yvonne duckworth headshot - digital technology at CRB

Drug Discovery and Development’s Women in Pharma features Yvonne Duckworth

Aug 25, 2022

CRB’s Director of Digital Technology, Yvonne Duckworth, shines in the spotlight for the Women in Pharma series by Drug Discovery and Development.

With 31 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Yvonne Duckworth draws upon the rich experiences, projects and roles that have shaped her fondness for the industry. In this article, Duckworth shares how her captivation by the industry’s challenges continues, as do the rewards of making a difference in people’s lives.

"I have been privileged to support multiple pharma, biotech, and cell and gene therapy companies throughout my career, and it continues to be extremely rewarding for me. "

Duckworth is not only grateful for her many past opportunities in pharma but she is also excited for what the future holds.

"Being an automation engineer, I love seeing companies push the boundaries and advance their facility's level of automation and digitalization. Industry 4.0 is a wonderful initiative and umbrella term to help further the push toward Smart Manufacturing and Facilities of the Future." "Through the automation and digitalization work I do, I hope to help advance discoveries and production to see this innovative science passed on to the patients in need."

Duckworth is an active and engaged member of the pharmaceutical digitalization and robotics communities and a chairperson of ISPE’s Pharma 4.0™ leadership team. Her background as an engineer provides valuable perspective when exploring the impact of new digital technologies within a facility and its processes.

In addition to moving the digitalization force forward for pharmaceuticals, she is also deeply invested in helping other women move forward. “I think it is extremely important to support initiatives that give young women the opportunity to connect with more seasoned women within the life sciences industry.”

"I think it's important for young women to see and hear from women in their field. I remember when I was in college, I had two amazing women professors– one for Circuits and one for Differential Equations. It was so inspiring to see female professors in my male-dominated major of electrical engineering."

Read the full interview “Women in Pharma: CRB’s Director of Digital Technology on why the pharma industry is captivating.“

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