Her Story
About Kiana
Kiana Simpson is a Validation Specialist with about 10 years of experience in the pharmaceuticals industry. She began her career at Parrot's Laboratories, a contract microbiology lab, where she learned various assays and performed contract testing for clients. She then moved to Bristol Myers Squibb, gaining experience in clean room testing, microbiological assays, and environmental monitoring. Subsequent roles at Endo Pharmaceuticals involved EM, investigations, and commercial testing, followed by a position at AstraZeneca in Maryland focused on EM, leading co-pilots with the micro team, and conducting investigations. At BioNTech, she worked on EM, quality systems, management review, and deviation investigations, notably leading a complex personal monitoring investigation that identified glove shedding as the root cause and implemented new materials via change control. Currently at ValSource as a consultant for AstraZeneca, she handles quality records and equipment tasks while collaborating across departments on SOP revisions and investigations. Kiana is a member of PDA and ISPE. She attributes her success to guidance from previous supervisors and industry friends, noting that it always takes a village. She values integrity highly, emphasizing detail orientation and doing the right thing even when unobserved. Outside of work, she volunteers with I Flourish and at Adventist Care hospital in Rockville.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kiana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say just like my mentors, and they're not like official mentors, right? But my previous supervisors and some friends that I've met in the industry. They've all been very impactful to give me guidance on what I should do to move on to the next role, or to advance my career. It always takes a village.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mentors have told me that your job is not just about the money you receive, but the impact you make on patients. Always look at a job as experience. Everything might not go right immediately but it's always an experience, so just be grateful for the experience and learn what you can.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Remember that in the pharmaceutical industry, they're not a lot of women. It's male-dominated industry and there's not a lot of African-American women in our field either. Even if you're a minority in this field as a woman or as a different race, you still matter, and you're very impactful.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
People sticking around is the biggest challenge because people jump around a lot for different companies. Once you get acclimated, another opportunity may come and the person leaves, which leaves an impact on the company and team. Also the layoffs. There's been a lot of layoffs in the industry as well.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say integrity for sure. Just being able to, as a quality professional, we're always taught to be detail-oriented. I always look at the bigger picture and focus on little details because that can affect the bigger picture at the end of the day. Integrity is doing things correctly when no one else is watching. Your word is your bond. Making sure that you're always doing the right thing even if no one's watching.
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