Championing Women in STEM: What Noreen Hong's 28-Year Career at Thermo Fisher Teaches Us About Growth, Leadership, and the Future of Life Sciences

Even in 2026, women remain underrepresented across STEM fields, and the life sciences are no exception. For Women's History Month, the From Lab to Launch podcast sat down with someone who has spent nearly three decades proving what's possible when talent meets opportunity, mentorship, and the courage to be uncomfortable.

Noreen Hong is the VP and General Manager of Thermo Fisher Scientific's Growth Protection and Separation Business. With degrees in both biomedical engineering and business administration, she sits at a rare intersection of scientific expertise and commercial acumen. Over 28 years (punctuated by a brief stint at a quality and regulatory consultancy before returning), she has grown from account and product management into senior leadership at one of the world's most influential life science companies.

Her conversation with us covered everything from sustainable lab practices to the AI revolution, but one theme ran through all of it: thoughtful leadership, championing underrepresented talent, and the transformative power of leaning into discomfort. Here's what stood out.

Staying for the Right Reasons

When I asked Noreen why she had spent so much of her career at one company, her answer was more nuanced than loyalty.

"What's kept me here is the passion of our colleagues. The passion they have for the mission, for helping our customers make the world healthier, safer, and cleaner," she told me. "It's just not something that we say. It's really embedded into how we work every day."

The other factor? A genuine investment in people. Noreen credits Thermo Fisher's focus on developing talent as foundational to her own trajectory, and it's also what drives her to pay it forward. "That's been a meaningful impact for me, and why I want to give back to others," she said.

It's a reminder that company culture isn't just a hiring talking point. For someone like Noreen, who could have gone anywhere, it was the reason she stayed, left, and came back.

What Companies Need to Actually Do for Women in STEM

This is where Noreen didn't mince words. I asked her whether the underrepresentation of women in life sciences is a cultural problem or something bigger. Her answer: both.

"Organizations need to be open-minded in how they evaluate candidates and a little bit more flexible about the requirements they put into job descriptions," she said. "Sometimes we unintentionally narrow the pool by expecting someone to check every single box, when in reality, great leaders and innovators often grow into roles."

But she had an equally direct message for women themselves: stop waiting until you hit 100%.

"If you meet 60 or 70% of the requirements and you're really excited about the opportunity, you should really go for it," she said. "When companies value potential and diverse perspectives, and when people feel confident raising their hand for opportunities, that's when you really start to see more women and other groups thrive."

It's an insight backed up by years of research, and yet the habit of over-qualifying before applying remains stubbornly common among women. Noreen's message is simple: the disqualification shouldn't always come from you.

On Challenging the Status Quo and Why It's Worth It

One of the most vivid moments of our conversation came when Noreen described watching a leader on her team break an industry norm entirely.

"Instead of following the traditional model, she stepped back, questioned the status quo, and built a new solution that better aligned with how our customers actually work today," Noreen told me. "It wasn't the easiest path, and it meant breaking a few old norms, but the result was an innovative approach that strengthened our customer relationships and helped us protect and grow the business."

Her takeaway for women in the field: "Be willing to think differently, take smart risks, and create solutions that move science and our customers forward."

Progress, she reminded me, rarely looks tidy from the inside. It looks like risk, uncertainty, and a decision to do it anyway.

The Advice She Gives Her Kids and Her Younger Self

I asked Noreen what she'd tell her younger self just starting out in life sciences. She didn't hesitate: trust your instincts.

"Earlier in my career, I constantly second-guessed myself, and even still today, sometimes I do," she admitted. "But what I've learned over time is that experience builds confidence, but your perspective and judgment have value much earlier than you actually think."

The moments that accelerated her career most were the uncomfortable ones. The opportunities that felt a little too big, a little too soon. "If it feels scary and it makes you nervous, that's probably also excitement," she said. "If you're always comfortable, you're probably just doing something you've done before."

As a mother passing this on to her own kids, she speaks from lived experience, not theory. And as someone who interviews life science leaders for a living, I can tell you: that kind of honest self-reflection is rarer than it should be.

Tough Decisions, Done with Grace

Leadership is easy to romanticize. Noreen doesn't.

When I asked about a genuinely hard decision from her career, she pointed not to a strategic pivot or a market bet, but to talent decisions. Specifically, knowing when someone isn't the right fit and acting on it.

"Those situations are never easy, and honestly, that doesn't get easier no matter how many years you've been managing people," she said. "I always try to invest the time first: coaching, giving feedback, making sure the person has the support to improve. But sometimes it becomes clear that it's just not the right fit."

What she's learned is that honesty, handled well, is actually an act of care. "When you are transparent and have honest conversations, when you actually ask someone who might not be doing well, 'Are you really having fun?' they'll often say no," she told me. "And then you can say, 'Okay, what do you enjoy? Let's help you find something you're passionate about.'"

It's a model of leadership that prioritizes the human alongside the business outcome. And it's the kind of thing that doesn't get talked about enough.

Sustainability in the Lab: Where to Start

As a quality professional myself, this was the part of our conversation I was most personally curious about. How do labs actually transition to more sustainable operations without compromising the science?

Noreen's advice was refreshingly practical. "Start by looking at the equipment you already have and ask yourself how old it is and how old the technology behind it is," she said. "Many newer instruments are designed to be more energy efficient, so upgrading older equipment can actually lower your operational costs while also supporting sustainability."

She pointed to a recent Thermo Fisher product launch, a new centrifugation line that uses non-fluorinated natural gas, as an example of sustainability being built into the design from the start rather than added as an afterthought. "It's a more sustainable option that also delivers improved performance," she said.

Data and traceability are the other piece. "The ability to use data to monitor equipment, anticipate maintenance, and improve efficiency helps labs make better decisions, reduce downtime, and run more efficiently overall," she said. "Investing in equipment that supports that kind of visibility can really help future-proof your lab without compromising quality."

The message for lab leaders: sustainability and performance aren't in tension. The right technology choices serve both.

What Excites Her Most About the Future

When I asked Noreen what excites her most about where life sciences is headed, she pointed to velocity.

"The future of science is just so fast," she said. "Technology is changing the way we work and discover. Robotics and automation have made so many processes faster and more efficient. And now we're entering another big shift with AI."

She was candid about her own journey with AI tools. "If you asked me even six months ago whether I'd really be using ChatGPT, I'd have said no, not at all. But the fact that it can do images, help with research so much faster, digest information, it's pretty powerful."

Looking ahead, she's most excited about how these technologies, AI, automation, and connectivity, will come together inside the lab. "The potential to help scientists move faster and analyze data in new ways, and ultimately accelerate discoveries, is incredibly powerful," she said. "I think we're right at the tip of it."

Faster discoveries mean treatments and solutions in the hands of patients sooner. That's not abstract. That's the mission.

Five Years from Now

Noreen's five-year vision for Thermo Fisher is anchored in two things: continued innovation and sustainability leadership. She sees the industry moving toward more energy-efficient product design, reduced use of hazardous chemicals, recyclable and biodegradable packaging, and greater transparency from suppliers around environmental goals.

Personally, her ambition is people-focused. "I'd love to continue supporting and developing the next generation of leaders, especially encouraging more women to pursue and grow their careers in science and technology," she said. "Making sure we're building diverse and strong teams will be an important part of shaping the future."

A Final Note

If you want to follow Noreen's journey or reach out to connect, she's active on LinkedIn and open to conversations, especially for anyone looking to grow or navigate a career in life sciences.

You can listen to the full episode of From Lab to Launch, including Noreen's love of mystery novels and her habit of solving the ending before it happens, on Buzzsprout here.

Her story is a reminder that a long career and a growing career are not the same thing. Noreen has made sure hers is both.