INSPIRED

I grew up outside Detroit. My parents were math and science teachers, so I suppose that explains why my three brothers and I all ended up in science and engineering careers. After studying chemical engineering at Michigan State University, I assumed I’d get a job in the auto industry—but first, I joined the Peace Corps. I spent two years in Guinea and Burkina Faso, West Africa as a volunteer math and science teacher. I quickly found myself in front of a crowded classroom of over a hundred seventh graders eager to learn math with only paper, pencils, and a chalkboard. It was an eye-opening, empowering-yet-humbling experience, and the culture’s resourcefulness, resilience, and sense of community left a lasting imprint on me.

When I returned to the States, I moved to Boston for grad school. I studied chemical engineering at MIT and did researched focused on synthesizing novel drug delivery materials. It was through one of my research advisors, Bob Langer, that I got to know the founders of Lyndra. I learned about the drug delivery technology they were working on to aid malaria eradication efforts in sub Saharan Africa. The global health impact of the project caught my interest, and I recognized the potential of the technology to help patients in a variety of settings. As I got to know the new company’s leaders and their vision, I could see that they would create a team and a culture that would make me proud, so I joined Lyndra when I completed my PhD. I was the first scientist hired.

Lyndra’s culture really encourages openness in offering ideas and voicing opinions. I feel like my thoughts and concerns are valued, whether I’m speaking to whoever happens to be at the lunch table or directly to the CEO. This creates an environment where individuals can contribute far more than their titles may suggest. As a scientist it is exciting to brainstorm concepts with really smart people, and as a person in is validating to see that your opinions are heard.

Our team members come from all over the country and all over the world, and they bring fascinating stories and diverse perspectives. I’m amazed by everyone who has moved here from abroad and who has navigated the US immigration system to bring their talent to us.

And the team is more tightly knit than other teams I’ve worked on. People of varied backgrounds are united by common goals, and we work very closely. In other teams I could be anonymous, but people here know me well and show that they care about my life. When my wife and I got married this summer, the team surprised me with gifts and cake.

I am passionate about innovative translational science. Lyndra is a fantastic place to realize this passion and be a part of a team looking to help patients in new ways with a disruptive technology.

My family always knew I’d go into science and engineering. Thank goodness they were patient with my incessant “why?” and “how?” questions when I was a kid. They supported my need to create whether it was civilizations built from LEGOs, sticks and papier-mâché, or the summers I spent “helping” salamanders and crawfish in the creek by our house by building them elaborate mud and rock homes in the water. Spending so much time outdoors both inspired and satisfied my intense curiosity in the natural world and desire to engineer.

Starting in high school, I felt drawn toward medicine. This path was inspired in part by my father, a physician of emergency medicine, whose critical work stabilized lives and helped heal people in dire situations every day. Rather than follow in his footsteps directly, I realized that I could play a similar role through applied science; utilizing the concepts of engineering and biology I found that I might impact many lives through innovative new medicines, improved therapies or enabling medical devices. This dream motivated my studies in chemical engineering and focus in biotechnology at Princeton University and then UC Berkeley. The thriving culture of pharmaceutical innovation in the greater Boston-Cambridge area has made it a fantastic location to pursue my aspirations.

I have been fortunate to work on breakthrough drug technology platforms since 2001. Many grew out of concepts from the local universities. Lyndra’s core technology is literally thousands to millions of times the physical scale of the micro- and nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems I specialized in for much of my career, but the need to co-invent and co-develop the science and the engineering to translate a new platform into reality is the same.

At Lyndra, we work on disruptive technology that could significantly enhance outcomes and quality of life, and we do that in a way that is integrated and collaborative. On any given day, mechanical engineers, formulators, process developers and analytical chemists collaborate to solve new challenges together. The people here are remarkably inventive and nimble. When I think of Lyndra’s INSPIRED approach, I feel the team is exceptionally good at “actualizing on nimble.” In the morning, we might discover a certain new approach is needed. By the afternoon, the concept has been prototyped. Within days it is being tested. We don’t just talk about improving, we make it happen. It’s an environment where innovation thrives and is essential and integral to every day.

I’m an entrepreneur, a scientist, and a practicing cardiologist—and each one of those vocations has roots that stretch far back to my early childhood in Needham, Mass. I grew up in a family of doctors: my mom was a psychiatrist; my dad, a professor at Harvard Medical School; my grandfather, a surgeon. Perhaps that explains why, when I was a five-year-old and someone asked, “What do you want to be when you’re older?” I responded with, “A heart attack!”

But what I really meant to say was architect. Because even back then, I liked designing things and figuring out why they worked the way they did. I remember my father patiently answering every time I asked “Why?” as he encouraged me to be curious and ask good questions.

Years later, I graduated from Princeton with degrees in both physics and biophysics, and then went on to teach math and physics in Rome, an experience that forced me out of my comfort zone and taught me to become a better communicator. After Italy, I received a National Science Foundation fellowship to study applied math at NYU, ultimately discovering that what I most wanted to do was apply math to biological problems, so I earned an M.S. in math and then went on to the M.D.-Ph.D. program at Columbia. Looking back, it seems that in my early ‘20s, I may have been trying to “avoid” following in my parents’ footsteps. But then various life experiences, which included volunteering at Ground Zero after 9/11, helped me realize that a) certain family traditions are worth preserving, and b) I wanted to see and solve problems directly, not only theoretically. 

After a residency and fellowship in molecular medicine at UCSF, I returned to the Boston area for a fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As much as I enjoyed my clinical work as a cardiologist, I kept looking for ways to improve patient outcomes, and that led me to become more and more involved with the research ecosystem in Cambridge. That’s where I met Bob, Giovanni, and Amy, and the four of us would go on to become the co-founders of Lyndra in 2015.

At Lyndra, we’ve brought together people who are inspired by our mission which, when it comes right down to it, is a very simple big idea: We want to improve the way people take daily medications. In order to do that, we need to innovate, take chances, and execute quickly in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity. People sometimes have called me “intense,” but what they’re really describing is my drive, which has been constant all my life and now resonates throughout this company: I want to problem-solve, I want to innovate, and I want to have a positive impact on patients’ lives. At Lyndra, I can do all three and be part of a team that’s taking on an unmet need and striving to improve medication adherence and health outcomes for millions worldwide.

I’ve always been interested in medicine and technology, so biomedical engineering was a perfect fit. I completed my PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford and joined the Langer Lab at MIT to conduct a Postdoctoral Fellowship in drug delivery. During my time in the Langer Lab I met Gio Traverso and Andrew Bellinger, now co-founders of Lyndra, and we collaborated on a novel long-acting oral dosage form aimed at eliminating malaria. The technology was extremely successful and ultimately led to the founding of the biotechnology company now known as Lyndra.

I believe that the application of traditional engineering techniques to modern health-care challenges has the potential to greatly advance the treatment of disease, and to change the world. I have dedicated my career to this cause.

I decided to join Lyndra not because of the enormous potential of the technology, but because of the fearless team that rallied together to solve a complex challenge – patient adherence. Development of this technology requires an open-minded, innovative, and collaborative environment—and Lynda has fostered that kind of environment from the beginning. I greatly appreciate the openness of the team and non-bureaucratic environment of the organization. The inter-disciplinary problem solving that occurs on a daily basis is inspiring and not only leads to great strides forward, but promotes lifetime learning. 

Following my undergraduate I was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and encouraged to ‘fight the world’s fight.” Fortunately, Lyndra has given me a platform to continue fighting.

From my days as a school student in India I demonstrated an aptitude for science, and at 17, I came to the United States for undergraduate studies. My older sister, already in the States pursuing her doctorate, introduced me to the fascinating world of science and research. Six years of graduate school at Hopkins were followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. My mentors and peers helped me grow as a scientist—I gained confidence in my ability to analyze problems, synthesize solutions and make an impact.

But just as my academic training was coming to an end, my real life training in patient care was just beginning. When my mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, I decided to take a career break and return to India to care for her. Being her caregiver for about a year and a half was challenging. But it was also an immensely fulfilling and powerful experience.

It was during this time that I was introduced to Lyndra’s co-founders. They gave me an opportunity to consult for Lyndra, writing grants remotely, from India. I enjoyed my once-weekly dose’ of stimulating scientific discussions on Skype with Lyndra’s CSO and scientists, and as my relationship with Lyndra evolved, I got to know Lyndra’s team and platform technology better. Managing my mother’s treatment and medication helped me appreciate the potential impact that Lyndra’s technology could have. I realized that we could fundamentally change the way patients take medicine.

Lyndra is unique in many ways. As a woman scientist, it’s empowering to see that we have so many inspirational women at all levels of the company. Our team has a great balance of passionate, young scientists and well accomplished, experienced mentors to direct our team. Lyndra’s culture fosters open communication, inclusiveness and fearlessness. It allows us to freely share our thoughts and concerns. It encourages trying out innovative approaches. I feel empowered to undertake challenging responsibilities and contribute to decision-making. I feel nurtured and valued for my uniqueness.

I was born in Mexico to a family of “luchadores” (that means “fighters” in Spanish). I say that because my family has always strived and worked hard to deliver the next generation to a better future. My father wanted to be an engineer, but due to location and resources, his family sent him to a Normal School (where you learn how to be a teacher). When I was little, he made it clear to me: more than anything, he wanted to help me extend myself beyond what he was able to do.

I received my B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2016. Since I was little, I’ve dreamed of a career in science and chemistry. In high school, I told my parents, jokingly, I wanted to do chemistry because that was the only way I could be a magician.

But it wasn’t until I went to MIT and became involved in organizations like Camp Kesem—I ran a beautiful camp for children whose parents have been affected by cancer—that I realized how rewarding it was to merge a career with service.

To be honest, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to volunteer as much after graduating. But the team at Lyndra has been really accommodating. In fact, I have been able to take weeks off to volunteer in organizations like Next Step—an empowering organization for youth with life-threatening diseases—and even Kesem.

At Lyndra, I feel that sense of purpose that I feel at Kesem and Next Step. Our company cares about the patient experience, and that’s what’s quite unique about us. We understand that the people we serve have a complex life outside of their diseases, so we want to make ourselves responsible for making their experience a little better.

In my mind, Lyndra is a team of luchadores: you can respect and praise your beginnings, yet strive to challenge the norm and make the world better for the next generation. When I come to Lyndra every day, I think: the daily pill is great and can cure millions and alleviate problems. Still, why can’t it be better?

I grew up in the Bay Area—diverse, progressive, and (even back then) focused heavily on the tech industry. My parents were immigrants from Taiwan who eventually became U.S. citizens.

When it came time to go to college, I headed across the country to Boston to study at MIT. It was a perfect fit. The focus on science, engineering, and innovation at MIT complemented my interest in STEM. Plus, they had a strong Division III swimming program–I’d been competitively swimming since I was nine years old.

I majored in biological engineering and did research in the Langer Lab. For two years, I worked on Gio and Andrew’s long-acting gastric retentive dosage form project—a precursor to Lyndra. I was fascinated with the technology and its many positive implications for medicine. But I also found I was fascinated with the biotech industry in general. After graduating, I joined the science team at Lyndra to continue working on the dosage form.

Though I started my job with some familiarity with Lyndra’s technology, there was so much I didn’t know. Working alongside so many brilliant scientists and engineers was intimidating at first, but the science team welcomed me with open arms. Their patient guidance helped me settle into my new job. I felt like an asset from the very start. Though I was still learning from my colleagues, I also felt like I had something to contribute. Lyndra is filled with so many accomplished and talented people who come from all sorts of backgrounds. I’m particularly proud to work at a company run by a female CEO with so many capable and intelligent colleagues who are women.

It was the nuts-and-bolts behind the technology that drew me into research as an undergrad, but it was the potential global impact of Lyndra’s mission that made me want to continue working on it after graduation. Throughout my life, I’ve been taught to never stop learning and to never be satisfied with the status quo. Right now, the status quo in healthcare has a lot of gaps and areas in need of improvement—patient adherence and accessibility among them. The idea that our technology could one day change the world of medicine is what keeps us going.

Lyndra reminds me a lot of my days as a competitive swimmer. Swimming is both a team and individual sport. The success of a team hinges on the individual performances of each of its members and, without the support of a team behind each swimmer, it’s nearly impossible to have the drive and motivation to keep going. The same could be applied to Lyndra. Everyone has immense individual responsibility, but the team is very cohesive and driven towards the same goal. The readiness to support one another and the combined determination of everyone brings our technology closer and closer to reality every day.

I was born in Montreal, but my family moved to Boston when I was a young child. We were all analytical, and from an early age, I remember having a passion for doing math and solving 3D puzzles. I always loved animals, too, and for a while I was sure I was going to grow up to be a veterinarian. But I ended up taking quite a different path.

I started at the University of Michigan as a math major, later switching to English when I realized that I didn’t enjoy the solitary nature of studying theorems and differential equations. After college, I hit my stride in the human resources field, working first for companies in the financial services sector and then, eventually, in healthcare.

I’ve always been drawn to mission-driven work, and that’s what makes Lyndra such a great fit for me. As the company’s first ever Vice President of People & Culture, I have the opportunity to help Lyndra grow and continue on its trajectory toward improving the way millions of people around the world take medications.

Someone close to me has been impacted by HIV, so that part of Lyndra’s work is particularly meaningful to me, and I’m eager to help nurture the spirit of innovation in that area however I can. Of course, everyone at Lyndra is already so smart and creative—that’s what contributes to the wonderful learning environment here. One of my main responsibilities is to maintain that culture as the company grows, making sure each individual is successful as the company overall continues to achieve success.

I grew up in India in a steel town–really it was more of a steel city, home to one of the largest steel plants in the country. My father was an engineer who worked at the plant. I think it was my father’s influence that made me want to go into science. From a young age, he encouraged me to constantly question the world around me, and to use the scientific method to approach problems. So it was no surprise, then, that after a childhood full of inquiry, I wanted to become a scientist.

My M.S. was in Biological sciences with focus on Molecular Biology but I felt like I needed to do more translational science, so decided to get my Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences. After my Ph.D, I knew I wanted a job which would not only challenge my intellect, but also allow me to contribute to something meaningful. Lyndra was a perfect fit.

When I started at Lyndra, I knew that I would be working on the cutting edge of science–working towards something new that had the potential to really improve people’s lives. But I did not know that Lyndra would also provide me with a network of mentors and friends far beyond what I could have expected. I feel like I get to learn so much from my co-workers by simply paying attention and listening to them. The learning curve is definitely steep–there’s always something new to learn. It’s a scientist’s dream, really.

For a young scientist, I can’t imagine a better environment than Lyndra. I have met the most amazing mentors here. They’re not just passionate and talented scientists–they’re great human beings, too. At Lyndra, it feels like everyone is rooting for you. You cannot really ask for more. Can you?

I come from a town of 700 people just east of St. Louis. True middle America. Picture the cornfields of southern Illinois: a hardworking, blue collar town—those are my roots. I come from a retired military family, barely making ends meet, often on welfare, but always—always—committed to doing whatever it took to help others.

I am the first in my family to go to college, and finished a Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Illinois in only 3 years. As an undergrad, I was fortunate to be both a teaching assistant in the biochemistry labs and a research assistant in a lab focused on studying multiple sclerosis. Both of those experiences led me to the biotechnology industry, a place where I could continue working in a lab environment, continue learning new things, and help change people’s lives for the better.  

I’ve been in the industry ever since. When Amy, our CEO, asked me to help build this company, I couldn’t wait to join the team. I knew I was about to be a part of something special. This was an opportunity to build a unique company with a unique mission: to change how people take medicine.

At Lyndra, everyone is necessary. Everyone is expected to work hard, to step outside their comfort zones, and ultimately, to make a difference. Building a team where people from different backgrounds can come together to do what they do best—that’s not just corporate-speak at Lyndra. It’s critical to what we do.

For instance, coming from a career where I was often the only woman at the table, it’s wonderful to be in a community that is mostly female. Everyone can bring their best self to work every day without being asked to change. Lyndra is the first team I have been a part of where being your authentic self is 100% expected. In fact, it’s the only way to succeed.

I am fortunate to have had a life and career full of hardship, success, change, diversity, mentorship, empowerment and advocacy.  I believe it’s with focus, grit, determination, and the appreciation we have for each other we will succeed in our mission to provide better medicine.

While growing up in Dublin, I was always interested in science and math. I earned a mechanical engineering degree at University College Dublin. Like most people in my program, I had to emigrate to find work. There was a 20% unemployment rate in Ireland at the time, and I was sponsored to leave Ireland to work in the U.S. for a few years. The Irish government’s goal was to send graduate engineers and scientists abroad for training, hoping that many would return to fuel the Irish economy. This plan led to the “Celtic Tiger,” the Irish economic boom of the 1990s. I left and have been here ever since.

My first job was at a syringe manufacturer in Connecticut, and it was there that I learned that small changes can have a big impact on the lives of patients. We were producing small syringes used mainly by diabetic patients—we produced 15 million of these syringes a week—and I saw how fine variations in the needle point design could reduce the discomfort of daily injections. During the HIV crisis we developed safety syringes with retractable needles to avoid unintended needle sticks. I learned even the simplest of medical devices can have a huge impact on patient safety and quality of life.

From syringe manufacturing, I went on to work on devices for interventional cardiology, once again seeing how a discipline like mechanical engineering can change patients’ lives for the better. These jobs showed me that I am fundamentally inspired to work with, or on behalf of, patients. I gained a lot of experience over many years, seeing different parts of large organizations, from product development and project management, all the way to corporate quality positions. But I found that as my career continued, I was getting further and further away from what inspired me the most.

When I met Andrew, Tyler and Rose, believe it or not, they talked to me about Lyndra on and off over the course of one-and-a-half years. I realized this opportunity would bring me back to product development in a meaningful way. I was “sold” when I met Amy. She’s just one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever come across. For me, Lyndra’s technology was the hook. But it’s the people that landed me.

I know I’m using the word “inspiring” a lot, but it sums up the entirety of this company. What we’re doing here at Lyndra can change the world, improving healthcare outcomes by changing the way people take their medicine rather than trying to change people’s behaviors. This Lyndra team continues to innovate daily, finding solutions to complex problems and allowing us to move forward. Everyone here is striving to achieve something unique, something that other groups have tried and failed to achieve over the last 30 years. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is. From working with patients early on in my career, I now feel like I’ve come full circle, back to what I enjoy doing the most, and I am so grateful to be here.

Some of my earliest memories are of my grandmother teaching me origami, reading me poetry, and helping me with math. She was always challenging my brain, and I believe that laid the foundation for my determination and how I problem-solve today. We moved from China to the U.S. when I was six, and that’s when I learned to play the violin, cultivating a love of music that inspired me years later, when I was in high school, to launch a non-profit geared toward helping kids in Boston gain access to arts education.

From high school, I went on to earn a degree in chemistry from Wellesley College. While there, I worked on drug delivery systems in the Langer Lab at MIT. That experience led to my first full-time job here at Lyndra, where I’m on the formulations team, but also work on manufacturing, processing, and exploratory projects. I really enjoy that kind of diversity, and I think it exemplifies the company’s approach overall.

Lyndra is a place that’s very innovative and nimble. In the one year that I’ve been here, the dosage form has changed so much—because we are constantly adjusting, constantly making it better. That wouldn’t be possible if the people here weren’t so adaptable and supportive of one another. But we are, and the communication piece is incredibly strong. The research moves fast, so we need to be able to collaborate and rely on each other. I’m often reminded of the lessons about resilience I learned from my grandmother a long time ago. She was an engineer back in China, at a time when there weren’t many female engineers, and she continues to inspire the work I do every day.

My dad worked in the semi-conductor industry in Silicon Valley when I was young, so I guess you could say that I have been around science and technology my entire life. I came to Boston to study mechanical engineering at Northeastern and met Tyler at a start-up job fair. Back then, Lyndra was only five months old, but even so, it seemed clear that the company was doing the kind of work I wanted to be a part of.

I ended up finishing two six-month co-ops with Lyndra, as well as a capstone project, and ultimately a full-time job. Interestingly, I’m Swedish-American by heritage and citizenship, and shortly after my initial interview, a family member pointed out to me that the Swedish word “lindra” means to “relieve, soothe, or ease.” And that’s exactly what we at Lyndra are trying to do—to relieve suffering by making it easier for people to take their medications.

For me, it’s that humanitarian aspect that’s so important. The work itself is engaging, and it’s incredibly motivating to have a job that strikes the delicate balance between advanced chemistry, mechanical design, and materials science to create the Lyndra dosage form. But what makes Lyndra such a great company is that everyone here is so committed to improving patient care. I know that what I do today is an incremental step toward potentially changing the lives of people everywhere—it could be someone who lives down the street from me, or someone who lives a world away, or a family member, or… me!

When I was in college, I tried a few industries. But those experiences weren’t the same. What we’re doing here is bringing a fresh perspective to patient care, and that requires truly creative solutions to what many would consider trivial questions. Every day, I’m engaged in that kind of inventive problem-solving, and I feel privileged to be working with such smart, compassionate teammates, all of whom are dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives.

Even as a kid, I was interested in why things work the way they do. I grew up in Marblehead, Mass., and I can remember taking apart a broken weed wacker to figure out why the string wasn’t feeding correctly. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to get that weed wacker back together—but I learned a lot in the process, and I satisfied my curiosity. My dad is an engineer, so maybe I get my “need to know” from him.

Years later, I graduated from the University of Vermont with a mechanical engineering degree. I wasn’t really thinking about working in biotech until I interviewed with Lyndra and realized that the company’s goals align with my own. Everyone who works here is driven by curiosity, and every day we are pushing towards improving the way patients take their drugs. It might sound cliché, but it really is incredibly motivating to be in the company of people who are genuinely excited about what they’re doing.

In addition, the people at Lyndra are remarkably resilient. There are definitely situations where we try to push the boundaries and then have to stop and reevaluate because one aspect or another isn’t performing as well as we expected. At times like these, we have to keep going forward, keep exploring the unknown—even when there’s cloudiness about the exact path. But that suits me perfectly. I’m a very competitive person, and I’ve been a downhill skier almost all my life. I enjoy taking different paths, racing to the finish, and then trying to figure out how to do it better next time. Working here satisfies that drive, the same one I had back when I was a kid, taking things apart in my the garage.

I didn’t know for sure that I wanted to work in a biotechnology research lab until I was in college. My mom had a job performing cytology at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, so I was already around science when I was growing up in Reading, Mass. But even so, I started at UMass Dartmouth as an English major. I switched to a biotechnology major as a sophomore and have never really looked back.

My first job in the industry was an entry level position at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Waltham, and then I steadily climbed the ranks in a few different biotech companies before becoming lab operations supervisor at Bluebird Bio in Cambridge. I came to Lyndra from there and am now the company’s first ever Lab Operations and Procurement Manager.

For me, this job is like working backstage at an opera or play. It’s easy for people to see what’s going on out front. But all the action depends on what’s happening behind the scenes. I enjoy contributing in that way. I like helping people work efficiently and safely and then seeing them get inspired to do even more. Sometimes it takes a little thing, like installing a soap dispenser in the lab. Or sometimes it’s a big thing, literally, such as figuring out how to move a large piece of equipment from the loading dock to the lab space, even with our loading dock being very small. Either way, I know I’m having a direct positive impact on the work the researchers do.

Years ago, I made a commitment to myself that I would try every day to make someone’s life better, and I feel that’s what everyone at Lyndra is trying to do. We all want to play a part in helping the patients and contributing to the greater good.

I grew up just outside of DC, and went to MIT to get my B.S. in chemical-biological engineering. I have always been interested in medicine, but it was at MIT that I realized I wanted to marry that interest with my passion for engineering. When I heard about Lyndra, it seemed like a great opportunity—my work here is just the kind I enjoy, and it offers the potential to make a real impact.

I arrived just as the company was really starting to expand, so despite being new, I was encouraged to take on a lot of responsibility. I worked on many different projects at once. While daunting at first, this pushed me to work hard and challenge myself. It also gave me a better understanding of the “big picture.”

Because the company is still relatively small, I have been able to interact with people from all teams on various projects. I am on the engineering team, but work closely with the formulation and analytical teams. It’s great to be able to get feedback or suggestions from people with different areas of expertise when trying to solve a problem, and I also learn a lot about the work they are doing – how an analytical method works, or why we add certain components to our product. I feel like I understand how all the teams are working together.

Our management team, and specifically Amy, our CEO—have focused a lot of energy on making Lyndra a great place to work, by creating a non-hierarchical system, and encouraging us to take part in things like “Lyndra learns,” for example, where someone from the company will teach everyone something that is from their area of expertise or that they think we may find useful. Based on friends’ and relatives’ experiences, I know that our workplace structure is not what everyone is used to, but I think it encourages everyone to continue learning and branching out to try working in new areas.

I am also grateful for Lyndra’s approach to work-life balance. Everyone is very dedicated to their work at Lyndra, but we’re also encouraged to lead full, rich lives. At MIT it wasn’t this way at all—I found my studies to be pretty much 24/7. I imagined work at a startup would be similar, but Lyndra totally changed my perspective on startup culture. Of course, there are always those times when a deadline is approaching and we have to work extra hard—nothing worth doing is easy. But overall, I’ve found I work better when I have time to decompress, and Lynda affords me that time.

I grew up in a small town in India, and I am the first member of my family to come to the United States for higher studies. Coming to America was a dream come true but it was also a big responsibility—I knew I had to make my parents proud. After graduating from St. John’s University, I started my career in drug development. When I got an opportunity at Lyndra, I was very excited to contribute to a technology that has the potential to benefit millions, and truly change the world.

It’s hard to describe how transformational Lyndra has been in my life. Lyndra is like a family to me. When I had my first baby, everyone came together to surprise me with a baby shower, and to welcome “Lyndra’s first baby” into the family. Thoughtful gestures like that have made Lyndra a home away from home, both for me and for my husband. Though we are far away from our families, we feel that we have a strong support system here in the United States.

Lyndra’s mission is to transform the way we take medicine itself. Being part of that noble mission is challenging, but also very empowering. Our CEO, Amy Schulman’s mantra is “fearlessness”. And it is clearly visible and felt across the team in our day-to-day activities: while we’re sharing our ideas, or communicating and reaching out to others. We all work as a team and there is no bias of position or education or titles. I feel just as important and responsible for our company as anyone on the team. Each one of us is heard and considered, our opinions and suggestions matter and are always welcomed. Working in such kind of environment makes me give my best at work. Every day I strive to work hard and help make our company move forward.