On this episode of The Vurge, Rebecca welcomes Nishtha Jain, Head of Innovation and Digital Technology at Takeda. Together they cover her journey to biotech engineering from India to the United States. Listen as she sheds light on the future of healthcare, the synergy of AI and empathy in patient care, and the vital steps being taken to close the gender gap in tech. Finally, get a sneak peek into how Nishtha' s passion for travel sparks her innovative ideas. Don't miss out on this enriching conversation that promises to not only educate but also inspire.
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On this episode of The Vurge, Rebecca welcomes Nishtha Jain, Head of Innovation and Digital Technology at Takeda. Together they cover her journey to biotech engineering from India to the United States. Listen as she sheds light on the future of healthcare, the synergy of AI and empathy in patient care, and the vital steps being taken to close the gender gap in tech. Finally, get a sneak peek into how Nishtha' s passion for travel sparks her innovative ideas. Don't miss out on this enriching conversation that promises to not only educate but also inspire.
Thanks for listening! Like what you hear? Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and be sure to subscribe to The Vurge for the latest episodes and more!
Interested in being a guest on the show? Click here to learn more.
Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of the Verge. Today we have Nishta Jain. She is the head of Innovation and Digital Technology at Takeda. Welcome, how are you doing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, rebecca. Thanks for having me. I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Speaker 1:Good, like we were just talking about, it's finally nice to have some heat here in the New England area.
Speaker 2:Right, yes, yes, definitely. So I can't complain. It's a hot summer day in New England.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, finally A little sun, and it's not raining Right, so we're excited. I'd love to hear a little bit about your career and your background. Tell us how you got to where you are today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, rebecca. So I just like anybody else who comes to the United States. So I would say I'm kind of living that American dream, not fully but partially. I'm originally from New Delhi in India, which is the capital of India, where I was born and brought up. And just like you know how most of the Indian kids grow up, you know you become either a doctor or an engineer. Those are pretty much the options that your parents give you when you're growing up. So there is, you know, in growing up there's a lot of emphasis on you know doing academically the best and you know kind of being the best in what you do. So you know, just like that, I, you know, was pretty much very passionate in the area of biology and I wanted to become a doctor back in India.
Speaker 2:And then you know, I actually and this is very interesting with the population size that we have we have very limited seats. So when you apply for entrance exam to become a physician, you actually there are very less chances. So just maybe top one or two percent of the people can make it to those schools. So I tried twice but unfortunately I couldn't. So so then you know, at that time and year, biotechnology was a very emerging field and this is back in 2010, actually not even 20, then it's 2005, 2006.
Speaker 2:So I don't want to disclose my age, but that's the time, you know. And then, when everybody was saying that biotechnology and nanotechnology will be the future, so I took a little bit of pivot where I said, ok, you know what I'm going to pursue biotechnology. And you know, and my and I really became passionate about the field very quickly and that passion led me to move to United States back in 2011. And I decided to pursue, you know, masters from United States. So, which is essentially, you know, I would say, dream of every Indian kid, at least back in that time. That that's how it was.
Speaker 1:When we spoke, you know, a couple of weeks ago, you spoke about the pressure of in India to either be a doctor or a lawyer and how you the third option is engineer, which you know I end up becoming.
Speaker 2:But but you know my parents were not very happy because I couldn't become a doctor. So when I said, ok, not doctor, but engineer is an option, they were not too thrilled about it, and you were right, actually. The third one is lawyer, so that's also very esteemed profession.
Speaker 1:And I find it fascinating that it's like you're in those three bubbles for your culture, but really you can make a lot more money doing other things as well.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how is that? Navigating as like, as a female in your culture and, you know, navigating outside one of those bubbles right.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes. So you know essentially what I used to see back in the day and, I believe, still the majority. So people used to say you know, if you choose to become a doctor, you'll see more females than males. And then you know, if you choose engineering, you know, you may, might end up being the only girl in the class and you know, I've heard that for some of the specific say mechanical engineering or some, you know specific areas of engineering, but you know, I think medical profession was still considered to be women dominated in India. But the interesting thing is with now which is, I would say, after 2020, the way social media is picking up. Now, any young person that I talk to, they always say they want to be a social media influencer. So I feel like definitely that dialogue around a doctor, engineer and lawyer. Now parents have actually evolved with the ever-evolving world and now I don't hear parents saying that anymore because kids want to be social media influencers.
Speaker 1:Yes, both of my little ones want to have their own YouTube channel. That's not happening right now. Can you tell us about what you do today and how that meets your passion, and why you're passionate about it and how you're helping others with the digital technology that you use?
Speaker 2:Sure. Thank you, Rebecca, for that question. So just to share a little bit of my background, I have over 13 years of experience in digital technology and for the past seven years I have been in the pharma industry, where I have worked for companies like Black Soce, Smith Klein, Biogen, and now I work for Takeda. So we are living in the world where technology is revolutionizing at the speed of light. So to keep up with that pace, I believe innovation is not a choice, but it is a mandate. So the companies who decide not to innovate soon will not be competitive and have a kind of risk to run out of the business or essentially kind of lose that opportunity. So I feel like innovation is very, very critical to this ever-evolving technology. And then so I have been working, I believe, with this chat, GPT, with AI. I feel like now it's not a buzzword anymore. I believe everybody should know about it, should learn about it and not be afraid to innovate.
Speaker 1:Nisha, how do you see the innovation of AI and chat GPT affecting the patients and the providers out in your industry?
Speaker 2:So yeah, so that's a great question, rebecca, and I believe it was a couple of weeks ago that I saw this study or it was more of a proof of concept where what they were saying is a chat GPT had better results than a doctor. So they actually had a patient chat with chat GPT and an actual physician and the results that they saw with chat GPT were better because they said chat GPT was more empathetic, it hurt, it had the time to spend with the patient, like there was more time it could spend with the patient. And, interestingly, because chat GPT is trained on data from various sources, even though physicians are trained but then their information that they have is limited to what books they have read or what they have studied, but because chat GPT is trained with pretty much all the information in the world that's available in that field of disease, what was seen was that somehow chat GPT was proving to be a better like. The experience with chat GPT was better. So that kind of it's a very interesting era and it puts us into that situation where I wonder that would people start to feel more comfortable now?
Speaker 2:And I can share, you know this was five to six years ago. I had a disease of stomach and I believe I had seen five different specialists and it was until I got to the fifth specialist and I have, you know, done multiple courses of medication I was able to identify like the fifth physician was the one who was actually able to identify what it was and, you know, be able to get me the right medication. But that was almost six plus months. So there is the benefit that maybe the chat GPD could kind of help patients not suffer that much and you know, if the diagnosis is correct then you know they may not have to go through that whole guessing game.
Speaker 1:I would like to think that it's a more reliable Google when you're going out to, or maybe a little bit more reliable, right?
Speaker 1:Not that Google is not reliable, but they always say, if you think you have, you know, if you're sick with something, not to Google, because it always goes like to the, you know, most extreme, but maybe it'll be a little bit more reliable and people will be able to, you know, find out their diagnosis sooner.
Speaker 1:It's interesting that you say it has more empathy, right? I think there's doctors that are very empathetic and then there's others that we know struggle with that, and I think that chat GPD probably doesn't have all the multitasking that's going on in their head, so it could just focus on that one question that's being asked and not, like you know, my children that are running here in the background and you can see flipping gymnastics at the same time while I'm, you know, hosting you on the podcast. So I think it's it is it's a one straight shot to be able to answer that one question that you're getting at, and and I hope that it just keeps evolving and I hope people aren't aren't going to be scared of it, because I think it's coming no matter what. We just need to figure out how to guide it and use it. It's powers for good right.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I totally agree. And you know, very recently, you know, on one of my visits to one of my physicians, they actually now have the note taking you know where AI bought is taking the notes and they ask you, are you okay with you know taking the note? So it has kind of it's already helping the physicians in that way where you know the AI bought to call the notes and then sent me this is the summary of your visit. These are the recommendations. So so it's actually definitely, you know, people are, I think, have they have the comfort to accepting it to that extent and, and you know, giving the permission. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see as, as you know, we move and now I can't even say like, let's see a couple of years, you know, let's see a couple of months, what happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely, let's pivot over. When we talked a few weeks ago. We talked about the innovation that you use for the COVID vaccine and and how that sort of came about to help people out. Do you want to speak to that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, essentially, you know Pfizer and Moderna, who were able to, you know, come up with the COVID vaccination really fast. But you know, despite of the names of what I want to actually shed the light on is is the is the innovation. So essentially for a vaccine, you know, even when you think of developing a vaccine, the entire process end to end can actually take anywhere between that eight years to to, you know, 12 years, and that's essentially little bit more of that is what a drug takes for the development and with and you know we saw that during COVID it was actually less than six months that you know it took from end to end for us to be able to get to that vaccine candidate. And essentially AI was a major, you know, player there, because AI was a technology that was used to kind of eliminate the wrong you know candidates for the vaccine and to be able to identify the right one. So so it's definitely the technology that was there. But then you know, at that time, because the world stopped, it was the, the resource and the funding. So essentially, you know, development of a drug could take somewhere between that one to two, two billion dollars. And to end, you know, for a drug to actually launch and commercialized.
Speaker 2:So I believe that was another part, that at that time all the pharma companies came together, the governments came together you know what came together to fund this kind of initiative. And then you know it was also the effort that was put in because the research went 24 seven. So you know when one group would log out the other group was taking over from there. But you know it was, yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 2:But you know what it has shown us is that you know innovation is possible. So so you know always people had said that an R&D. You know innovation is slow, you know it may take so many years. But I think I feel like the COVID vaccination and how we received it and despite of all the skepticism and and you know I don't know what was going on in the media where you know people thought it's not an actual vaccine and it's something else. But but you know, I think it has shown us that if we are willing to put in all the best technology resources and obviously if it's funded properly, any disease essentially can actually be cured or we can find that right drug or vaccine for curing diseases.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, obviously having the COVID vaccine come out was great innovation very quickly, like you're stating. But there's so much other technology innovation tech innovation that came out because of COVID that I think is phenomenal as well. All the telemedicine a lot of people are working from home and have found that we can do stuff remotely and so many other good things that, as bad as COVID was, there's some great things that have come out of it as well.
Speaker 2:So definitely, I would say, right.
Speaker 2:So when you talk about digital technology, transformation or adoption of technologies, the world has seen any technology or digital transformation programs that took companies multiple years. It was so fast for the companies to adopt them, and also with that came a lot of, I would say, innovation and ways of working, how now we are working in a hybrid world where we choose to go into the office on the days when you have to be in office and then you work from home on the other days, and then a lot of people took remote options where they are fully working remotely, I do feel like. So we have seen innovation in technology. We have seen innovation and ways of working.
Speaker 2:One other thing that I really feel important is what I've been seeing is there's also innovation and leadership by creating safe, collaborative and creative environment where you could actually cultivate innovation. So I think that's the shift that I'm seeing, and I actually really, really encourage people to think differently because with the technology, that's in our favor. There's a lot of innovation there. There's innovation in how companies are pivoting, but there has to be that innovation in the leadership style and how, essentially, people are accommodating their themes and based on working.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely we have to be accommodating. Now. People and the younger generations want remote, and so the companies that are saying 100% in the office for jobs that in our mind could probably be 100% remote, if they don't accommodate they're going to lose the employees to another organization. How do you see women and diversity in technology and in health care? I know you're part of the Health Care Business Women's Association and are you seeing a switch there in leadership and more women and diverse candidates come across and be taking those higher level positions?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So just before I answer that, I do want to share some data that I collected. So actually, this is as per 2020,. Us was actually ranked 53rd by World Economic Forum in the Gender Gap Index and essentially top five countries were Iceland, norway, finland, sweden and Ireland. So US is 53rd, which I felt like we have to do a lot to move that needle. And secondly, the other data that was quite intriguing was that in US, men make 128% more income than women in the fields where women are in maturity. So these are very recent stats that I was able to find, and what surprises me is we all have seen so women are natural leaders, like, you see, your mother, that's leadership.
Speaker 1:So everybody knows I don't know my mom. No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:So when you see a mom, you see, okay, this is like you see leadership in action. So I still wonder where is that lack of opportunity? So, essentially, I think what we have to do is and, as you mentioned, I'm part of Healthcare Business Women Association, which is a nonprofit organization trying to push the needle on gender parity I feel like we need to continue to think out of the box to be able to create opportunities for women and essentially, not only mentor and coach your fellow women, but actually think of that, moving from that mentoring, coaching mindset to sponsoring. So essentially, for those in leadership positions, how we can sponsor other women, but then for those in, I would say, early to mid-career, how to kind of mentor and coach women or kind of try to consciously think of that. If I'm creating a team, how can I make my team diverse? Because essentially, if that is not intentional, what will end up happening is that you will be, you will end up creating a team that is non-diverse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, those statistics are staggering. To know that we're like in the 53rd, I think you said, in the United States, which is why I started my nonprofit as well, to just get more diverse women in healthcare, it and at the leadership level. And I think your passion is the same as mine is I wanna help the younger generations not step in the same mud as we did and help them elevate to a career that they inspire to be in and help them negotiate. I find myself helping others negotiate their next career move or their next salary they're always nervous about oh, this is the salary that they gave me. I'm not gonna push them and I'm always like ask for more, like there's nothing wrong with asking for more. They're gonna say no, you know. So just helping women that way and learning from them as well. Right, we're not the YouTube generation. I was more like Myspace, beginning of Facebook, and so like we can learn from them as well as they learn from us right.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, you know, and, rebecca, I know you are a fellow chief.
Speaker 2:So chief is another organization that I'm a member of and, to your point, like, what I can say is that historically, at least in chief, I've seen this dialogue very common that women have now at least this is women in chief talking is that I'm going to go for the next role or the next opportunity without checking all the boxes. So I think that is another mindset where there is a study where men apply for positions they aspire for, but women apply for positions when they check all the boxes. So at least this is the dialogue that I'm starting to see is shifting. Women are becoming more aware. But I definitely just want to maybe say through this platform is if your company has a women leadership group, women leadership initiative, become part of it. Not just attend the programs that they host, but just become part of the group and try to ask for how you can shape your women leadership network or the programs that are created for women to kind of educate them on these different things, so that way they start to think differently. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, Nisha. Can you tell me something We've talked about healthcare, innovation, chat, GPT, COVID. Can you tell me something that you're passionate about outside of work?
Speaker 2:Very, very interesting question. So I'm very, very passionate about traveling. And traveling not just for, you know, just going to a new place and taking pictures or photos, but actually traveling to learn about the cultures, the history of the place. You know where I travel, to trying out, you know the cuisine that they have and actually talking to the locals, to listen to. You know why they are this way or why economies this way, so what do they think about? So I think that's my passion. You know it's so, so interesting to learn so much about, you know, people, making connection with the people in the rest of the world and getting those new perspectives. So every time I travel to a new country or a new place, I come back with a completely new perspective on my own life which, you know, I never even was consciously thinking about. But it just ends up being that I'm like, okay, this is what I'm going to adopt in my life from what I learned. Yeah, like a little piece of their culture comes with you.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and you know, I do feel like that kind of is also very important for innovation. So what happens is, every time I learn, I go to a new country, I see something very new, I, if I'm able to bring it back, I try to bring at least the idea back, you know.
Speaker 1:What's your favorite country you've been to so far?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know I actually was recently in Scandinavia, scandinavian region of Europe, which I really loved in Baltics. So essentially, you know I was doing a very like, I would say, interesting culture and history tour. But my favorite country, absolute favorite, where I would like to go again and again, and it is Italy, and you know it intrigues me that. You know the culture is amazing and you know you can never go wrong with eating carbs for every meal. I love it and drinking wine.
Speaker 1:I tell my husband all the time if I got a job, don't tell my boss that I've versioned. But if I got an offer to him, like right now, to go to Italy and I had a pack and like be out the door in an hour like done, like I would be to live there and have a job, I'd have to speak Italian, like learn Italian.
Speaker 2:But um, oh wow, I did not know that Wow.
Speaker 1:No, I'd have to learn it. I don't know it.
Speaker 3:OK, OK.
Speaker 1:But I actually find your culture extremely amazing and I've I just find like I want to invite myself to one of your weddings one day, because I've seen them at hotels and and and and around, like just around, and I find them so bright and so amazing and it's like over a course of a couple days and just it just fascinates me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you so much for saying that. So yeah, indian culture is definitely very, very vibrant, full of colors and very warm and welcoming. So yeah, yeah, so any time you know you go to India, I mean it's so there is there is a saying which is called as Aditi Devon, which is, like you know, your guest is your. You know, like God, treat guests like God.
Speaker 1:I love it. Yeah, I love it. One day I will make it to your country and invite myself to a wedding, or maybe they're so big, maybe they wouldn't notice if they had one more. So I'd love to end with my last question, and in term, and ask you what your superpower is and what you're bringing to to everyone that you meet.
Speaker 2:Yes, so this is a very, very interesting question, you know and this is something it has been a journey.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't say this was my superpower from the get go, but I would say my superpower is empathy and you know it is something where you know what I have seen is that the moment you empathize, you know, firstly, you are never you experience your life and you experience the world so differently Because the moment you know, you think that, okay, why did this happen to me? Or you know why is this person, you know, acting certain ways, or you know why is this, so you are able to think about the other person, you know, put yourself in their shoes and you know, I try to kind of stay empathetic and actually I have been trying to apply empathy not only in, you know, my daily life, but actually in innovation. So even to innovate, empathy is really important, very critical, because you know everybody needs to feel, you know, like basically their whole self, and for them to do that, you know you need to be able to empathize and you know what is a more beautiful place when you are able to empathize and understand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for that and thank you so much for your time. It was so great to get to know you and I know you're like live right down the street not really, but like an hour away and so we'll have to meet up sometime in person and get together.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely Rebecca, so please let me know when you know you are visiting Boston area and you know, I wish this was like if it was a video. It would be so much fun with you. Thank you so much for your time.
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