Women in STEM with Veerle d’Haenens

Can you tell us about your journey in the field of STEM and the challenges you encountered along the way?

My first jobs after getting my engineering degree were very technical: a quality engineer for incoming raw materials, and a product development engineer. When I graduated, I had no clue about how a company, or a business was run. My parents were both teachers, in primary and secondary school, and I had not been in touch with people being active in a business environment.

I was very lucky with my first boss. He challenged me beyond my role, stimulated critical thinking and motivated me to explore more of the business environment. As a result, after six months in my role in the quality department, I moved to R&D. It is crucial to find people to champion you along your career path.

This has not always been the case. The first 10+ years of my career, I often was the only woman in the room. It was a very male-dominated environment.

However, overall, my professional journey felt like a natural evolution. From R&D I moved into a marketing role which was very sales support oriented and included the roll-out of programmes, travelling across Europe and going into the field with sales reps who were almost all male at that time. After checking if I could be successful in sales myself, I changed industries to pursue my interest and engagement for healthcare in more commercially-oriented roles in the life sciences sector. My scientific background, technical understanding and analytical thinking continue to help me be successful in taking on roles with increased business responsibilities, such as my current role overseeing the global therapy innovations business unit at Terumo BCT. 

Could you share an example of a specific project or research that you have worked on and the impact it has had in your field?

When moving into the pharmaceutical industry, I was attracted by niche applications and diseases with high unmet needs. Both medicines I was going to launch, though, encountered difficulties in becoming available to patients for very different reasons. One was not approved by the European Medicine Agency after a first submission of the clinical data and for the other drug we did not have sufficient supply capacity. Very early on, I learned to be creative, focus on what is possible and bring the right people together to make it happen. It shaped my passion and experience to ensure access to treatment – experience that I have transferred to the MedTech environment and Terumo BCT.

What potential future applications or implications do you foresee based on your work?

A direct implication of my early experience in healthcare is the importance of clinical data and data to support reimbursement. These are increasingly important in the medical technology environment to inform Health Technology Assessments and education of the multiple stakeholders: physicians, payers, policy makers and last but not least, patients and caregivers. At Terumo BCT we have been developing medical affairs and market access capabilities over the last several years. I was a strong advocate to build these capabilities, and hence, we started our first advancements in the EMEA organisation where I resided at the time.

As a woman in STEM, what unique perspectives or strengths do you believe you bring to your work?

I am more a generalist than specialised in a specific topic. My best decisions have been based on a mix of scientific rationale, gut intuition and passion (with expertise mixed in!)

What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in STEM but may be hesitant due to societal stereotypes or perceived challenges?

My advice is to follow your personal motivators and topics of interest. Take care of yourself – find a healthy balance between work and life. When combining a career with family life, it is helpful to seek support at home to create quality time and not being absorbed by household tasks only. To my younger self, I would say: always keep your personal mission and drivers in mind and think big. When you are happy and able to thrive, this translates in a positive way to your personal life and your family and close friends.

How do you see the representation of women in STEM changing over the years, and what further progress do you believe is needed?

Although statistics show improvement, women are still underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Continued awareness about the possibilities and examples of women being successful after a STEM education is needed to make further progress. I am in favour of stimulating programmes such as scholarships, especially in geographies where overall access to education for women is more difficult.

In your opinion, what can organisations and institutions do to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women pursuing STEM careers?

They could ensure that women are surrounded by a network of champions, as well as a personal mentor.

Looking ahead, what exciting developments or advancements do you foresee in your field of STEM, and how do you envision your own research contributing to those future innovations?

The advancements in cell and gene therapy are really very exciting. CAR-T therapies are getting approved in earlier treatment lines and allowing to patients to survive cancer. Gene therapies for haemophilia and sickle cell disease offer patients the prospect of cure. In my current role, I can have an impact by enabling improved processes to develop and manufacture these therapies, and as such improve access for patients. This is extremely motivating – particularly as I specialised in cell and gene technology to achieve my engineering degree. It feels like returning to my roots.