COVER STORY
IN SIG H TS
Jill Mullan, COO, iSpecimen
i
SPECIMEN presents an ideal marriage between technology and work in the spirit of STEM: using an online platform to connect medical researchers with billions of specimens available in healthcare organizations. It brings together advanced medical technology and the creative ingenuity of its team. The reward? Advancing medical discovery — always a great thing. We asked Chief Operating Officer Jill Mullan a few quick questions that connect her personal journey with the opportunities available to STEM students today. The biggest thing in common? Working in multiple careers in a rapidly evolving world as part of her journey.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jill Mullan by iSpecimen
ST: What is the biggest difference
our tech interns, we hire a lot of
between opportunities then and now?
students from the local Boston
JL: Today, young people are probably
universities, in particular getting a lot
more equipped than we were. What we
of students out of Northeastern or
were getting into after college, kids can
co-op programs. Over the last roughly
start getting into as early as late middle
eight years or so, we've hired 20
STEM TODAY: Your background looks
school — of course, we’re talking about
interns and 50% of them have been
like the path of a STEM science or
different opportunities, but the point is,
women. Everything has always been
medical student, though it came a
you can start having these experiences
purposeful. It’s pervasive in our
little bit before STEM became a main
much earlier. And kids today have a huge
culture that we look for diversity and
focus.
advantage over my generation, because
inclusion. too.
Jill Mullan: Yes, I had so many
tech has been their language since they
opportunities. After college, I was an
were born.
ST: Life sciences is a big career target for STEM students. Will it continue to
electrical engineer and I went into the semiconductor industry, so I've been
ST: One of the many impressive things
grow as fast as it has been the last
in technology my whole life. I went
about iSpecimen is that you’re very
ten years?
from semiconductors to video editing
diverse and also directed from the top by
JL: It’s gonna keep expanding and
software when it was a brand new
a balanced team of women and men,
expanding. I was just looking at a
thing, then I went into storage
with you as the CEO. How has that
report and the projected growth rates
networking, and then I went into
philosophy reached down into your work
are on the order of double digits per
regular networking. Eventually I
with STEM students you bring on?
year for the next 5, 6, 7 years. There
made my way to this marketplace
JL: If you look at our company, our
are many new things coming out,
concept. So, I've been able to,
C-level team is half women and half men
which is perfect for the kids today.
basically morph my career in
— literally. Our CFO and COO are female,
They will work on things that haven’t
technology across a lot of different
and our CIO and CEO are male. Three out
even been thought about yet. These
industries. Then I look within just the
of the five VPs are women. We have two
ideas have the potential to become a
life science, uh, space. I mean, there's
women on our board out of seven
whole new industry, underneath the
obviously all the biotech, pharma,
people, which is pretty good. One of the
broader industry, but a whole new
diagnostic companies, and medical
interesting things is I took a look at our
industry with massive growth rates.
devices.
interns and our tech team. If you look at
— R.Y. SPRING 2022 | STEM TODAY
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