Discover Viatris: Women in Science
At Viatris, we are proud of the diverse perspectives of our colleagues that help drive innovation so that we can empower people everywhere to live healthy at every stage of life. Learn about some of the women at Viatris who are in science roles and how their work contributes to our mission.
Pallavi Trivedi
Senior Manager, Regulatory | Hyderabad
How long have you been in healthcare and what is your current role at Viatris?
It has been 15½ years and counting. I am a Senior Manager, Regulatory Science-Oral Solid Dosage Form. I am responsible for regulatory science activities for the medicinal products supplied in Europe and Australia/New Zealand.
What first interested you in science as a child/growing up?
My interest in science was manifested in me by my grandfather and got embedded long before I realized. I grew up in a premium technology institute residential campus (Indian institute of Technology) and was always surrounded by people in science. When I started working, I became interested in regulatory science and realized that this careers provided a unique opportunity to know a medicinal product inside out; from initial development right through the product life cycle.
What advice would you share with young girls who might be considering a career in science?
Step out in the world and explore fearlessly. Science is all about curiosities, questions and finding answers. I personally believe that gender discrimination must be ousted from one’s own brain before anyone else. A real sense of equality comes when you match up your potential, hard work, passion and commitment to those who are exceptional and inspire you. A sense of accomplishment comes when you outperform yourself and inspire others. Use your power of reason to find solutions and improvements. Give back to humanity. Making a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is a journey: enjoy as you explore, learn and evolve.
How does your work each day contribute to our commitment of enhancing access for patients?
My work involves keeping our marketed products updated with the current regulatory requirements. I am also responsible for successful registration of repatriations and other supply critical, cost improvement projects within the stipulated time to avoid any out-of-stock situation. With our focus on supply continuity, we display a commitment to enhancing access for patients.
Erica Jackson
Director of Chemistry | Morgantown
How long have you been in healthcare and what is your current role at Viatris?
My current role is Director of Chemistry at the R&D Collins Ferry facility. I manage a team that has a variety of responsibilities including quality systems compliance and drug product testing and storage for pre–approval products. I have been in healthcare with the company for 20 years in March.
What first interested you in science as a child/growing up?
My dad is an engineer, so I was exposed to science and math early on as he frequently took me to his job sites. My parents understood and cultivated my interest by sending me to science camps. That along with my interest in my high school chemistry classes led me into the science field.
What advice would you share with young girls who might be considering a career in science?
Regardless of what science field you choose, being part of positive change -- whether it be launching a spaceship or creating new medications -- will be a rewarding experience. Never be afraid of challenges along the way, and always strive to be the best!
How does your work each day contribute to our commitment of enhancing access for patients?
The goal in R&D is to secure new product approvals. My team’s work is part of the final “package” that is submitted to health authorities. We ensure a high-quality standard in our daily operations so that our products are approvable, continuing our history of a strong pipeline and patient access.
Pai-Hui Huang
Global NCD Operations Lead | Taipei
How long have you been in healthcare and what is your current role at Viatris?
I started my career in the health sector after earning my undergraduate nursing degree. As a registered nurse, I worked in one of the largest medical centers in Taiwan. Every day I took care of patients with respiratory conditions such as COPD and lung cancer. Seeing patients suffering from multiple admissions to hospitals for the same long-term diseases, I felt it would be more meaningful to devote myself in public health or preventing the disease from upstream, instead of waiting until a chronic condition became irreversible. I pursued advanced studies in public health and later worked as a public health practitioner in the government sector. After several years I shifted gears to a medical affairs role in the pharmaceutical industry, communicating the role of optimal disease diagnosis and treatment with health care providers in different therapeutic areas. Currently I am the Operations Lead in the Global NCD Excellence team.
What advice would you share with young girls who might be considering a career in science?
Life has its beauty whether you choose a career in art or in science, and there is no discrete separation from science and art when it comes to health. Public health, a scientific discipline linking science and social aspects of population health, taught me that health topics are equally important as topics of politics and finance. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of public health science in a hard way.
How does your work each day contribute to our commitment of enhancing access for patients?
Global NCD Excellence provides medical leadership to Viatris for solutions that reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and help people live healthier. We design and implement medical education programs, data generation programs, publication programs and innovative/partnership programs. These programs can relay or apply the scientific knowledge for optimizing outcomes of NCD management and control. My role is to work with my colleagues to deliver the programs in a timely, impactful way.
Ana Avelar
Global Medical Manager, Digital | Mexico
How long have you been in healthcare and what is your current role at Viatris?
I graduated from medical school 12 years ago and have been in healthcare ever since. Throughout my career I have been in primary care, in clinical research, and in the pharmaceutical industry. My current position at Viatris is Global Medical Manager, Digital, which among many other things, involves tasks such as medical content selection, adaptation, review, and creation of scientific digital materials for health care providers.
What first interested you in science as a child/growing up?
From a very young age I’ve always been fascinated by science, in particular biology and chemistry, and by learning through observation and experimentation. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in science, but it wasn’t until my last year in high school that I decided to become a physician.
What advice would you share with young girls who might be considering a career in science?
Definitely go for it, and do not let anyone discourage you from following your dreams. Science is a highly-rewarding field with many different branches that are all exciting and challenging and astonishing. It is inspiring to see that there are more and more women in science every day, but it is still a field where we can help achieve greater things by bringing so much more to the table, not only in terms of diversity and empathy, but also brainpower, creativity, and different points of view, to name a few.
How does your work each day contribute to our commitment of enhancing access for patients?
Each day, I contribute to the continuous medical education of healthcare professionals around the world, especially around disease areas, diagnosis and management throughout the natural history of disease. I am convinced that this can arm healthcare professionals (HCPs) to better care for their patients, improving their quality of life, and helping them live healthier at every stage of life.
Jennifer Donohue
Senior Scientist | St. Albans
How long have you been in healthcare and what is your current role at Viatris?
I began my career in the pharmaceutical industry in 2004 as a bench chemist ensuring quality control of raw materials and finished products. From there I gained experienced in manufacturing and R&D within the biotech industry before becoming a Senior Scientist with Mylan Technologies Inc. (MTI) in 2015. Since 2015, I have continued to provide analytical and technical support for both Viatris’ commercial and pre-commercial products.
What first interested you in science as a child/growing up?
I was fortunate to have an engaging family and teachers as a child who capitalized on my interest in the Earth and its hidden treasures to guide me to learn more about the field of science in general. It wasn't until college when I realized my path to chemistry.
What advice would you share with young girls who might be considering a career in science?
I would encourage them to ask questions – a lot of questions to a lot of different people. Find out what career paths are available (or ideas to create something new!), what drives their passion, and move toward that with confidence.
How does your work each day contribute to our commitment of enhancing access for patients?
In addition to patient safety, my role allows me to ensure continuity and continued high-quality performance of the products we manufacture.
