia Tech, where she studied molecular dynamics and protein folding behavior. Across every stage of her career, she has been driven by a consistent motivation to learn, generate meaningful data, and translate findings into actionable scientific insight, with a strong emphasis on experimentation, analysis, and advancing biomedical research applications.
• University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies - MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Virginia Tech - BS, Biochemistry
• Lord Fairfax Community College - AS
What do you attribute your success to?
I really think my passion for science drives everything I do. I really love experimenting, I love getting data, I love analyzing data and making decisions off data. My drive through the whole process of college and the couple jobs I've had has really just been the passion for science and wanting to learn more, always wanting to learn more. That love started when I was young - my grandma would get me different National Geographic kits, and she got me a microscope one time, which really fueled the microscope love. I'd do different experiments and play with circuit boards and different hands-on things. Around 8th grade, I knew that I wanted to work in drug development, but it was solidified during my time in high school at community college when my semester project was to make aspirin from scratch. From then on, it was like I really wanted to work in drug development or some sort of process of drug development. That kind of sealed the deal and led me to doing pharmaceutical sciences and getting that well-rounded bit of drug development.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would have to say two things. Attention to detail is very important. And then I would also say that, you know, we're human, and we're gonna make mistakes, and we're gonna fall down probably numerous times, but picking yourself back up, you know, if your experiment didn't work, or it didn't go as planned, or, you know, something failed, like, kind of picking yourself back up and trying again and troubleshooting and getting it to work - having that mindset is, I feel like, a really good mindset to have coming into this industry.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Being a nonprofit and having government contracts, we are having some slowdowns because of things that are happening in the government. Other than that, the only real challenge I feel is getting supplies and reagents. I feel like it's kind of been a slowdown on shipping of those things as well, which makes it hard to grow the cells if you can't get the media to grow them. I think it's more because of the tariffs right now.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I really love experimenting. I love getting data, I love analyzing data and making decisions off data. My drive through the whole process of college and the couple jobs I've had has really just been the passion for science and wanting to learn more, always wanting to learn more. In my personal life, I like to read nonfiction things and spend time with friends and family. I like to kickbox, and I have a motorcycle, so I like to ride that sometimes. I also have a fish tank, which is a huge hobby - it's 65 gallons, so that takes up some time to maintain.
Locations
ATCC
Winchester, VA 22603