SCWIST Quantum Leaps is a virtual career conference uniquely designed for girls from grades 8-12 interested in or curious to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This conference gives girls a glimpse into what women in STEM fields do in their careers.

During these events, girls can meet women professionals who have been successful in their STEM fields and meet other like-minded girls who have similar aspirations and interests. This event will help them know more about the STEM fields they are interested in and discover new STEM fields. Quantum Leaps also aims to aid students in the transition between high school and higher education.

This particular Quantum Leaps event will focus on women professionals working in careers related to Medical and Cell Research. Within Medical Research, HIV research and making new medications from antibodies will be discussed. Within cell research, the focus will be on mesenchymal cell research and scientific marketing. There will also be a focus on how data science and marketing intersect with medical research.

Did these professionals in engineering have a fixed plan for what they would like to do five years after high school? How do they ease into changing their career focus? Did they know that they wanted to pursue these careers when they were in university? Girls will get the opportunity to interact with these women to get the answers they need at the event.

AGENDA

• 6:00-6:25: Speaker 1 and Q&A session
• 6:25-6:50: Speaker 2 and Q&A session
• 6:50-7:00 Conclusion

SPEAKERS

Rachel Miller

Rachel Miller is a Data Scientist living in Vancouver, BC. She currently works at AbCellera, a pharmaceutical biotech company focused on making new medications from antibodies. Before AbCellera, Rachel spent several years working in the field of HIV research, doing everything from experiments in the lab to analyzing data with code as she progressed through Research Assistant, Graduate Student and Research Analyst roles. She has a BSc in Life Sciences from Queen's University and an MSc in Bioinformatics from the University of British Columbia.

Daniela Paola Pacheco Gilardi

After pursuing her Master’s degree in biochemistry from McGill University, Daniela started her career in the biotechnology industry as a Research Associate at STEMCELL Technologies. Daniela worked in the Research and Development department, where she specialized in mesenchymal cells’ research, designed experiments and helped optimize cell culture media products. Daniela then moved to the Scientific Marketing department where she currently works as a Scientific Marketing Specialist, specialized in immunology. Daniela has recently led STEMCELL Technologies’ presence at scientific conferences, created relevant scientific resources, and contributed to the current marketing strategy.