We interviewed Dr. Jo Viney, Co-Founder, President, and CSO of Pandion Therapeutics. Dr. Viney discussed her experience working within large organizations and ultimately starting her own company.
Research shows that there are far fewer women in leadership roles than men within the life sciences industry. Is this because women want different things, and are less interested in attaining leadership positions? In the recently published 2019 BioSpace Ideal Employer Report, women and men both indicated that they had the same top three values: interesting and meaningful work, competitive salary and health benefits. However, the report also highlighted some of the preference differences of men and women in the life sciences industry. As an example, women are more likely to prioritize diversity in leadership roles, company culture and flexibility than men. In an effort to learn more, we interviewed Dr. Jo Viney, Co-Founder, President, and CSO of Pandion Therapeutics. Dr. Viney discussed her experience working within large organizations and ultimately starting her own company.
- Can you tell us a little about your background in the life sciences?
My first research experience was as an undergrad at St Bart’s Hospital (London), where I was lucky enough to intern in the Paediatric Gastroenterology department. It was here that my passion for translational science was ignited… interacting with children suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, and seeing the transformation in their lives (and their parent’s lives) with effective therapy is something that made me choose a career in research.
I pursued my Ph.D. and early postdoctoral studies in the UK (where I am from), before moving to the United States in the early 90s. I was lucky enough to work as a postdoc at Genentech in the Bay Area, and it was here that I became enamored with biotech - particularly with the ability to truly translate research ideas into real therapies for patients. Following a short stint at Genentech, I moved to Immunex in Seattle and cut my teeth learning about biologic therapies for autoimmune disease. In the early 2000s, Amgen acquired Immunex, and I had my first experience with small molecule drug discovery. Throughout my tenure at Immunex/Amgen, I worked on a good number of programs that progressed to clinical development – there is nothing more exciting and nerve-wracking as the first day a patient gets dosed with a drug that you have discovered.
In 2011, I moved to Boston to Biogen where I led the Immunology and then the Drug Discovery Research organizations before deciding to leave the world of big biotechs for a startup. In 2017, I co-founded Pandion Therapeutics where we are working on a modular approach for developing biologics for treating autoimmune disease.
- Please tell us about your company, Pandion Therapeutics.
As mentioned, I co-founded Pandion Therapeutics in 2017 with a goal of developing a platform of modular biologics for treating autoimmune and inflammatory disease. Unlike many startups, we did not in-license any technologies or programs, rather we started with a very simple concept of trying to develop new therapeutics for localizing immune modulators directly in the inflamed tissue, and we started our programs from scratch.
We are pursuing two approaches for attenuating the inflammatory response. First, we have an immune effector that selectively activates and expands Tregs, and second we have an immune effector that delivers inhibitory signals to attenuate overactive T-cells. We have the ability to develop these immune effector molecules as systemic therapies, but our main interest is in creating designer bifunctional molecules to target these immune effector molecules to tissues. Our first program is headed to the clinic early next year.
- Do you think there are unique challenges for women in life sciences? Why or why not?
I do think there are some challenges that uniquely affect women in life sciences. When I first started my career, there really were not many women in senior leadership positions, there were fewer women than men on review panels, there were fewer women than men speakers at scientific meetings, and there were very few women actually organizing conferences. Why is this a challenge? I think it is much easier to shine, and be one’s best self, when surrounded by people who are similar. In my early career, I felt I had to walk a fine balance between demonstrating manly leadership qualities, and not appearing too aggressive or opinionated, as this was not viewed favorably by the older generation of male leaders.
There has been a concerted effort in both academia and in the industry to try and tip that balance a little more equitably, but I think it is fair to say that there is still often more men than women in these visible roles. I hope that our industry will continue to strive for gender parity, and I really hope to see us in a better place before I retire. That said, I think we also need to strive for greater diversity in other dimensions beyond just gender.
- How can women in life sciences focus on their career development and progression?
My motto has always been to find a job that I love so much that it feels like a hobby! When thinking about career development, career progression and career moves, I first set the bar high by only considering positions where the science is stellar. The next most important factor for me is, who will I be working with? At the end of the day, I know I will be spending a lot of hours at work, and thus choosing whom I want to work with is a decision that ranks up there in importance along with whom do I want to marry!
- Recently, the 2019 BioSpace Ideal Employer Report was published. According to the report, 61% of women rank diversity in leadership roles as important (a 15% point increase when compared to men). Is diversity in leadership important to you? Why or why not?
Diversity in leadership is incredibly important, so my answer to this question is YES! Whilst life is much “easier” working with people who are just like oneself, it is incredibly easy to slip into groupthink. Many studies have shown that the most innovative teams are diverse teams. I know we have been talking about gender diversity here, but being diverse by other measures is equally important – such as decision making style, cultural background etc. Without some push and pull and healthy tension, I don’t see how it is possible for any team to come up with a truly creative and innovative ide.
- According to the report, 74% of women rank a company culture that aligns with my values as important (an 8% point increase when compared to men). Why do you think company culture is important to many women?
Everyone performs better when they feel good about themselves and they flourish when they have the support of their leaders, their peers and their team. Biotech is a tough business, and finding a culture that is a right “fit” becomes especially important if one isn’t in the majority.
Porschia Parker is a Certified Coach, Professional Resume Writer, and Founder of Fly High Coaching. (https://www.fly-highcoaching.com) She empowers ambitious professionals and motivated executives to add $10K on average to their salaries.
Dr. Jo Viney is Co-Founder, President and CSO of Pandion Therapeutics, a startup company in Cambridge, MA focused on developing new therapies for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases (www.pandiontx.com). Prior to Pandion, she worked at Immunex, Amgen, and most recently Biogen where she was Senior Vice President of the Drug Discovery organization. Jo is on the Scientific Advisory Board for HotSpot Therapeutics, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Quench Bio, Finch Therapeutics, and Carogen Corp.
