Quick Facts
Biography
Dr. Mireille A. Gingras (born 1971) is a United States-based Canadian neurobiologist and entrepreneur. She founded HUYA Bioscience International, a biotech consulting firm in 2004, and is the San Diego, California company's President and CEO. The company has offices in Pudong, Shanghai, China.
In 2010 Gingras's interest in China as a source of "research-intensive, expensive-to-develop medicines that are the stuff of patents and high profit margins" attracted the interest of Fortune magazine.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gingras earned her Ph.D from Radboud University Nijmegen and has held postdoctoral fellowships at Bordeaux University in France and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Montréal's Concordia University.
Also one of the founders of MIR3, she is a "serial entrepreneur" as she has described herself. Gingras is at least functional in several languages, including Mandarin, in addition to her native French.
Gingras has articulated five points of advice for women who want to succeed in biotechnology as a male-dominated profession:
- 1. Commit to building and growing your career
- 2. Know your industry, and look for opportunities that would play to women’s strengths
- 3. Move away from your comfort zone when networking
- 4. Maintain a balance between drive and patience
- 5. Speak directly and with confidence