Dr. Veena Joy, the U.S. Lead for Strategic Partnerships in Allergy and Autoimmunity at Thermo Fisher Scientific discusses her career transition from academic research to industry work at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Driven by her interest in health economics and the underexplored aspects of autoimmune disease diagnostics, Dr. Joy transitioned to a focus on translational medicine and autoimmune diagnostics. Emphasizing the value of thinking beyond narrow specializations, Dr. Joy discusses how her diverse experiences have enabled her to make a broader impact in the autoimmune diagnostics field, particularly improvements in autoimmune disease diagnostics. The holistic diagnostic approaches Dr. Joy discusses include the consideration of factors like genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, and societal influences. In addition, health economics, the role of empathy and innovation in scientific advancements also play roles in a complete approach to diagnostics, with the ultimate goal being to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Joy notes that, while diagnostic improvements have been ongoing for 20-30 years, there has been significant momentum in the past decade, particularly with advancements in CAR-T therapy, which holds promise for eliminating certain autoimmune diseases. More specifically, Dr. Joy discusses the potential of CAR T-cell therapy to revolutionize autoimmune disease treatment by re-engineering cells and removing certain autoimmune conditions.

Women face notable diagnostic challenges, like receiving timely and accurate diagnoses for autoimmune conditions when, for example, symptoms are dismissed as hormonal or not taken seriously by healthcare providers. Dr. Joy further notes that women tend to deal with symptoms on their own and that there are significant disparities in diagnosis rates between women and men, with women being diagnosed or misdiagnosed at higher rates despite comprising the majority of autoimmune condition patients. Addressing these issues to improve women's health and access to care, particularly for marginalized groups, is a major goal.

By focusing on improving diagnostic techniques and ensuring their value through health economics, Dr. Joy’s holistic approach to diagnostics is aimed at reducing those disparities. Educating clinicians and patients, as well as optimizing the use of existing diagnostic tests are part of this more complete picture.

Dr. Joy emphasizes the importance of empathy in science and highlights Thermo Fisher's commitment to innovation and patient care under CEO Mark Casper. With various challenges and opportunities in the scientific community, scientists must be collaborative changemakers by considering multiple perspectives and impacts of their work.

Episode Resources:

B·R·A·H·M·S Biomarkers for Preeclampsia Screening

Upcoming Micro-Lecture

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Dr. Kellie Smith is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In this interview, Dr. Smith shares how she came to study science and specialize in T-cell immunology and immunotherapy. She also discusses how she developed an original assay for detecting anti-tumor immune responses in specific types of lung cancer, called MANASCORE. She also shares some details about the goal of comprehensively understanding immunotherapy-resistant immune cells. Dr. Smith reveals the basic thought process that led her to a focus on integrating multi-omics technologies to study tumor-reactive T cells in the setting of various cancer types, with a specific focus on lung cancer; what brought her to Johns Hopkins, and how remaining at the institution throughout her career been an asset to her research.

In a field that is highly technical and requires sustained, years-long dedication that some people could find draining or otherwise unrewarding — the big Hollywood moments are presumably rare. Dr. Smith describes how she paces herself, determines benchmarks, and frames big-picture questions that structure her work.

Finally, scientists have long worked at the center of the tension between advancing (empirical) knowledge, and the realities of socio-political and cultural pressures. Dr. Smith discusses how scientists should grapple with the current tension.

Episode Resources:

• Profile Page, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Google Scholar Page
• Keynote Presentation: Immunogenomic Characterization of Tumor-Reactive TIL in Lung Cancers w/ Live Q&A
• Keynote Presentation: Characterizing the phenotype, function, and spatial interactions of tumor-reactive TIL

Connect & explore more: Visit The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here.