What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about making the path more visible for others.

What do you consider to be your most important career achievement or milestone?

From gold medalist MS graduate in India to first-gen PhD and now postdoctoral researcher in the US with a licensed patent and innovation award along the way. I consider my whole arc to be the achievement; proof that curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to build your own path can take you anywhere.

What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why? What obstacles will you overcome?

To translate cancer biology discoveries into therapies that reach patients. My goal is to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities that become drug targets. The obstacle is bridging academia and industry, a gap with no clear map for scientists. I am on my way to build that bridge.

Describe an amazing opportunity in your STEM career.

Mentoring high school students through George Mason’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program was an amazing opportunity. Guiding young researchers through real cancer biology experiments, watching curiosity become confidence deepened my commitment to growing the next generation of scientists.

How was AWIS helped you professionally and/or personally?

AWIS instantly felt like the community I’d been searching for; driven women helping each other across academia, industry, and entrepreneurship. As a newer member, I’m already inspired by the mentorship, advocacy, and collective energy that make this network truly remarkable.

What is your favorite word? (only one word)

Pivot.

How do you define it?

In research, a pivot isn’t failure, it’s the data handing you a better question. You follow the unexpected signal, redirect your thinking, and that’s often where the most important discoveries live.

How has this word influenced or inspired your career?

Pivot has kept me going when experiments failed and plans unraveled. It reframed every setback as a signal worth following. That mindset has shaped how I approach my science, my career transitions, and every unexpected turn along the way.

How does AWIS impact your career journey?

As a postdoctoral researcher just beginning my AWIS journey, I already see its potential to shape my career. AWIS is connecting me with women who have navigated the same crossroads between academia and industry, and offering mentorship, visibility, and community at exactly the right moment.

What are you currently reading or listening to?

I’m currently reading Neuromancer by William Gibson, a sci-fi classic about systems, control, and the boundaries of biology and technology. As a cancer researcher, the parallels between rogue code and rogue cells are hard to ignore.

What do you consider the best professional or personal advice you’ve ever received?

Stop waiting for the perfect moment; transform the current one. Circumstances rarely align on their own. I learned that momentum is built by acting boldly in the present, not by waiting for permission or the stars to align.

Purva Gade, PhD, is a cell and molecular biologist with doctoral and postdoctoral experience in cancer biology, specializing in cell-based functional assays and therapeutic vulnerability discovery. She is passionate about translating complex signaling biology into meaningful therapeutic applications in oncology. Beyond the bench, she is actively engaged in mentoring emerging scientists and building connections across academia and industry. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and hiking.