Thread by @DrMichelleBIO

Thank you, @jmaxlevin and the BIO Board of Directors for placing their trust in me at such a critical time for our sector, our nation, and all of humankind. #BIODigital

I celebrate @jimgreenwood’s exceptional leadership of @IamBiotech – and his policy stewardship on behalf of the biotech industry for more than 15 years. Thank you, Jim, for your shining legacy and your generosity during this transition. #BIODigital

The events of recent weeks have shed light on how many people feel excluded from the great gains our country has made. Pain and sorrow spilled out into the streets and onto our televisions. #BIODigital

Communities of color want everyone to know the fear and burden they live under every day. As @Merck CEO Ken Fraiser said last week, “It could have been me.” #BIODigital

Ken Fraiser’s Interview on @CNBC: cnbc.com/video/2020/06/…

Those of us from diverse communities know that degrees and accomplishments do not inoculate you. #BIODigital

For those of you who see this who are and have suffered,

I see you.
BIO sees you.

I am BIO,
You are BIO,
And together we are BIO.

@IamBiotech stands with those who have lost hope.

We want to help restore that hope with you.

#BIODigital

25 years ago, I mustered the daily courage to walk into my graduate lab and pretend that I felt I belonged. That it didn’t bother me that I was regularly mistaken for a nurse or a cleaning woman – jobs my mother and great aunts had done with pride. #BIODigital

That it didn’t bother me that my white husband and I often did not feel safe venturing away from Duke University and into the countryside of North Carolina.

That it didn’t bother me that I had not known a single scientist growing up in Oakland, California. #BIODigital

Or that folks in my hometown could not understand why anyone would graduate from Harvard, only to spend eight years earning a graduate student stipend -- which at the time would have qualified me for food stamps. #BIODigital

That it didn’t bother me that if I failed, I would prove the skeptics right and reduce opportunities for so many others – people I didn’t even know, but who happened to look like me. #BIODigital

Skeptics who had welcomed me to campus by sharing how happy they were to have me in the MD/PhD program because the only other African-American they had LET in the program had left after having a psychotic breakdown.

Quite a way to get oriented.
#BIODigital

As a first-generation scientist, I wasn’t prepared for the “small P” politics of academic science – the jockeying for exciting but achievable projects; the wrestling for limited laboratory resources; the self-advocating required for meaningful authorship.
#BIODigital

But just as the weight began to mount, this industry — the biotechnology industry —wrapped its arms around me.

A fledgling scholarship program – a partnership between @UNCF and @Merck rescued me.

#BIODigital

The UNCF-Merck Fellows Program was a simple but powerful program.

For the first time in my life, I earned a living wage; it doubled my NIH annual stipend from $12,000 to $25,000 a year.
#BIODigtial

I got to travel to the @Merck campus – which was amazing – and see how industry turned academic gains in science into real solutions that touched people and actually saved lives. #BIODigtial

I got to do so with a truly inspiring group of other young African-American scientists, who showed me that I was not alone in my struggles or my doubts. #BIODigital

It provided me with unrestricted funds for laboratory equipment, which allowed me to purchase a specialized fractionator, which my lab would never have invested in.

It let me invest in myself. #BIODigital

It gave me access to a Merck scientist – a white scientist – who mentored me in techniques that were unfamiliar and exotic to my graduate lab.

And I found the voice to push my advisor, skeptical at the time, to submit that resulting paper to Science, a highly respected journal.

A year ago, that paper was recognized by the @J_Immunolas one of the classic publications in Immunology.

When I returned to the lab last fall for a memorial service, I was introduced as “Oh, you’re McMurry of the Science paper” to generations of succeeding students. #BIODigital

The UNCF-Merck program provided were simple but brilliant:
✅confidence
✅modest resources
✅autonomy from hierarchy & bureaucracy
✅a network of like-minded scientists
✅a clear picture of how science could help communities of color & save patients’ lives in the process.

I would like to thank one of the program’s architects, @TonyColesMD.

Tony was a young scientist at @Merck when he co-created the @UNCF / Merck Fellows Program; today he is the CEO of @CerevelTx, an @IamBiotech member company.

#BIODigital

And to @Merck, thank you for the investment you made in me and so many other young scientists.

That story is but one example of why I love this industry.

Science is awe-inspiring.

#BIODigital

My story illustrates the magic that the 1,000 @IamBiotech member companies make happen every day. Our companies use those same ingredients – courage and the freedom to explore with communities of diverse, yet like-minds with eyes on the prize of Global progress… #BIODigital

Our companies that follow the tantalizing breadcrumbs left by academics and turn them into actual solutions that have a real and profound impact on our world. #BIODigital

Talent is wasted unless it is fostered.

And research means little without development.

Our scientists are the pragmatic lens, focusing the light of knowledge into flames that set the world on fire. 💡 🔥 🌎

#BIODigital

Not every dilemma can be solved by science, but when scientists put their minds to solving a problem - be it COVID, our environment, improving our food supply or improving opportunities for young people regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation - progress will be made.

Our society has lived through the industrial revolution and the digital revolution. But this is the dawning of the Bio Revolution. The marriage of biology and silicon is poised to accelerate the progress seen to date. #BIODigital

In their new report, @McKinsey coins the phrase Bio Revolution. We here at @IamBiotech think is well put. #BIODigital

More on the Bio Revolution: mckinsey.com/industries/pha…

In the coming decades, this Bio Revolution will lead to a world that is more sustainable.
It will extend human lifespans. And it will unlock some of the greatest scientific mysteries of our time. #BIODigital

We see glimmers of this potential in the response to COVID-19, allowing for faster identification of the virus, more effective diagnostics and health tech tools, and new bioengineered treatments. #BIODigital

But what we see now is only starting to scratch the surface of what the Bio Revolution can make possible. #BIODigital

As a new wave of innovation comes out of the lab and into the marketplace, these capabilities could transform what we eat and wear, our health, and how we build our physical world. #BIODigital

And much like digital technologies have reshaped industries, I expect biotechnology will be equally momentous. #BIODigital

In this dark and difficult moment of COVID-19, the Bio Revolution is a source of hope and optimism.

I have no doubt that the innovators in our midst at #BIODigital will tip the scales in every major challenge we face.

We will lay the foundation for economic development in communities
hard hit by COVID,
we will slow global warming,
we will strengthen the food supply,
and we will succeed in ending this pandemic.
#BIODigital

I know this because we are a can-do industry of bright minds and committed hearts.

And the world has never needed us more. #BIODigital

Biotechnology can and must erase the threat of COVID and other potential emerging diseases.

We can and must eliminate healthcare disparities and improve diversity and equal opportunity within our own ranks. #BIODigital

We can and must reduce global warming.
We can and must feed the world more sustainably.
We can and must ensure that our shelves are stocked full of scientific progress that is accessible to those in need. #BIODigital

As @IamBiotech President and CEO, I will work every day to fulfill our social compact with patients.

We will listen to them.

We will honor their struggle.

And we will make their concerns ours.

And together, we will turn an age of fear into one of hope.

#BIODigital

While I appreciate this opportunity to share my story, now BIO wants to hear yours. We know there are countless women and men in labs across the country working around the clock as we speak. #BIODigital

Collectively, you are the Bio Revolution and your work will restore our hope in the future. #BIODigital

So please, tell your story by going to bio.org/helpinghands

Download our app.

And use it to tell YOUR story. #BIODigital

Tell us who inspired you to become a scientist?
Who extended a helping hand that let you achieve your goals?

Record your short video and share your story with us. So we can help inspire others. #BIODigital

I am proud to be part of an organization supporting our companies as they continue to achieve the impossible and change the world. #BIODigital

So, welcome to the first-ever #BIODigital Convention – YOUR Convention.

While we miss seeing you in person in San Diego, as originally planned, BIO Digital is allowing us to have a global dialogue and further the collaboration that is a hallmark of modern science.

Thank you for joining @IamBiotech for #BIODigital and helping us make history.