Join us for our second program celebrating 150 Years of Women at Northwestern!  Learn from prominent leaders in biopharma, academia and government about how to interview, overcome gender-based workplace challenges, and become a leader in your STEM-based field.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING.

WHEN:  Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM  Postponed

Moderator:
Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD
Frances Willard Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Vice Provost for Academics, Northwestern University

Lindsay assumed the role of Vice Provost for Academics on December 1, 2017. She was previously Associate Provost for Faculty, having initially joined the Office of the Provost on September 1, 2013. Lindsay is also the Frances Willard Professor of Human Development and Social Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy.  Her key priorities revolve around recruiting and retaining faculty, supporting orientation and mentoring, fostering collaboration, enhancing diversity, and encouraging scholarly and creative work and teaching.

A specialist in multidisciplinary research on societal issues that affect families and the development of children and youth—especially those who are economically disadvantaged, Lindsay has had a significant impact in forging new paths in how social science research is conducted at IPR and Northwestern. As founding director of IPR’s Cells to Society: The Center on Social Disparities and Health for eight years, she led an interdisciplinary cadre of IPR researchers to examine how broad social, racial/ethnic, and economic disparities “get under the skin” to affect human development and physical and mental health. C2S received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and this role required her to be conversant in subfields that range from psychobiology and gene-environment interplay to economics and public policy. Her current research agenda, which she will continue as Associate Provost, involves an action-research project on education and workforce programs for young, low-income parents, combined with a high-quality, early childhood education program, for which she was recently awarded an inaugural Ascend Fellowship from the Aspen Institute.

Internationally recognized for her research and its applications, Lindsay has garnered many awards and honors over the course of her career. She was recently elected to the National Academy of Education and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. A national expert on the interface between research and public policy, she has received the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Social Policy Award, as well as the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children.

Speaker:
Margarita Chavez, JD
Managing Director AbbVie Ventures

Margarita is managing Director at AbbVie Ventures. She has lead investments in over a dozen biotech companies in the US and Europe and is responsible for AbbVie’s investments in Alector, Morphic Therapeutics, Palleon Pharmaceuticals, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, CARISMA Therapeutics, Jnana Therapeutics and Magnolia Neurosciences.

Margarita brings over 20 years of deal making experience, with over a decade in biotech M&A, licensing, and venture.  She was previously a Director with Abbott’s Global Pharmaceutical Licensing & Acquisitions. Among other deals, she was involved in the in-licensing of Elagolix, the acquisition of Immuven, and the acquisition of the Lupron franchise. Before joining Abbott, Margarita practiced as a corporate and securities lawyer in Silicon Valley with the firm of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, advising in equity financings, M&A and IPOs.  In addition to serving on the boards of portfolio companies, Margarita currently serves on the Boards of the New England Venture Capital Association and the MidAmerica Healthcare Investors Network and on the Advisory Board of the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Speaker:
Lydia Finney , PhD
CDP Diversity and Inclusion Partner and Physicist, Leadership Institute, Argonne National Laboratory

Lydia is Diversity and Inclusion Partner and Physicist in the Leadership Institute at Argonne National Laboratory, a collaborative, multidisciplinary science and research center. A certified diversity and inclusion practitioner, Lydia is responsible for integrating diversity and inclusion into a holistic culture change process for the Lab. She joined Argonne in 2005 as a PhD scientist and has worked across Biosciences Division, X-ray Science Division and the Leadership Institute, including serving a two-year term as leader of Argonne’s Women in Science and Technology program.

Lydia is a Council Member of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a member of the Chicago Zoological Society Associates, and an advisory board member for the College of Arts and Sciences at Governor’s State University.  In her ten years as a physicist and beamline scientist, at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source, Lydia developed new techniques to learn about metal-ion biology using x-rays. She received her BS in chemistry from SUNY Albany, and as a Hertz Fellow, her PhD in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University.

Speaker:
Kapila Viges
Director, Strategy Insights and Planning, Oncology Group, ZS Associates

Kapila is Director, Strategy Insights and Planning, in the Oncology Group at ZS Associates. Previously, she served as Senior Associate and led the Proof of Concept Fund for IllinoisVENTURES. Kapila served as Director of EnterpriseWorks Chicago at the University of Illinois, launching a new model for technology and startup incubation operations to support the commercialization of complex research and high-tech innovation. Prior to joining the University, Kapila served as Managing Director at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on the team leading the state’s innovation and entrepreneurship strategy through the 21st Century Jobs Fund.  

Kapila received her degree in Materials Science and Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and is an Executive Scholar from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.

Speaker:
Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD
Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology AND Dean, The Graduate School, Northwestern University

Teresa is Dean of The Graduate School and Associate Provost for Graduate Education at Northwestern University. She is the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the Vice Chair for Research, and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine. She holds joint faculty appointments as Professor of Molecular Biosciences in Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Professor of Biomedical Engineering in McCormick School of Engineering, and Professor of Medical Social Sciences in Feinberg School of Medicine.

Teresa is an internationally recognized expert in ovarian biology and reproductive science. She is Director of the Center for Reproductive Science (CRS), Founder and Co-Director of the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI), and Director of the Oncofertility Consortium.

Teresa was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring by President Obama. She holds 14 U.S. Patents and is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine (2018), the National Academy of Inventors (2018), the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineers (2017), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005).