Career+Civic; Listen, Learn, Connect with Bryn Mawr Alums in STEM

Join alums Jenni Punt '83 and Lakshmi Ilakkuvan '13 for a moderated conversation about their experiences at Bryn Mawr and current careers in STEM. Katie and Becky will moderate.

Listen, Learn and Connect with Bryn Mawr alums in STEM. Join alums Jenni Punt '83 and Lakshmi Ilakkuvan '13 for a conversation about their experiences at Bryn Mawr and current careers in STEM. Listen to their stories, learn from their experiences, and make lasting connections.

Learn more about our alums below!

Jenni Punt '83: Jenni is a Professor of Immunology and the Associate Dean of One Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating from Bryn Mawr in 1983, Jenni spent a year in a lab at Stanford University and then entered a VMD/PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. She became an immunologist, completed a post-doc at the National Institutes of Health and spent 18 years as a Professor of Biology at Haverford College. Her true calling was in the classroom and at the bench with her students - and in the integration of teaching and research with students new to discovery. She became an Associate Dean at Columbia University's Medical School and spent two years as an advanced biology teacher at Friends' Central Upper School. She was then tempted back to Penn, where she holds her current positions as Professor of Immunology and Associate Dean of One Health. These positions allow her to apply the liberal arts mission and philosophy to the vet profession and develop programs that train remarkable young clinicians and scholars to collaborate across disciplines and professions to help solve the most complex, pressing problems facing our world. She has been privileged to teach students at all levels, to introduce them to discovery - of the amazing intricacies of nature and of their own talents and capacity to make a difference.

Lakshmi Ilakkuvan '13: Lakshmi is a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) in the Clinical Operations Department at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly which primarily works on Alzheimer's, diabetes, and oncology clinical trials. She manages study start-ups, communications with sites, IRB approval, study and site level documentation, and contract invoice and processing for phase I-IV trials. She also performs onsite and centralized monitoring, protocol, ICF, CRF, study, safety, monitoring plan creation, and vendor selection. Lakshmi has always been interested in the healthcare field and came across the wonderful world of pharma five years ago. Now, she cannot imagine a better industry for her career as she is able to combine her passions for science, helping others, and working with a team to help advance clinical trials. In her free time she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, doing pilates, and visiting national parks with her husband.

Questions? Email Katie Krimmel at kkrimmel@brynmawr.edu.

Career & Civic Engagement Center