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Stuart Garfield
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
2010 Women to Watch
GSK's Michelle Dipp promotes new drug development
By Jim Schakenbach, Special to Mass High Tech
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Biotechs lag in social media use
MHT's Jackie Noblett: Lessons from the 2007 IPOs
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Pharmaceuticals find drug development partners in colleges
Michelle Dipp
VP, Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery, GlaxoSmithKline
Education: MD, University of Oxford, Ph.D., pulmonary physiology, Oxford
Noteworthy: She forges alliances between GlaxoSmithKline and biotechs to foster innovative drug development leading to improved medical care. In her early 30s, Dipp has already played a significant role in structuring deals to develop drugs to fight inflammatory diseases and muscular dystrophy.
And more: She is a member of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Research Strategy Committee and the American Diabetes Association Greater Boston Leadership Council, as well as a member of the board of directors for Roxbury’s City on a Hill Charter School and president of the nonprofit Healthy Lifespan Institute.
Major challenges faced
“One of the professional challenges I’ve overcome — and one that I’ve found to be most rewarding — was orchestrating the successful acquisition of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals by GSK. We placed a lot of importance on what life at Sirtris would be like post-acquisition and how to retain staff to continue fostering a thriving biotech spirit.”
Challenges ahead
“One of the biggest challenges facing the industry today is the increasing cost of health care. What we do know is that by more effectively treating diseases of aging — including Type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration — we have the potential to change our health-care system as we know it.”
On giving back to the community
“I make it a priority to be active in the community through charitable causes and nonprofit organizations. I’m currently the president of the Healthy Lifespan Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to extending healthy lifespan by studying, educating and testing the rapid advances in the science and medicine of aging. Through my work at Sirtris, I became very excited about the potential of new scientific discoveries to help treat diseases of aging.”
Favorite personal technology?
“I’m a tech geek, so my purse is filled with chargers for my Blackberry, MiFi, iPod and Kindle — but unfortunately no hairbrush. A friend recently told me about (file synchronization app) SugarSync, so I think I’m about to become a fan of that as well. If I had to choose one? Blackberry, hands down.”
Life outside of work?
“One of my passions outside of work is ballet. At one point, I wanted to be a professional ballerina, but I’m not talented enough.”
Thoughts on Dipp, from Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
On leadership: “Michelle’s a fantastic leader … dedicated to moving projects forward. … She’s the kind of person who gets things done, and in a way that pleases everyone.”
On mentoring: “My daughter moved back here and started working for a biotech real estate firm. … Michelle happened to meet her and has been a mentor to her for a number of years without talking about it. Michelle’s willingness to take time out from her demanding life and mentor a young person like this speaks highly of her and the kind of person she is.”
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