Navigating a Scientific Career Across Disciplines
Join the Seattle Association for Women in Science (AWIS) for an insightful discussion on navigating transitions and opportunities across different STEM fields.
As a practicing pediatric oncologist and drug delivery researcher, Dr. Joelle Straehla will share her journey through academic medicine, from the bench to the bedside. She will discuss finding a scientific passion worth building a career around, assembling a supportive mentorship team, and balancing family with professional ambition. Throughout, she will explore what it takes to thrive in academic research amid the pressures facing scientists today.
Schedule (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT: In-person check-in, networking, snacks and refreshments (in-person only)
6:30 PM – 6:35 PM PDT: Welcome, introductions, and chapter announcements (Zoom stream opens)
6:35 PM – 7:25 PM PDT: Presentation followed by audience Q&A
7:25 PM – 8:00 PM PDT: Wrap-up and informal discussion
Speaker
Joelle Straehla, M.D.
Principal Investigator, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Pediatric Oncologist, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington
Joelle Straehla, M.D. is a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and a pediatric oncologist in the Brain Tumor Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. The Straehla lab seeks to advance drug delivery technologies for pediatric cancers, with a special interest in cancer nanomedicine. In the clinic, she cares for children with brain and spinal cord tumors, and is involved locally and nationally in consortia focused on improving brain tumor drug delivery through collaborative research.
Dr. Straehla received her M.D. from Northwestern University, then completed her pediatric residency training at Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington. She completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, where she gained additional training in biological and chemical engineering in the laboratory of Dr. Paula Hammond at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Seattle Children’s in 2024, she was an Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and a Charles W. (1955) and Jennifer C. Johnson Clinical Investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Her goal is to harness cutting-edge engineering methods to improve outcomes for children with cancer. https://straehlalab.com/
About Seattle AWIS
The Seattle Association for Women in Science (Seattle AWIS) supports, connects, and empowers women and allies across all STEM disciplines. Our monthly programs, mentoring initiatives, and networking events are completely free and open to everyone—students, researchers, industry professionals, and science enthusiasts of all genders and backgrounds. Learn more at seattleawis.org.