Welcome to Episode 4 of our video series, Need to Know, where actress, activist, and host of the @workinprogress podcast, @sophiabush, sits down with experts to get the answers to your most pressing questions about life right now. Our guest today is the wildly impressive and inspiring Dr. Esther Odekunle.

Esther is a biochemist, neurobiologist, and antibody engineer currently working as a scientist within the BioPharm Discovery department at GlaxoSmithKline where she is focused on exploring antibody selection as a first step in the drug discovery and development pipeline. Beyond her work as a scientist, Esther is directly involved in science communication and public engagement. She regularly speaks out on racism in academia and science and is passionate about using her platforms to uplift the marginalized & underserved while encouraging increased visibility of diverse STEM professionals.

On today’s episode of Work in Progress, Sophia and Esther discuss Esther’s life growing up in the UK, her education and career path, her past work with starfish and future career goals for exploring unmet medical needs, systemic racism in the science community, how Esther is adjusting to working from home, the current pandemic...and so, so much more.

Thank you to our sponsors for today’s episode:

Rothy’s (Rothys.com/SOPHIA)