About me: My Journey -
Where Science Meets Advocacy
Hey Fellow Readers, I’m Praveena, and I’m thrilled to have you here! I’m a scientist with a deep passion for advancing healthcare and addressing unmet medical needs. Over the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to contribute to the development of innovative therapies while working at organizations like GSK, AstraZeneca, and Adaptimmune. These roles allowed me to gain hands-on experience with some of the most exciting and challenging areas of science, including Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)—complex treatments with curative potential for life-threatening diseases like cancer.
I’m looking forward to share my journey with you—both as a scientist dedicated to advancing healthcare and as an advocate passionate about addressing unmet medical needs, especially in women’s health.
Praveena Kanapathypillai
BSc Hons, MSc.
From the beginning of my career, I’ve been driven by a single goal: to help bring groundbreaking therapies from the lab to the patient’s bedside. I’ve had the privilege of working with leading organizations like GSK, AstraZeneca, and Adaptimmune, contributing to the development of therapies for cancer, rare diseases, and advanced cell and gene therapies.
My MSc in Manufacture and Commercialisation of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies at UCL gave me specialised training in developing Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). These therapies, designed to treat life-threatening conditions, represent the frontier of medicine, and I’m proud to contribute to this evolving field.
But my journey is deeply personal, too. As a woman navigating chronic health challenges, I’ve experienced firsthand the gaps in healthcare for conditions that cause chronic pain in women. These experiences have shaped my advocacy efforts and strengthened my belief that healthcare innovation should serve everyone, especially those who have been historically underserved.
A Scientist with a Purpose
My Academic Journey
Undergraduate Degree
I pursued a BSc Hons in Biomedical Sciences at Coventry University, focusing on human health and disease mechanisms, physiology, and diagnostics. My final-year research explored combining Manuka honey with imatinib (chemotherapy drug) to treat a rare subtype of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. This project sparked my interest in using innovative science to improve patient outcomes.
Postgraduate Degree
I am also a UCL Alumni!
I completed my MSc in Manufacture and Commercialisation of Stem Cells and Gene Therapy, a degree run by the Biochemical engineering department at UCL. This MSc equipped me with skills to solve real-world problems. I have gained skills in advanced therapy manufacture, emerging tools for new medicines, preclinical and clinical analysis, regulation, patient advocacy, ethics, business and commercialisation.
My MSc research involved developing a bioprocess for differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in 3D cultures—a novel approach with the laying the foundation for scalable, safer production methods for applications like disease modeling, drug discovery, and therapeutic cell production.
My Career in Biopharma
I have been fortunate to gain diverse experiences in both big pharma and biotech:
GSK: I specialised in autologous T-cell immunotherapy, contributing to process and analytical development for advanced therapies, in particularly the formulation and stability aspects.
AstraZeneca: I expanded my expertise in cell culture and banking, supporting oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and other therapeutic areas.
Adaptimmune: As a Process Development Scientist, I worked on creating off-the-shelf stem cell derived T-cell immunotherapies (allogeneic), optimising process platform for scalability and reproducibility.
Why Women’s Health Matters to Me
Looking Forward
As a woman with chronic illnesses, I’ve faced outdated treatments and long diagnostic delays. Women’s health has historically been underfunded, leaving millions underserved.
I believe in asking tough questions:
Why does it take over 8 years to diagnose conditions such as endometriosis?
Why are there still so few effective treatments for conditions that disproportionately affect women?
How can we create systems that prioritize these issues?
As I continue to grow in my career, I’m focused on five key goals:
Regulatory Affairs: Help with strategizing to refine frameworks for innovative diagnostics and therapies.
Women’s Health Innovation: Address gaps in diagnostics, treatments, education and advocacy for women’s health.
Collaboration: Building transparent platforms for dialogue among medical professionals, investors, and patients.
Guiding Pharma/Biotech: Helping companies prioritize women’s biological health in therapeutic development but also their female employees!
Patient-Centered Care: Putting patients at the center of healthcare decisions, empowering them with education and support in confidence. Providing resources, such as advocacy templates, symptom trackers for chronic illnesses.
Thank you for reading my story! This is a space for innovation, advocacy, and meaningful conversations about the future of healthcare.
