No institutionalised rejection of women…

…It’s just a place women haven’t been before, says Pamela R. Contag, the president and co-founder of Xenogen Corporation.

Crossing boundaries is a theme close to her. She earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1989. But it was while working at Stanford University in California that she and two colleagues invented in vivo biophotonic imaging, and she switched tracks to become the president of her start-up company. Xenogen was listed on NASDAQ in 2004.

The technique illuminates biological processes in a living mammal to track biological activity to provide better in vivo data earlier in the drug discovery and development processes.

Passport in hand, Contag now travels the world representing Xenogen to the pharmaceutical industry and life science researchers. Contag clocked more than 100,000 air miles last year and commutes one hour each way to the office.

Contag recognizes that women are underrepresented as CEOs in the life sciences, and she belongs to two organisations that work to turn around that trend. “I don’t think it’s an institutionalised rejection of women. It’s just a place we haven’t been before,” says Contag. From the lab, to the investment world to the business communities, it’s the boundaries between these areas that are the hurdles, she said.

Contag, who has more than 22 years of microbiology research experience, urges young women to build up their own experience base. “As money gets tighter, investors and employers are looking for experience,” she says, adding that a business environment with more regulation and less funding can actually be an opportunity.

Once again, it’s about crossing boundaries. Contag, 48, says, “Someone needs to have the talent to interpret new regulations. The playing field is levelled every time we enter into a new environment.”