WOMEN IN BIO  |  CHAPTERS | Chicago, IL

The Chicago Chapter of Women In Bio was established in October 2010 under the auspices of the national organization. WIB-Chicago is dedicated to increasing awareness, fostering career development, and facilitating communication among the diverse set of groups and individuals – especially women – in Illinois committed to biotechnology innovation and commercialization.

Our local footprint provides a home to individuals from world class research institutions, multinational life sciences companies, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurial companies, as well as a growing number of investors and professional service providers committed to the bio industry. The State of Illinois is a leader in biotech and pharma, ranking as one of the top ten states in terms of both number of businesses and R&D expenditures. This foundation provides fertile ground upon which to build our WIB chapter, and we invite new members to join us in this venture.

The WIB-Chicago community is committed to creating opportunities and careers for women in the life science industry and to encouraging women in our state to translate novel discoveries into products. As the first chapter established in the Midwest, we are especially thrilled to expand the WIB organization and bring its resources to our region.  For more information regarding the WIB-Chicago Chapter, please contact Chicago@WomenInBio.org.
 

Communications 
Co-chair:  Heather Kissling, Partner, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
Co-chair:  Lynn Janulis, Ph.D., Associate, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP

Funding Committee
Co-chair:  Sacha (Alexandra) Patera, Ph.D., Associate Director, Office of Corporate Relations, Northwestern University
Co-chair: Emily Miao, Ph.D., Partner, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Membership 
Co-chair:  Sara Vinarov, Ph.D., Partner, Quarles and Brady
Co-chair:  Lynn Janulis, Ph.D., Associate, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP

Program (Events) Committee
Co-chair  Sherri Oslick, Ph.D., Attorney, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
Co-chair:  E. Kate Berezutskaya, Ph.D., Associate, Morgan Lewis

Young Women In Bio (YWIB)
Co-chair: Elizabeth S. Copper, MPH, M.Ed., Undergraduate Professor at Northeastern Illinois Univ./ Center for Inner City Studies, and Chicago Public Schools Science Teacher
Co-chair: Amy Wilson, Ph.D., Baxter Healthcare

Advisory Board Members
Gretchen Johnson, CEO of KeraCure, Inc.
Dr. Brenda Russell, Ph.D., Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at UIC
Dr. Neena Schwartz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University
K’Lynne Johnson, CEO of Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc.
Dr. Daphne Preuss, Ph.D., CEO of Chromatin, Inc.

To contact any of the committees listed above, please email Chicago@womeninbio.org.

WIB-Chicago Past Events

WIB-Chicago Holds First Installment of the 2012 Book Club Series
On March 20, 2012, WIB-Chicago held the first installment of its 2012 Book Club Series, which featured the book "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers" by Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. Over 20 women participated in lively discussions of the theories presented in the book and shared their strategies for success in the workplace. Interested in facilitating a future book club? Contact Chicago@womeninbio.org for more information.

"Science Professionals" Day Held for Young Women
WIB Chicago hosted a "Science Professionals" day on January 28 for students enrolled with Girls 4 Science (G4S), an organization that promotes science education to girls ages 10-18 in the greater Chicago area.  Several women with scientific backgrounds described their diverse career paths and fielded questions from over 30 students in attendance. WIB Chicago members Amy Wilson, Ph.D., and Sharon Sintich, Ph.D. organized the event. "We hope that introducing young women to positive role models who have achieved successful science-related careers will help encourage more young women to explore careers in science, technology and engineering," says Dr. Sintich.  WIB Chicago thanks Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP, for sponsoring this successful event.

WIB Chicago Celebrates Inaugural Year on the North Shore
WIB Chicago members and friends gathered on Chicago's North Shore on December 6, 2011, to celebrate the chapter's successful year.  Dynamic women from big pharma, small biotech companies, academia, and service providers enjoyed an evening of networking, great food, and cocktails.
Lily Rin-Laures, Chair of WIB Chicago's Steering Committee, highlighted the chapter's 2011 educational series. She also previewed programs proposed for 2012, including the next installment of the book club series on March 20, 2012, featuring "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers," by Lois Frankel.  WIB Chicago thanks Abbott Women in Science and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America for sponsoring this fantastic event.

WIB-Chicago Women Continues Impressive Educational Series
On September 22, 2011, WIB-Chicago hosted its third Educational Series event with a networking reception and panel discussion focused on building intellectual property assets.  Linda Kawano, Ph.D., Principal at Group Optima Consulting, served as moderator for the panel of distinguished women that included Amy E. Wilson, Ph.D., Patent Counsel at Baxter Healthcare Corporation; Midori Yokoyama, Director of Business Development at Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Sharon M. Sintich, Ph.D., Attorney at Marshall, Gerstein and Borun; and Nabeela Rasheed, Ph.D., Attorney at McAndrews, Held & Mallow.  The panel led the audience through an informative and interactive discussion about factors to consider when building intellectual property assets both for established pharmaceutical and start-up companies.  In addition, panelists discussed factors relevant to potential investors and partners, as well as overall strategies for cost effectively optimizing the value of a company’s patent portfolio. There were 37 in attendance, including several men!  Thank you to the Illinois Science + Technology Park for hosting the event.
 
WIB-Chicago Women Gather to Hear "Lessons Learned"
WIB-Chicago continued its 2011 Educational Series with a dynamic event on women and entrepreneurship on July 14th. Amy Millman, President of Springboard Enterprises, shared lessons learned through coaching women-led companies to present themselves and their companies to investors.  She conducted an engaging and highly-interactive discussion. There were 46 attendees, including entrepreneurs, corporate and academic women, women from the investment community, lawyers and students.  Robbie Melton, co-founder of Women In Bio, travelled from Washington, DC to participate.  During the discussion, many in the audience shared their pitches, stories and advice. The event was the second in a series of sessions planned by WIB-Chicago to educate participants on topics such as intellectual property, entrepreneurship and other business issues important to life science executives.  The next event is planned for September.
                        
                    Lily Rin-Laures, M.D. and Robbie Melton                                  Amy Millman and Lily Rin-Laures, M.D.


WIB-Chicago Kicks Off Educational Series with Investment Panel Discussion
On April 11, 2011, WIB-Chicago and PROPEL co-hosted a networking reception and informative panel discussion focused on Finding the Right Investor at the Right Time. The event was the first in a series of sessions planned by WIB-Chicago to educate participants on topics such as intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and other business issues important to life science executives. Barbara Goodman of PROPEL, which is a joint partnership of iBIO and the iBIO Institute, served as moderator for a panel of experienced women from the local investment community. Caralynn Nowinski Chenoweth of Sikich Investment Banking, Kathryn Burrer Hyer of IllinoisVENTURES, and Nina Nashif of Sandbox Industries made up the esteemed panel. During the discussion, these prominent women shared their insights on selecting an investor that fits the company’s development stage, how and when to engage investors, and recent market dynamics.