Joy Wolfram

(Forbes 30 Under 30)

5 May 2019 7 Min Read

Joy Wolfram's Quest for Better Health: Breaking Barriers in Science

I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Dr. Joy Wolfram, the director of the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Her incredible work in this field led her to be featured on Forbes’ 30 under 30 US & Canada 2019: Healthcare list.

Joy earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Masters’s in Biology at the University of Helsinki. She then completed her Ph.D. in Nanomedicine at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Joy has also worked as a researcher at Wenzhou Institute and Houston Methodist, among others.

In our interview, Joy addressed finding her calling, the importance of education, and what she wishes she had known before starting her medical career. She also shared with me advice for people wanting to work in medicine, as well as the struggles she has faced and what made her the person she is today. Join me to learn more about Joy’s passion!

The Logician

Hi Joy, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me! Would you mind introducing yourself? Who is Joy Wolfram? How and why did you choose your current career path?

Joy Wolfram

Thank you very much for the opportunity to be interviewed.

I am the director of the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

I have designed many preclinical nanoparticles for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer.

My goal is to develop innovative nanomedicines that bring the next generation of treatments directly to the clinic.

My mission is also to inspire and support underrepresented minorities in science, and I am actively involved in community outreach.

As an 11-year-old, I accompanied our dog Ronja to the veterinarian to treat an acute skin infection. I watched in fascination as skin swabs of the infection were seeded in Petri dishes to determine a suitable antibiotic treatment.

I asked the veterinarian if I could have some culture supplies but she shook her head.

However, as I was walking out, she passed me a bag and whispered, “don’t tell anyone.” I excitedly went home and started my own miniature microbiology laboratory.

My first experiment was swabbing shelves in our fridge. After a few days, the Petri dishes were covered with shapes and colors. I told my family that our fridge was crawling with bacteria! They were horrified. I realized that our fridge was not unusually dirty; science was just unusually cool!

Bacteria are everywhere but they are not visible to the naked eye. Science opens up new worlds that would otherwise go unnoticed, which is what inspired me to choose my current career path.

The Logician

Further, I congratulate you on making it among Forbes 30 under 30! It must be a great honor! Was this one of your goals? What do you think contributed the most to it?

Joy Wolfram

Thank you.

This award was given in recognition of my work on preclinical nanomedicine treatment strategies, some of which are expected to enter clinical trials in the near future.

Although this award was not a specific goal of mine, it is important, as it provides wide exposure to the public of the different faces of scientific leadership (including young women).

The Logician

Please explain how you found yours for those who still struggle to find their calling. When did you know this is what you are ‘meant’ to do?

Joy Wolfram

Everything I do is for patients, who provide daily inspiration for my research and serve as a reminder of the importance and urgency of my mission.

As a child, I witnessed many of my friends’ parents succumb to cancer.

I was frustrated that several decades of cancer research had led to only minor improvements in patient outcomes.

I wanted to change the way cancer research was performed and decided to work with nanotechnology.

The Logician

What are some of the most common difficulties in your field? What is your method for overcoming obstacles?

Joy Wolfram

My biggest struggle has been witnessing patients die and being unable to do anything about it.

A year ago, my friend Rebecca died of cancer at the age of 31. She had an eight-year struggle with breast cancer, and it came back three times. She reached out to me after having exhausted all other options. I was her last hope. I failed her, the medical community failed her, and the scientific community failed her.

She is not the only one, as someone dies of cancer every five seconds. This is why we need more research. Today, I am committed to having Rebecca be one of the last patients that I fail.

The Logician

What is your favorite thing about teaching? What can people expect from your classes? What is your teaching style like?

Joy Wolfram

I believe that it is important to inspire students to think differently and have the courage to pursue challenging research that tackles major healthcare problems.

One of my most important roles as a scientist is to create an environment that fosters the development of minority leaders who go on to inspire others, leading to exponential effects that spread through future generations.

In fact, one of my female students recently commented “I am pleased and motivated to be a member of a group that is led by a young woman, as this gives me hope that even though I am part of a gender minority in science I can still be a future leader in medical research.”

The Logician

I completely understand that education is necessary for success in your field. However, do you believe education is always the key to success? What is your definition of success and why?

Joy Wolfram

Education is always necessary. However, this does not have to be formal education. In some fields, the best way to get educated is through professional work experience.

Everyone has a unique path, and we should embrace it. My definition of success is making a difference for patients, developing future leaders, and increasing scientific diversity.

The Logician

What is the one thing you wish you had known before starting your medical career? Please explain.

Joy Wolfram

To stress less.

Most things that we worry about today, we will not remember a year from now.

The Logician

According to you, what matters in life? What do you do for fun? Who is the person you would not have made it without?

Joy Wolfram

What matters is finding a purpose that benefits the greater good and being part of something bigger than yourself. I do outreach activities for fun and have organized scientific boot camps for young women and African American youth labeled at risk.

These boot camps include hands-on scientific experiments to inspire the next generation. We have also written an instruction manual of these activities, that has been shared with many organizations.

I am very fortunate to have outstanding mentors who have supported me throughout my career. Professor Mauro Ferrari, my doctoral mentor in the United States, always pushes me to grow, encourages me to pursue crazy ideas, and shares his keen intellect.

I really admire his strong vision that everything is possible, and it has been astounding to witness that reality often conforms to his beliefs.

Professor Ferrari was also instrumental in planning the next stage of my career after graduating. I am also very grateful to Professor Yuliang Zhao, my doctoral mentor in China, for warmly welcoming me to his research group and culture.

He has provided me with a lot of guidance and many opportunities throughout my career. He has a lifelong dedication and passion for nanotechnology and even named his son Nano.

I stay in frequent contact with Professors Ferrari and Zhao who have both become close friends. I look to them for inspiration on how to improve health care and biomedical sciences.

The Logician

Where do you see yourself and your work ten years from now? Is there a certain number of publications you want to write by then?

Joy Wolfram

My career goal is to benefit a large number of future patients with the nanomedicine treatments that we are developing.

The development of new therapeutic agents is a laborious process that usually takes at least 12 years and costs $2.7 billion. Despite the hurdles ahead, we do not give up and keep our end goal in focus.

The Logician

What would you advise everyone who thinks about pursuing a career in the medical field?

Joy Wolfram

Find a bigger purpose. Write down your goals and make them specific and exciting.

Life is short, so take risks. Be persistent, as this quality seems to be the main determining factor of success. Network like crazy.

Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot be a leader in science, because we need you!

The Logician

Thank you, Joy, for sharing the pleasures and hardships of the field that you work in. Your advice on finding your purpose, writing down goals, and taking risks is invaluable to young people pursuing a medical career. In addition, your motivation and dedication to creating an environment that is welcoming to minority leaders are genuinely inspiring. I wish you luck in pursuing the incredible goals that you have for yourself, and I hope we get to see more of you!

The Logician

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