Her Story
About Rutuja
I've been at Memorial Sloan Kettering for about a year and a half now, working in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. I have always worked in the drug development and oncology research space. Before my current role, I was at a company called CAM4 Therapeutics, a startup in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we were mostly doing translational science in the drug development space for different rare diseases. My major expertise is in computational biology or bioinformatics, and I'm currently working on oncology-specific precision medicine. In my current role, which is more clinical-specific, I get a lot of cancer-specific clinical patients. I review them and work with oncologists to make recommendations on what profiles the patient has, so that we can determine what medicines might work better for them with lower side effects. One of my most notable professional achievements is working on a few patent applications that are in clinical trials right now, specifically for rare diseases like urea cycle disorders. That drug is in clinical trial, which means it is potentially going to be something that helps patients, and that's something I'm very proud of.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rutuja
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my parents and my brother. I have an older brother who's always been my role model, and I always wanted to make him proud. He's been such an important influence in my life, and making him proud has been a driving force for me. I just met him over Memorial Day weekend, which was a nice, fun family time. He has two children now and is a dad, which makes our family time even more special.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think doing something that is meaningful, or like, the cause that you believe in, and trying to make a profession around that. For me, specifically, that was oncology research. One of my professors just told me that if you are interested in what you want to help with, you'll make sure that you work harder there. That advice really resonated with me and has guided my career path.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, follow your passion. Biology was something that really made me interested in studying, so that's what I followed, even though it was slightly unconventional for everybody to be interested in biology and not be doctors. That is something that I really enjoyed. I don't think I would be a good doctor, but following what I was passionate about in biology has led me to where I am today. So my advice is to pursue what genuinely interests you, even if it's not the conventional path.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges is, I would say AI dominating everything. Learning coding is something that is becoming, I think, more and more harder with AI coming up, and all of these LLMs doing all the jobs, so you think a lot lesser, so you're getting a lot more duller, is what I feel. I think if you can get past that learning phase where you can actually understand what is going on - a lot of my work is interpreting each sample, and that only comes with some domain knowledge. If you are always asking AI for help for everything, you will not be knowledgeable in any field, is what I feel. So the challenge is maintaining deep domain knowledge and critical thinking skills in an age where AI can do many tasks, but true understanding still requires human expertise.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think honesty and being transparent is very important to me, both professionally in professional life as well as personal life. These values guide how I interact with colleagues, patients, and in all my relationships.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Massachusetts
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.