Happy Long Weekend! After a short break, we're back with an inspiring conversation with Katia George — a scientist, strategist, and passionate advocate for women’s health. Katia recently completed her PhD in molecular biology at UT Austin, where she focused on therapeutic antibody engineering for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Katia’s journey has taken her from premed student to biotech researcher to PhD scientist, all fueled by a deep curiosity about how medicines work — and how they can work better for women.
Tell us a bit about yourself — who you are, what you do, and where you’re from.
I’m Katia. I’m a scientist by training and just finished my PhD in molecular biology at UT Austin. I’m originally from Arlington, Massachusetts. After college, I did research in New York City, moved back to Boston, and then headed to Austin for grad school. That’s where I reconnected with some close friends. Now I’m back in Boston doing consulting work.
How did you get into molecular biology? Was that always your path? And what does that work actually look like day-to-day?
I always knew I wanted to be in science, medicine, or healthcare. I started off premed but realized I was more interested in designing medicines than prescribing them. I began studying how antidepressants work, which is still not fully understood. After that, I worked at a biotech company developing drugs for bone marrow transplant technologies to help people with immune disorders.
Eventually, I decided to pursue a PhD in antibody engineering. If you’ve heard of drugs like Dupilumab (Dupixent), that’s the kind of therapeutic antibody work I was doing. These therapies are often used for autoimmune diseases, inflammatory conditions, and cancer immunotherapies. I focused on designing and optimizing those types of treatments for patients.
Outside of work, what are some of your passions or hobbies?
Relationships are a huge part of my life. My friends are like family to me, and maintaining those connections is something I prioritize. It’s also a big motivator for me professionally—I want to be able to support the people I care about.
Other than that, I love reality TV—especially Bravo shows—and I take a lot of walks with my dog. My husband and I enjoy finding good dog parks around Boston. When we were living in Austin, our favorite weekend routine was grabbing breakfast tacos from a food truck, doing a crossword puzzle, and drinking great coffee. It was such a grounding ritual for us.
As someone who works in STEM, what’s your experience with work-life balance?
It really depends on the environment. Graduate school, in particular, can be tough. I was passionate about my research, so I was constantly thinking about it. One upside is that lab research has to be done in person, so there’s a natural boundary—once you're home, you can’t really do experiments.
Now that I’m out of school and working, the stress is more acute rather than chronic. It’s definitely more manageable.
What do you do to take care of yourself outside of work?
Morning workouts are really important to me—usually yoga. I also try to fit in walks during the day, especially when I’m working remotely. In the evenings, I always go out with my dog. I also have a smoothie every morning that keeps me going, and I add my Arrival creatine to it. I love Arrival, and creatine is actually the only supplement I take. As a scientist, I appreciate how well-studied it is. I think more women should be taking it.
What’s in your go-to smoothie?
Frozen berries, frozen spinach, Greek yogurt, hemp seeds, chocolate protein powder, creatine from Arrival, and water. It has about 30 grams of protein, omega-3s, greens—everything I need to start the day strong.
What kind of dog do you have?
He’s a little terrier. He keeps me company at my desk all the time.
You mentioned a shift from lab science to consulting. What inspired that?
I wanted to work in women’s health. A lot of my research has touched on that theme, and I realized that if I wanted to make a big impact, I needed to understand the business and strategy side too. Long term, I’d love to help bring important innovations in women’s health to the people who need them most.
Is there a particular area in women’s health that you think is especially underserved?Absolutely. Women's immune systems are different from men’s, and we don’t fully understand why women have much higher rates of autoimmune diseases. One theory is that our immune systems are built to potentially support pregnancy, where you carry a fetus with a different immune profile, but that added complexity is still poorly understood.
More broadly, women tend to spend more of their lives in poor health compared to men, even though we live longer. There’s a huge gap in research and attention.
What does success look like for you 10-15 years from now?
Professionally, I’d love to have a strong, positive impact on women’s health. I want to be part of the movement that brings under-researched, high-impact solutions to the forefront — making science work better for women.
Until next time!
-The Team at Arrival