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From the lab to the boardroom
By Dharmica Mistry
Dharmica Mistry discovered a novel blood test for breast cancer, and co-founded a company to try to bring that technology to market, impacting lives. She discusses what she learned through the transition from laboratory to boardrooms, science to business.
I was always captivated by biology and how things worked. I enjoyed problem solving and finding solutions, so it was an organic process. The way of learning through scientific subjects interested me; the asking of questions and searching for the answers.
In health and medicine many advances have been made, but so many other things remain the same way for years and years, like breast cancer detection for women under the age of 40 via physical examination.
I started out as a laboratory technician and through a series of events came up with a discovery that shaped my career. As a result I became founding scientist, and was Chief Scientist, of BCAL Diagnostics where I was developing a simple blood test to detect breast cancer earlier and more accurately.
This approach had the potential to revolutionise the detection of breast cancer as the technology enabled accessibility to a routine method of screening for women of all ages, and had multiple applications in screening, diagnostics, treatment and monitoring.
Taking an innovative idea out of the laboratory and commercializing was a whole new world for me as a university trained scientist. I spent a decade trying to bring my small research idea to life and went from science to business quite exponentially. It was scary, but I am impact driven and there is nothing more motivating than making the transition from bench to boardroom, which has been challenging but ultimately fulfilling.
I had to arm myself with more than just scientific skills to succeed. It was a steep learning curve but allowed me to be multiskilled and successfully navigate the membrane between academia and industry. I progressed by keeping an open mind. I set about learning on the job, saying yes to anything that was thrown at me, failing at new tasks, learning from my failures and multiskilling myself, adding value to my role. Importantly, I asked for what I wanted. I asked to work closely with other people from different areas.
I can’t stress the importance of multiskilling yourself enough. Network, find mentors, join groups, enrol in programs and consider doing some part time interning along the way.
Overall I learned this: Don't let a lack of self confidence stop you from seizing an opportunity. You deserve it, you should take it and give it your best shot! Let failure be your friend. Learn from it, iterate quickly and keep going.
What kept me in science was learning that what I was researching or doing day-to-day had the potential to be impactful to the world. A degree in the sciences is one of the most powerful degrees in the world. You have a foundation for making a change. Creating revolutionary ideas. Impacting the world. Making a dent in the universe. For many years I didn't realise how powerful my degree was or what diverse pathways it could take me down.
I am excited by the multidisciplinary approach to the problems we face as a global society: the move to build smart, healthy cities and sustainable futures. By working together to solve the really big problems, we can make a change that can help everyone, not just a sector of the population.
Getting asked what we look for in deals is one of the most common questions I get as an investment manager.
The Small Business Association of Australia is dedicated to supporting SMEs, acting as their voice to government and helping them connect, grow, and prosper well into the future.
Sensibles may sound like science fiction, but this revolutionary technology is making waves in aged-care facilities, and has the potential to transform health monitoring at scale.
Alice Springs and the deserts of Central Australia don’t sound like a food basket, but they are for businesswoman and bush foods innovator Rayleen Brown.
A new report aims to lay the foundations for a deeper and more meaningful and equitable relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the mining transition sector.
If the health and medical research sector in Australia is to move forward, it must address gender equity, diversity, and inclusion- which means making the sector a safe and inclusive workspace for all.
A ground-breaking sheep technology system is bettering the businesses and lives of Australian sheep breeders thanks to a revolutionary combination of software, hardware, and support never before combined into one cohesive unit.
ANCA took an early view to look beyond Australia’s shores whilst developing advanced manufacturing technologies now viewed as ‘business as usual’
As Australia grapples with a critical skills shortage, many are now encouraging young people to embrace a career in the trades, where a wealth of opportunities awaits.
In 2016 I published a blog article titled Moonshots for Australia: 7 For Now. It’s one of many I have posted on business and innovation in Australia. In that book, I highlighted a number of Industries of the Future among a number of proposed Moonshots. I self-published a book, Innovation in Australia – Creating prosperity for future generations, in 2019, with a follow-up COVID edition in 2020. There is no doubt COVID is causing massive disruption. Prior to COVID, there was little conversation about National Sovereignty or supply chains. Even now, these topics are fading, and we remain preoccupied with productivity and jobs! My motivation for this writing has been the absence of a coherent narrative for Australia’s business future. Over the past six years, little has changed. The Australian ‘psyche’ regarding our political and business systems is programmed to avoid taking a long-term perspective. The short-term nature of Government (3 to 4-year terms), the short-term horizon of the business system (driven by shareholder value), the media culture (infotainment and ‘gotcha’ games), the general Australian population’s cynical perspective and a preoccupation with a lifestyle all create a malaise of strategic thinking and conversation. Ultimately, it leads to a leadership vacuum at all levels. In recent years we have seen the leadership of some of our significant institutions failing to live up to the most basic standards, with Royal Commissions, Inquiries and investigations consuming excessive time and resources. · Catholic Church and other religious bodies · Trade Unions · Banks (and businesses generally, take casinos, for example) · the Australian Defence Force · the Australian cricket teams · our elected representatives and the staff of Parliament House As they say, “A fish rots from the head!” At best, the leadership behaviour in those institutions could be described as unethical and, at worst….just bankrupt! In the last decade, politicians have led us through a game of “leadership by musical chairs” – although, for now, it has stabilised. However, there is still an absence of a coherent narrative about business and wealth creation. It is a challenge. One attempt to provide such a narrative has been the Intergenerational Reports produced by our federal Government every few years since 2002. The shortcomings of the latest Intergenerational Report Each Intergenerational Report examines the long-term sustainability of current government policies and how demographic, technological, and other structural trends may affect the economy and the budget over the next 40 years. The fifth and most recent Intergenerational Report released in 2021 (preceded by Reports in 2002, 2007, 2010 and 2015) provides a narrative about Australia’s future – in essence, it is an extension of the status quo. The Report also highlights three key insights: 1. First, our population is growing slower and ageing faster than expected. 2. The Australian economy will continue to grow, but slower than previously thought. 3. While Australia’s debt is sustainable and low by international standards, the ageing of our population will pressure revenue and expenditure. However, its release came and went with a whimper. The recent Summit on (what was it, Jobs and Skills and productivity?) also seems to have made the difference of a ‘snowflake’ in hell in terms of identifying our long-term challenges and growth industries. Let’s look back to see how we got here and what we can learn. Australia over the last 40 years During Australia’s last period of significant economic reform (the late 1980s and early 1990s), there was a positive attempt at building an inclusive national narrative between Government and business. Multiple documents were published, including: · Australia Reconstructed (1987) – ACTU · Enterprise Bargaining a Better Way of Working (1989) – Business Council of Australia · Innovation in Australia (1991) – Boston Consulting Group · Australia 2010: Creating the Future Australia (1993) – Business Council of Australia · and others. There were workshops, consultations with industry leaders, and conferences across industries to pursue a national microeconomic reform agenda. Remember these concepts? · global competitiveness · benchmarking · best practice · award restructuring and enterprising bargaining · training, management education and multiskilling. This agenda was at the heart of the business conversation. During that time, the Government encouraged high levels of engagement with stakeholders. As a result, I worked with a small group of training professionals to contribute to the debate. Our contribution included events and publications over several years, including What Dawkins, Kelty and Howard All Agree On – Human Resources Strategies for Our Nation (published by the Australian Institute of Training and Development). Unfortunately, these long-term strategic discussions are nowhere near as prevalent among Government and industry today. The 1980s and 1990s were a time of radical change in Australia. It included: · floating the $A · deregulation · award restructuring · lowering/abolishing tariffs · Corporatisation and Commercialisation Ross Garnaut posits that the reforms enabled Australia to lead the developed world in productivity growth – given that it had spent most of the 20th century at the bottom of the developed country league table. However, in his work, The Great Reset, Garnaut says that over the next 20 years, our growth was attributable to the China mining boom, and from there, we settled into “The DOG days” – Australia moved to the back of a slow-moving pack! One unintended consequence of opening our economy to the world is the emasculation of the Australian manufacturing base. The manic pursuit of increased efficiency, lower costs, and shareholder value meant much of the labour-intensive work was outsourced. Manufacturing is now less than 6% of our GDP , less than half of what it was 30 years ago!
