Three Charles River Women Are Leading the Field in DART

Balancing science and leadership to improve outcomes for pregnant people

By sheer coincidence, three scientists from Charles River are currently leaders in three of the most important Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity (DART) scientific organizations in the world. Pragati S. Coder, Senior Director of DART for our Ashland site and Global Lead for DART (Crops and Chemicals), is the President of The Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention. Elise M. Lewis, Principal Director Toxicology (Reproductive,  Developmental and Juvenile) in Horsham and Global Lead for DART (Pharmaceuticals), is the President of the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section for the Society of Toxicology. And Stephanie Clubb, Director of DART for Charles River Edinburgh, is the President of the European Teratology Society.

“This is something that hasn't happened in the history of our field – that we have three female presidents of three of our leading scientific societies, and all of them are Charles River leaders,” Coder said. 

Lewis and her colleagues are used to being trailblazers. “I don't think [RDTSS] has had an African American President before,” she said. “A lot of my career has been first – I’m happy to set an example for others who come behind me.”

Clubb thinks she fell into her leadership role through a knack and interest in conference administration, coupled with a businesslike approach to science. “I think it's because I want to help. I really support the European Teratology Society because what we do is really important.”

In another coincidence, all three scientists say they did not start in DART. Coder says she was originally encouraged to elect the liberal arts track in her Senior year of high school when her physics grades kept her from her first love, biology. “I had to walk past all three science laboratories in high school, and I hated every minute of it,” she said. With the help of her chemistry teacher, who saw her passion for science, she was able to switch and go on to be one of his most successful students. Lewis originally wanted to be an OB-GYN, and a family friend of Clubb changed her priorities.

“Somewhere during the course of getting ready to come out of undergraduate school and trying to figure out next steps, I realized that I didn't like hospitals,” Lewis said. “There was a life event that happened with my mother that changed my trajectory. I had to come up with a backup plan.”

“I was actually in the process of studying to get my qualifications to go to university, and I saw a position in a newspaper I thought that sounded really interesting,” said Clubb. “I don't know what made me do it, but I applied for it and I found out it was all to do with fetal morphology. For me, that was really important because my brother had a friend who had thalidomide-related birth defects.”

All three share a dedication to their chosen research, and a passion for protecting both pregnant persons and their offspring in utero. That passion brought them to their respective organizations, each of which is dedicated to advancing DART research and encouraging new researchers at the beginning of their careers. For decades, each society has supported scientists like them to improve our knowledge of and safety for reproductive health.

“The society was extremely welcoming to me,” said Coder. “Over time, I started volunteering in the different committees within the society, and just kind of got more and more involved. And then, you know, one thing led to the other.”

“My mother was a teacher for 42 years,” said Lewis. “And one of the things that my mother taught me in my formative years was that no matter who you are, we're all people. And everybody deserves an opportunity, and community service is essential. My role in scientific societies allows me to be a role model and to serve the biomedical community."

“(The society) is trying to bring together everyone in the industry, looking at it from all different directions,” Clubb said. “And obviously, its all about trying to help.”

Each scientist named mentors who helped them not only grow in their skills, but also encouraged their leadership potential and opened up opportunities whenever they could. As Lewis said, they “put their foot between the door and the door jamb.” Coder cited imposter syndrome as something that can hold you back, and encouraged early career women to remember that “whatever you think you can't do, just know that there's someone who's confidently doing it wrong.” Lewis summed up her best advice for women in science.

“When you know your purpose and you marry your purpose to your passion, it doesn't feel like work,” she said. “It just becomes a natural part of you.”