What happens when a genetic counselor takes those skills to industry, nerds out on billing and reimbursement, and then starts a podcast about genetics? Kate Wilson is what happens.

Kate Wilson is a podcaster, educator and consultant. She specializes in oncology genomics and has over 15 years' experience in product management, laboratory genetic testing, and clinical genetic counseling. She is a nerd about billing and reimbursement and loves science communication. Kate is passionate about access to genetic healthcare and precision medicine for all. She serves as adjunct faculty for the Emory University Genetic Counseling Program and currently hosts and produces the All Access DNA podcast and DNA Dialogues podcast.

Today, we talk with Kate about her earliest career successes and why she left the clinical world to pursue a career in industry. We drilled in on her good, bad, and ugly and found out more about the origin of her podcasting career. And given Kate’s background and her work with genetic testing, we asked her opinion about the recent funding cuts to work that supports genomic research as well as her perspective following one of her own recent podcasts on the 23andMe data privacy scandal. We could talk to Kate forever, and you will want to as well after hearing this episode.

“If you show up as an engineer, people will treat you that way.”

What a powerful lesson from our guest this week - aerospace engineer, corporate trainer, motivational speaker, and comedian, Shayla Rivera. Starting her career at NASA as an aerospace engineer (who does that?!?), Shayla spent five years working on the space shuttle and space station programs. She left to pursue psychology, trying to understand what makes people tick, first working in environmental systems sales and then moving on to corporate training. She found her niche as a motivational speaker. Her love of words and natural ability to not take herself or the world too seriously finally led her to comedy. Currently, Shayla serves as Director of ENGR[x] at Texas A&M University, her alma mater. This new program is designed to provide undergraduate engineering students with professional skills and experiences beyond their engineering degree requirements, making them more attractive to employers.

Shayla is one fascinating woman with a down-to-earth attitude and infectious enthusiasm for life. In this episode, she offers sound advice for how to avoid the common pitfalls that plague some women going into science and technical fields and how to follow your curiosity. The question, she says, is not “What do you want to be when you grow up?” but “What do you want to be first?”

Is taking a career detour the same as failure? Our guest today certainly doesn’t think so.

Lena is a physician-turned-marketer with over 20 years of leadership experience across startups and established health-tech companies. She has a proven track record of scaling successful brands and defining new categories that set disruptive companies apart from the healthcare status quo. She’s currently the co-founder of Best Friend Jack, a boutique marketing and branding agency serving health-tech companies.

Lena’s transition from clinical medicine to marketing serves as the backdrop for a bold career, one that has allowed her to serve healthcare in a much bigger way than one patient at a time. In this conversation, she talks about how she decided to make this shift, what she thinks are still challenges for women in leadership, and how she got involved in investing in women-led businesses herself.

Throughout her career, Courtney Tate has often had to deal with being the “only” in the room, but that has never stopped her. She is a proven healthcare leader with more than 20 years experience in the diagnostic laboratory industry. Following completion of the Masters in Genetic Counseling Program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Courtney initially accepted a clinical based genetic counseling position but quickly stepped out of the traditional 'box', and took a new role in sales with Myriad Genetics, becoming one of the first genetic counselors to work in an industry setting. Later, Courtney continued to expand the box, pursuing an MBA from the Executive MBA program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Courtney's functional roles have included Sales, Medical Affairs/Clinical Specialist, Marketing and Managed Care/Payor Access. For those who may be familiar with the series, "Scandal", Courtney is often thought of as the "Olivia Pope" within organizations because of her ability to assess a situation, understand the contributing factors, work cross-functionally to develop solutions, and execute and produce results.

In this interview, we dive into how this Diagnostic Guru made the jump from Clinical Genetic Counseling to Sales to Marketing, the “good and bad” of her experiences in leadership roles, and what advice she has for the next generation of women in science. Courtney leaves us with her superpower, a unique skill that is a lot harder than it sounds.

In our inaugural episode, we are joined today by Dorottya Nagy-Szakal, MD, PhD, the Chief Medical Officer at Biotia. In her current role, she is responsible for implementing novel genomic-based technologies, providing clinical implementation of microbiome and virome data, and engaging healthcare leaders using novel sequencing-based and AI-driven technology in infectious disease diagnostics. During the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts, she drove strategy and communication with the FDA, CDC, NYS DOH, and NYC Health and Hospitals and currently works to support the adaptation of novel diagnostic tools for global pandemic preparedness. Dr. Nagy-Szakal is the President of the New York Hungarian Scientific Society and passionate about mentoring women and minorities in the scientific field and startup world.

On the show today, we talk with Dr. Nagy-Szakal, “Dora”, about what it’s like to lead a team during a crisis like COVID-19, how her work has impacted public health, and how she personally has struggled both as an immigrant and a woman in a field dominated by men. Dora emphasizes the importance of teamwork, emotional intelligence, and what she sees as her super power. Listen in now!