Her Story
About Yi
Yi Liu has been active in the pharmaceutical biotech field since 2000, with expertise in pharmaceuticals, drug development, and manufacturing. Driven by a passion for addressing unmet medical needs, she has followed a remarkable path from molecular-level research in the lab to contributing to commercial medicines that treat patients. Liu earned her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and pursued postdoc research in biotech. She credits her achievements to having a clear vision, prioritizing effectively, and selecting the right challenges to pursue, alongside hard work. In her professional life, Liu values paying forward her experiences by mentoring her team, empowering them to grow, and sharing knowledge to help society. She advises young women entering the field to pursue their passion with confidence, embrace their detail-oriented strengths, and avoid unnecessary apologies.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Yi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's your vision. Your vision and then prioritize. Choose the right path to, to, to pick your right battle to move forward. Hardworking of course, but vision and choosing the right battles is key.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First, they have to have a heart for it. They have the passion, they need to love what they're doing. Willingness is the most important. Drive your passion, be yourself, be speaker for yourself. Women have detail-oriented caring that helps the job. Don't apologize too often, be confident.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Budget is tightened, so multitasking a lot. AI changed how we do things every day. Need to adapt to transition to different way of working. More multitasking means more hours. Leadership role transitioning because people ask AI instead.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Pay forward. Make sure the team can grow based on what I had, become more empowered to enjoy those assets even when I left. Cascade down experiences and knowledge to be a good coach and mentor. Share to help each other and society.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.