Marie Yurkovich, 2010

Dr Marie Yurkovich read Biochemistry at Clare. She is now Senior Associate on the Origination Team at Flagship Pioneering.

Who was your greatest Clare influence and why?

My greatest Clare College influence was my graduate supervisor, Prof. Peter Leadlay, who was a fellow at Clare when I decided to come to Cambridge. In addition to encouraging me to apply to this ‘friendly’ college, he represented Clare brilliantly and was always encouraging, kind, and generous with his time.

Marie's Story

The years I spent at Clare College (2010-2016) were foundational to my career and greatly shaped the woman I am today. Clare provided a platform that nurtured my passion for science, helping me complete my MPhil and PhD in Biochemistry while opening the door to a host of formative learning experiences.

Integral in my choice to pursue graduate studies at Clare was my supervisor Prof. Leadlay. A master in nature products biosynthesis, or deciphering how living organisms encode for and produce valuable bioactive molecules, Peter opened my eyes to the sophisticated elegance and creativity of nature. In addition, Peter’s role spinning out a biotechnology company from his lab’s work demonstrated how discoveries in basic science can be translated into breakthroughs for human health – an area I have focused my career around.

A place at Clare College and in Peter’s lab wasn’t just an education in Biochemistry. Peter – a true polymath – taught me foundational lessons in making academic writing persuasive and engaging given his unparalleled command of the English (and French/ German / Latin!) language. His encouragement to explore the many extracurricular societies and activities available at Cambridge allowed for an intellectually rich and diverse experience. This included rowing for the college, becoming a member of the MCR executive team, competing on the Cambridge Blind Wine Tasting team, and joining multiple biotechnology societies and student competitions, enabling me to meet many individuals who I still consider close friends.

My time at Cambridge also inspired a deep curiosity for exploring other cultures and academic disciplines. Despite sharing a ‘language of science’ the breadth of nationalities in our lab largely influenced the diverse range of topics we would discuss at teatime. Similarly, through entering the Clare MCR you were met with graduate students from all corners of the globe – each passionate about a field often far from my intellectual ‘comfort zone’. Clare always encouraged this academic cross-pollination - hosting the ‘Clareity’ graduate symposium and ‘Great Books’ lecture series among many others as venues to learn from my college-mates and fellows. Informally, Friday night formals and the MCR bar were just as important for getting to know my esoteric Clareites over dinner and one (or several!) whiskeys.  

After a PhD spent investigating how novel antibiotics could be generated through genetic engineering of bacteria, I spent the last six years working to understand the many steps involved in biotechnology company creation and drug development. This has taken me to roles working with large pharmaceutical companies as a management consultant, to working with emerging start-ups and academic founders as a venture capitalist. Currently, as a member of the origination team at the biotechnology venture fund Flagship Pioneering, my role is to build novel biotechnology companies which will hopefully lead to improvements in human health. While the Biochemistry training received at Cambridge has been foundational to this role, as important has been the sense of curiosity and love of discovery I cultivated while at Clare. For that I thank you Clare College!