Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Amgen’s Dr Primal Kaur On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Don’t be afraid to speak up. It’s important to state what you stand for without fearing the consequences of doing so, because it can have a valuable impact on the trajectory of the program or the project you’re working on.
As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Primal Kaur.
Primal Kaur, MD, MBA, is currently vice president, Inflammation therapeutic area chair and therapeutic area head global development at Amgen. Since joining Amgen in 2008, Primal has progressively taken on roles of increasing responsibility within clinical development, medical affairs and enterprise portfolio leadership.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I knew I wanted to be a doctor from a very young age — partly because I have always loved and enjoyed learning about science, but also because of my experience growing up with severe asthma. As a child in India, I remember missing out on school and playground time as well as days spent in bed because of asthma flare-ups. This ongoing struggle helped inspire me to pursue a career in medicine and give back to others like me who are living with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
During my time at Amgen, I’ve had the privilege to see multiple medicines go from clinical development to the hands of physicians. These stories are all unique and carry with them a significant sense of pride. Last year, I was especially excited to help work on a medicine for people living with severe asthma.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we first started working remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I received a call from a senior executive at Amgen and I didn’t pick up the phone because I didn’t recognize the number and thought it was spam. I get a lot of spam phone calls, so it was understandable. Turns out, it wasn’t! I got another call from a number I did recognize, and it was a colleague letting me know, someone had been trying to reach me, but I wasn’t picking up! Lesson learned: don’t assume every unknown number is a robocall.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Amgen is a true believer in science and innovation. The company’s science-based approach continues to inspire me, even after more than 10 years of working here. I’ve also seen firsthand how much Amgen values its people, through the many opportunities I’ve been provided with to grow and expand in my role and career. I embraced the company for its scientific focus and the company, in turn, has embraced me for all that I bring to the table.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
While there are several projects that I’m excited about, there’s one that stands out from the rest — the severe asthma medicine I helped bring to patients last year. It’s so rewarding to bring more options to people living with such debilitating diseases, like severe asthma. We’re also continuing to explore and unlock options for other inflammatory diseases.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
No, I’m not satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM and think we have more work to do on that front. Having spent the first few decades of my life living in a third world country, I think one of the most pressing needs is ensuring women and girls everywhere have access to quality STEM education. When provided with the proper resources and opportunities, women can do anything — the sky is the limit! A great example of how the Amgen Foundation is helping close the gap is through its $30 million commitment to LabXchange, an online science education platform that provides users with access to high-quality science education resources at no cost. This is just one way the Amgen Foundation is working to ensure learners of all ages everywhere have access to world-class science education.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
There’s a common misconception that men are better at STEM subjects, like math and science, than women — and that really needs to change. I think the first step is acknowledging the issue and, from there, coming together as a society to change the narrative that women aren’t good enough. I feel strongly that we can each do our part and contribute to leading this change. I try to do my part by serving as a mentor to other aspiring female scientists and doctors, showing them what a potential STEM career could look like, through Amgen’s “Women Empowered to be Exceptional” (WE2) group mentoring program.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
As I mentioned, one of the biggest myths is that women are not “naturally inclined” to enjoy or be good at STEM subjects. But women have been pioneering in this space for many, many years! These false perceptions are holding us back by discouraging women and girls from pursuing a career in STEM industries.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
Organized, analytic thinking is a critical problem-solving tool. When faced with an issue, I always try to take a step back and think through the overall implications for the program, the organization, and the patients we’re serving to ground myself and develop an action plan. It’s not always easy, but it’s something I’ve learned over time from my various leadership positions at Amgen.
Don’t be afraid to speak up. It’s important to state what you stand for without fearing the consequences of doing so, because it can have a valuable impact on the trajectory of the program or the project you’re working on.
Promote diversity and inclusion. In my experience, diverse teams are more likely to innovate, and problem solve so, when I’m building a team, I always try to include a variety of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences to bring to the table.
Learn from your mistakes. Mistakes happen but learning from your failures and viewing them as positive experiences can help increase your confidence, improve your skills, and advance your personal and professional development.
Be aspirational. The sky is the limit for your own career growth. Set your goals high and be prepared to do what you need to do to achieve them!
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
Based on my experience, I would encourage other women leaders to take their time when it comes to attracting the right talent and, once they’ve built their team, they should make the effort to cherish and retain their talent. That includes giving your team room to grow and shine and embracing them for who they are and all that they bring to the table. Without a great team, you would cease to be a leader.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
When you’re managing a larger team, it can be challenging to connect with each person but it’s critical that you do so. Showing your team that you’re there for them will help create a mutual relationship founded on trust and respect. This will also empower each person to perform at their best and contribute to the successes of the company overall. It’s an investment of time and effort that will ultimately help you in the long run.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Many people have selflessly helped me and provided me with the courage to do what I needed to throughout my career. When I first moved to the United States, I was looking for internship (or externship) or opportunities to improve my CV and apply for residency training. I was unsuccessful until I called a program director named Martin J Glynn, MD. He told me that one of the criteria to get into that program was to know someone in the hospital — to which I said, “Dr. Glynn, if I knew someone, I wouldn’t be calling you.” My directness paid off because not only did he sponsor me to do an externship at the hospital, but he offered me a residency in internal medicine after three months. He continued to mentor me throughout my residency and helped me get into the rheumatology fellowship as well. I’m so thankful for him.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
If I’m successful in my job, then we are able to bring new medicine options to patients in need. As a child, I always aspired to help others like me living with asthma. I get excited every time one of our medicines is approved. I’ve also had the opportunity to give back to the scientific community by volunteering in the clinics at UCLA and working closely with the residents, medical students, and fellows. Serving as a mentor for future generations has also been very rewarding for me in helping others grow in their careers.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
When I retire, I would like to work to improve the U.S. education system and help ensure more students transition from high school to college, leveraging the models that have worked in other countries. I’m not an education expert but my two teenaged sons are going through this right now so it’s top of mind for me. I can see how challenging it can be for some students to continue their education after high school and this transition is a very important element of our future growth as a country. I would love the opportunity to make a difference here.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life quote is, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” I often repeat this quote back to myself, as well as to my sons, to have the courage to speak up and express what it is that you need — whether its funding for a project, additional resources, clarification on an assignment, etc. if you don’t ask, you’ll never know!
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would like to meet Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is a fantastic researcher and scientist — not to mention the editor of the textbook I studied in medical school — so I have a lot of respect for him, but I also admire him for his resilience, professionalism, and transparency.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
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