Alumni Spotlight on Amanda Bayer, PhD

Amanda Bayer, PhD, is a CRS alumna and former PhD student in Dr. Thomas O’Halloran's and Dr. Teresa Woodruff's labs. She is currently a Technical Lead for new pharmaceutical product development at Baxter Healthcare.

Thesis mentors: Thomas O’Halloran, PhD and Teresa Woodruff, PhD

Thesis title: Zinc dynamics during murine gamete and embryo development 

What is your connection to the CRS community (mentor and position) and what is your current position?  

As a chemistry graduate student, I joined the lab of Dr. Thomas O’Halloran in my first year at Northwestern. For my PhD, I wanted to explore the intersection of chemistry and biology and gain a cross-disciplinary approach towards solving scientific questions. At that point, I knew very little about reproductive biology but I became fascinated by zinc sparks and how important chemistry could be in early stages of fertilization. After my first year in Dr. O’Halloran’s lab, I was awarded the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) Training Grant and Dr. Teresa Woodruff became my joint mentor through the program. Through this collaboration, I began an in-depth study of how zinc could impact fertilization success of the male gamete. Currently, I am a Technical Lead for new pharmaceutical product development at Baxter Healthcare. 

Could you describe your current research/studies? 

As a Technical Lead at Baxter, I lead a team developing new generic injectable pharmaceutical products. I oversee products from the feasibility stage (can we make this product?) through development and FDA submission. 

What aspect(s) of CRS did you find most valuable?  

For a majority of my work at Baxter, I rely on effective communication and collaboration across multiple departments and disciplines to reach my goals. I feel I gained a lot of these skills during my time in CRS, especially as a chemist coming into the world of reproductive biology. A lot of the projects within CRS are collaborative and I didn’t fully appreciate how many of those “soft skills” you learn by communicating with other scientists would help shape my future career.  

What has been the most valuable aspect to your training as a reproductive scientist in CRS? 

Always ask questions! Whether your future career is in academia or industry, asking questions about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what you could be doing next shows your engagement, passion, and eagerness to learn. Also, in the wise words of Dr. Emily Que (who was my mentor in Dr. O’Halloran’s lab) “Fake it till you make it.”  

What would you recommend to junior scientists in order for them succeed in their scientific careers?​  

Own your project & career path! Be proactive! The self-motivation I learned as a graduate student to move my project forward is so valuable now, especially as a scientist in a large company. 

What do you think will be the next big contribution in the reproductive biology field?  

As someone who has had friends and family affected by infertility, I hope we continue to make strides in increasing the success of IVF or other reproductive treatments. 

Do you have any notable stories from your time in CRS? 

One of the best times I had was attending a reproductive Gordon Conference. I remember there being a lot of students there from Argentina and they hosted the BEST dance party in the basement the last night.