WHEN IN STEM

📌 Note: this episode was recorded when the company was still called Vaxess Technologies. It has since rebranded to Terrestrial Bio, Inc. (Terrestrial).
What does it actually take to go from MIT chemistry to running your own biotech company?Rachel Sha is the CEO of Terrestrial Bio (formerly Vaxess Technologies). Before that, she spent over a decade at Sanofi and earned her MBA at Harvard. We sat down to go deep on the *actual* path , not the polished one.
In this conversation:– why she pivoted from chemistry into business, and what an MBA actually does for a science career– how she stood out and rose at Sanofi (a 100,000-person company)– the politics of big pharma and the lessons that stuck– why she eventually left corporate to become a CEO– what nobody tells you about leading a startup in life sciences– leading as a woman in a still-male-dominated industry– the advice she'd give her younger self at MIT– plus listener questions on MBAs, early-career strategy, and pivoting
If you're navigating the bridge between science and business or wondering what your next step looks like, this one's for you!
🎙️ Hosted by Marie
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Can you work in the life sciences with a BA in English?
In this episode of When in STEM, I sit down with Rosie from Life Science Cares Boston to talk about her nontraditional path into the life sciences. From studying English to working at the intersection of biotech, nonprofit leadership, and social impact, Rosie’s journey challenges what we think a “STEM career” should look like.
We talk about how she broke into the industry, what Life Science Cares actually does, and why your background might be more valuable than you think. If you’ve ever questioned whether you belong in STEM, this episode is for you.

You got a chemistry degree… now what?
Most people think it means staying in the lab forever, but that’s far from the truth.
In this episode, I break down what a chemistry degree actually gives you and the different career paths you can take in biotech, from R&D and QC to project management, supply chain, regulatory, and even tech and business roles.
We also talk about salary progression and how to pivot your career without starting over.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in STEM, this episode is for you.
Your degree is not your job, it’s your starting point.

She made it to leadership at Bayer… with just a bachelor’s. So how did she do it?In this episode of When in STEM, I sit down with Kristen Landgren, a chemical engineering graduate who went from starting her career in the lab to leading innovation and science at Bayer, without a PhD.We break down her full career journey, the risks she took, and the skills that actually helped her stand out and move into leadership in the pharmaceutical industry.If you’ve ever felt like you need more degrees to succeed in STEM, this episode might change how you think about your path.

“I quit the lab for a fully remote biotech job”… but how does that actually happen?
In this episode of When in STEM, I sit down with Alexandra to talk about her journey from chemical engineering to working as an analytical chemist, and how she transitioned into a remote project management role in the pharmaceutical industry.
We break down what it’s really like working in a startup, the skills that helped her move beyond the lab, and how she built a more flexible career in biotech.
If you’re wondering what you can do with a chemical engineering background, or how to pivot out of the lab, this episode is for you.

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