Unit 11 Carnforth Business Park,
11TH February is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and we are marking the occasion by celebrating the many inspiring women within our team. Here at 2San we are working to bring fresh perspectives and insights to the world of healthcare, and are proud to have a large cast of women contributing their expertise, knowledge and experience across a wide range of roles, to help drive and invigorate our mission for better care, better life. Diversity in science is so important to expand the research talent pool, bring in fresh ideas, perspectives and creativity. It goes to the heart of our ability to innovate, leading to better and more creative solutions to problems, in a world that is rapidly changing.
With this in mind, we took the opportunity to speak to a couple of the awesome women in our team about their experiences, challenges, inspirations (and very interesting jobs) … Read on to hear more from Erica Fearnley, who has found a unique way to blend her love for science and communications as head of our global marketing department, and Chelsea Tooze, whose career so far has been marked by some fascinating projects such as auditing the UK’s Covid-19 testing labs…
Introducing our Head of Marketing, Erica Fearnley
Can you tell us a little bit about your professional background and your current role?
I completed a degree in Biochemisty and although I loved the science and the research, after graduating from university I decided that I wanted to pursue commerical roles rather than academic. I initially took a graduate placement with a marketing consultancy specialising in the healthcare industry. From there I moved into sales and marketing roles in the healthcare and life sciences sector. As Head of Marketing at 2San I am responsible for all marketing, branding and PR across the global business. All our products and innovations are science-based so my scientific knowledge continues to play a major part in my job.,
When did you decide to pursue science, and what inspired you to do so?
I have loved science for as long as I can remember. My favourite subjects at school were the sciences, and I knew from quite an early age that I wanted to pursue a science degree. I could not decide whether I preferred biology or chemistry, so ended up combining the two! I have always been fascinated by the life sciences and have been inspired by some of the great women of science, such as Rosalind Franklin who was instrumental in the understanding of the molecular structure of DNA and is often referred to as the ‘forgotten heroine’ as her contributions to science went largely unrecognised during her lifetime.
What would you say is the coolest project you’ve worked on / that you’re most proud of?
At 2San, we have just introduced a range of self-diagnostics for a range of different conditions. As a company we are passionate about making accessible and affordable diagnostics available to consumers. Being part of the team responsible for launching these products and communicating all the benefits they offer has been a great opportunity.
What’s the best advice that you’d like to pass on to young women thinking about starting a career in science?
The breadth of careers available to people with an interest or background in science is enormous. I work in marketing, but have been able to combine marketing and science together. It’s given me the opportunity to work creatively on a variety of different marketing campaigns within pharma and life sciences, and at the same time put the scientific knowledge I have to good use. So I’d say, don’t be scared to blend science with other subjects.
Introducing our Global Head of Quality & Regulatory, Chelsea Tooze
Can you tell us a little bit about your professional background and your current role?
To date, my career has been focused on Quality & Regulatory, mostly within medical technology but also crossing into Pharma. This has given me the opportunity to work with some very interesting products, all of which contribute to improving the lives of the end users. The technologies I have worked alongside so far include anything from autoclaves to 3D titanium printing machines! I believe innovation is at the forefront of the medical device industry, and that’s why I find it such an exciting place to be. At 2San, I have taken on the role fairly recently, but am getting stuck-in to understand the organisation’s needs and how we can work smarter in a risk-considerate manner.
On the quality side I will be implementing and operating a controlled quality management system to define and standardise processes and allow auditable records to show conformance of our activities and maximise efficiency. With my regulatory hat on, the goal is to focus on post market surveillance activity and feed this back into the wider product team for continuous improvement, as well as monitoring our compliance with regulatory commitments across regions.
When did you decide to pursue science, and what inspired you to do so?
From a young age, I enjoyed studying science at school, particularly biology, which as a concept seemed to make sense naturally to me. From there I let my interests and skills guide me and went on to study Biomedical Science at university, with a focus on genetics. I knew I wanted to have a career in the life sciences sector, and also knew I didn’t want to be in a laboratory all day, every day. The commercial side of industry therefore is what I pursued.
What would you say is the coolest project you’ve worked on/are most proud of?
During my time on a previous project, I had the opportunity to do a quality audit of the COVID labs, one of the top government testing laboratories, which was a very cool experience, despite the security clearance to get onto site.
What advice would you like to pass on to young women thinking about starting a career in science?
Let your interests lead you and you will end up where you are supposed to be.
If you wrote a book about your career so far, what would you title it?
Insufficient Privileges (I have been writing it for 6 years and doubt I will ever publish).
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is a day to recognise the significant contributions women have made, and continue to make, to the field of science and technology – and acknowledge that there is still important progress to be made. Find out more: www.womeninscienceday.org
