Innovation moves forward when people from different backgrounds and perspectives come together. With International Women’s Day is around the corner, we want to take a moment to recognize the women who help shape our company, our technology, and the future of biomanufacturing.
Fly by Design, Powered by People
At Future Fields, we’re fly by design and powered by people. This motto speaks to both the innovative technology we’ve built and the people who make it all possible. Women have been an essential part of our journey from the start—leading research, solving complex expression and purification challenges, and helping us rethink how proteins can be made.
Having a team that is 57% female wasn’t intentional; there was no particular agenda in being female-forward. But over time, as we continued to recruit the talent we needed to accelerate our progress, we noticed that our team is 17 women strong. Out of those 17, 40% are in leadership.
The female staff at Future Fields are scientists, leaders, and mentors, and they’re also colleagues, friends, mothers, and role models. Whether in the lab or across our organization, they contribute in ways that inspire us every day.
A Personal Story: Prolactin and the People Behind It
One of the first proteins we worked on was recombinant human prolactin, a hormone with important roles in cell biology and regenerative medicine. Sparked by a custom protein request, this protein's production was spearheaded by Future Fielder women. What makes this story particularly unique is that our co-founder and COO, Jalene, was able to contribute in a personal way—donating the breast milk sample that helped us develop our initial prolactin strain.
Like many tricky proteins, prolactin presented challenges during purification and production, but through persistence and collaboration, our team found a way forward. Senior Scientist Paige led the purification process, and Biomanufacturing Lead Janelle scaled up production to deliver the protein to small and large biotechs alike. VP R&D Ela and team dove into the characterization of fly-derived prolactin, providing further insights into glycosylation and activity.
Altogether, the prolactin endeavour is just one example of the innovation, problem-solving, and grit that happens here every day. Driven by curiosity, teamwork, and a commitment to making biomanufacturing better, we work hard to help scientists unlock the next generation of medicine, agriculture, and beyond. And it just so happens that women are an integral part of the progress.
Moving Biotech Forward, Together
Women have always been part of scientific discovery, though their contributions haven’t always been fully recognized. Today, the biotech industry is making progress, but there’s still work to do to ensure that more women have opportunities to lead, innovate, and shape the future of the field.
At Future Fields, we’re grateful for the women who are part of our team and for those across the industry who are pushing biotechnology forward. As we commemorate International Women’s Day, we hope that “women in biotech” becomes a concept that is not just celebrated, but normalized.