Her Story
About Kelly
I work as a Scientist One in Histotechnology at AbbVie, a pharmaceutical company in Worcester. I've been in discovery research for about 3 years now, starting with a contract at Sanofi before moving to my current full-time position nearly a year ago. Histotechnology is a really niche field under the pathology umbrella, and when I went to school for biology, I didn't even know that my position existed. My key responsibilities involve handling and processing tissue samples for studies and experiments, with a specific focus on tissue integrity. The preparation of the samples I work with is critical because so much of our downstream analysis depends on it. I help determine whether the morphologies we're seeing histologically represent true biology or artifacts, which plays into our downstream data evaluation. Essentially, I give people samples so they can extrapolate a lot of data from them. My most notable professional achievement has been making the switch from veterinary medicine into translational human medicine. I originally went to school to be an animal nurse, and now I'm more focused on drug targets for human medicine. It wasn't in a vacuum though - the transition was really relevant, and I still get to use knowledge from my previous role as an animal nurse since we're ultimately doing animal testing.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kelly
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'd have to say my mom and my own personal expectations for myself, which I'm sure she influenced. My mom always pushed me in the right direction, and that foundation has been crucial to where I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't be afraid to start over. That advice really gave me the confidence to make a switch to a somewhat lateral field. Most people don't transition out of animal nursing into a less animal-based field, and it was really scary. I didn't always have the confidence, and I'm glad that somebody told me not to be afraid to do it.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now we're advancing the frontier of spatial biology, which is big. Digital pathology and bioinformatics is growing exponentially. There's also a major focus on complex in vitro models and non-animal models, and integrating those into our pipelines. There's a big push to step away from animal models, and we're trying to fill that role with technologies like tissues on a chip, organs on a chip, organoids, spheroids, air-liquid interfaces, and cell cultures.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would have to say, first, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then a sense of community. I'm big on teamwork, empathy, and inclusion. I feel like I have so much more to add, but I think that's the most important.
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