Alison O’Mahony, PhD | 30 Women to Watch 2024
VP, Pharmaceutical Research | Seek Labs
Like most scientists, Alison O’Mahony’s informal scientific career began in her childhood, prompted by her mum’s enthusiastic questions, “What do you see? What should we try next?” She decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and microbiology at University College Cork in Ireland and went on to earn a PhD in cancer immunology. Relocating to California, Alison first worked as a post-doctoral fellow at UC Davis and then at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, where she led her first research lab. In the Bay Area, she served as the scientific lead for R&D and screening services for drug discovery clients, from small startups to global pharma/biotech companies. In 2021, she moved to Salt Lake City to join Recursion. Now at Seek Labs, Alison is working on the discovery of innovative therapeutics to treat infections and diseases.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Collaboration. I deeply believe that working together allows us to deliver more than the sum of our parts. To quote Henry Ford (born in my hometown of Cork), “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” In the pharmaceutical industry, collaboration is not only the cornerstone of innovation and progress — it is the process by which we grow and advance as scientists and as people. I enjoy working collectively to generate meaningful data and optimal processes, build trust and cultivate productive relationships within and across teams. I value our shared experience and expertise, which enables us to tackle complex problems more effectively and lead to breakthroughs that might not be possible in isolation.
What community projects or charity work are you involved in, and why are they important to you?
One community project that I am actively committed to is BioHive’s returnship program within our Women in Tech and Science (WITS) chapter. This initiative is designed to help women who have taken time off to raise a family transition back into the workforce. WITS recognizes the unique challenges faced by women returning to the fast-changing and rapidly evolving workplace in technology and life sciences. Working with our industry partners, we aim to provide meaningful career re-training through defined project-based opportunities. WITS is also building a returnship community to offer valuable support, training and a pathway for women to re-enter the professional world after taking time off for family responsibilities.
