Women’s History Month honors the contributions of women to culture and society. We are celebrating the month by honoring the contributions of women in science. A few are globally recognized, like Nobel Prize winners Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier. Others, like researchers Dorothy Hodgkin, credited with building the first model of the insulin molecule and Barbara McClintock whose proof that genetic elements can change position on a chromosome, are not as well recognized.
Like these leaders, we are proud to highlight a few of the many distinguished women who have contributed to our CASSS community.
Two of the first few recipients of CASSS’ prestigious William S. Hancock Award for Outstanding Achievements in CMC Regulatory Science were women. Yuan-Yuan Chiu, whose work contributed to the FDA’s approval of the first genetically engineered product, was honored in 2013; followed by Kathryn Zoon, who became the first female director of CBER, FDA and was honored in 2014.
Leading CASSS, six of twelve board members are women, including our President, Julia Edwards, Vice President of Biologics Development, Pharma Technical Regulatory at Genentech, a Member of the Roche Group, and Vice President, Kathy Lee, Senior Technical Regulatory Advisor of Biologics at Merck & Co., Inc. Edwards also succeeds Nadine Ritter, who was the first female board president, board member and is now the first (and only) female Distinguished Fellow.
Women are regularly featured as invited speakers at CASSS programs, including upcoming keynote speakers:
- Claire Davies, Head of Bioanalytics at Sanofi, leads a team of 80+ people in development, qualification and transfer of methods among other responsibilities; and
- Marjorie Shapiro, Lab Chief in the FDA’s Division of Biotechnology Review and Research is known for her expertise in therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and related products, as well as biosimilars.
Check out their talks at the virtual HOS Symposium on April 4-6 and the Bioassays Symposium on July 19–21 in-person at Gaithersburg, MD, respectively.
Lastly, CASSS is supported by a passionate team of women. The staff of CASSS provides outstanding educational and networking experiences while fostering a strong sense of community for our members.