Penny Melquist

Penny is a scientist with a combined experience of over 25 years in biotechnology and clinical laboratories. In addition to being a scientist, Penny has also been an active member of several organizations. She is the co-founder and President of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Oregon affiliate group where she collaborates with other women’s organizations and the technical community to retain and increase the number of women in STEM. Penny is also the recurring guest speaker for the live weekly radio show "Science Wednesdays" hosted by Global Women Social Enterprise (GWSE) on the HerStoryToo platform where she discusses topics and answers questions as the resident science expert. Penny holds memberships in

• Association for Women in Science

• 500 Women Scientists

• American Association of University Women (AAUW)

• Coalition for the Advancement of Women Chemists (COACh)

• Invitrogen’s Women Initiative Network (iWin)

• Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Women's Employee Resource Group (WERG)

• Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Community Action Council

• Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Science Innovation Nation

• Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Mentor Program

Penny has worked in the Life Sciences industry as a research and development scientist for over two decades. Her emphasis was on the development of new products and technologies within the Cellular Detection Technology division at Thermo Fisher Scientific where she led the development of several high-profile and first to market products that serve both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Throughout Penny's career she have attended several conferences and been directly responsible for:

• 25 seminars

• 15 posters

• 4 patents

• 1 paper