It was very natural. I mean, I was fortunate to be trained at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. What was unusual there is that there were a lot of women, many more than the average at any other place. And so, we did have role models and the women had children, even more role models. And that was because I was at Einstein. It was different at Columbia when I moved there, and very different at Stanford. So, at Einstein, I was the first female chair ever. At Columbia, I was the first female chair. And at Stanford, I was the first female chair. And there were very, very few tenured women scientists, some, but not many. But as soon as I arrived at Stanford, I was a role model. And magically, more and more women appeared up to the point where as recently as 15 years ago, five of the major departments in the medical school were chaired by women.

So, I think that being role, having role models around having someone for young women to talk to. How did you raise all these kids and do all this stuff, what is it like? But I think equally important is learning how to be confident. And I always say this, if you don't feel confident, act confident and you will be confident after that. And I can't tell you the number of boards and committees and events that I was the only woman, but you learn how to negotiate that and being secure in what you're talking about makes a huge difference. And then I've had many mentors who were men. When I sat on my first corporate board, Silicon Graphics, of course I was the only woman and I was very young. But these guys mentored me, they taught me how to do things. They sent me to a course at Stanford Law School so I could learn how to read a P&L statement. I think that mentorship matters and women need to be mentored both by women and men. It's not one or the other.

Lucy Shapiro (b. 1940, New York City) is a developmental biologist and Professor Emeritus of Developmental Biology at Stanford University where she has been a faculty member since 1989. She held the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Chair in Cancer Research and served as director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. Dr. Shapiro’s lab has focused on studying Caulobacter crescentus, one of the simplest organisms that divides asymmetrically into different cell types, to uncover fundamental principles of developmental biology.

Dr. Shapiro received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Fine Arts from Brooklyn College in 1962, and her Ph.D. In Molecular Biology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1966. In 1986, Shapiro moved to the Columbia University School of Medicine as the first female chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Two years later, in 1989, Shapiro moved to Stanford University and founded the Department of Developmental Biology.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Shapiro became involved in policy work. She was invited to the White House to speak to President Bill Clinton and his Cabinet about the potential threats to the public posed by the increase in antibiotic resistance, emerging infectious diseases, and the possibility of bioterrorism. She then went on to serve as a scientific advisor to the Clinton administration and advisor on bioterrorism to the secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, and to the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice during the George W. Bush administration.

In addition to her research, Dr. Shapiro co-founded the anti-infectives discovery company Anacor Pharmaceuticals to develop new types of antibiotics and antifungals. This has resulted in the production of two FDA approved drugs; Kerydin, a treatment for toenail fungus and Crisaborole, to treat atopic dermatitis. Anacor Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pfizer in May 2016. She also co-founded Boragen, an agricultural innovation company that merged with AgriMetis to form 5Metis, Inc, where she serves on the board. She also serves on the board of directors at GlaxoSmithKline and Pacific BioSciences, Inc.

Dr. Shapiro has received numerous awards including the National Medal of Science awarded by President Barack Obama, the Linus Pauling Medal, Dickson Prize in Science, Canada Gairdner International Award, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Excellence in Science Award, the Selman Waksman Award, the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, the Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award, the John Scott Award, and the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize.