From her early research in biochemistry and molecular biology to her postdoc experience on the Olympic Peninsula, Dr. Karen Hecht, vice president of science at AstaReal, said she has always been fascinated by the complexity and interconnectedness of living organisms.
“I think what always fascinated me and drew me to it was the complexity and the just infinite possibilities,” she said. “Biology is so vast and you’re never done learning–there’s always something new to learn.
“And there’s all these connections that you can draw because you’re learning about the world that you are a part of yourself and other organisms that we connect with and interact with. So it’s super relevant. It’s endlessly interesting.
“The fun part is the discovery that never ends—those connections, those patterns that you can find and the complexity that you learn to navigate all the time. So I really enjoyed that part of biology.”
Recognizing the importance of effective communication, Dr. Hecht also focused on developing her science communication skills to share her scientific insights.
“The thing that really gave me the spark was building a story in each one of these research areas and then sharing that story with other people, and eventually, I realized that that was kind of where my joy was coming from,” she said.
“A shift happened after my postdoc where my mindset changed from asking, ‘what do I want to work on next?’ to asking instead, ‘what skill set do I want to develop next?’ And what are my strengths and how can I leverage those? At the time, it was science communication, and so that’s what led me to that role as a technical marketing associate at AstaReal. And honestly, it was an amazing decision for me. I haven’t looked back.”
Thanks to good mentorship, Dr. Hecht said she has been at AstaReal eight years.
“Getting involved and working outside my company has really helped me be more effective, have a broader perspective and more fun,” she said. “I volunteer at WIN, CRN and Agro Food HiTech Journal (that’s new for me). And I’m always grateful to learn and connect with people interested in finding common interests and collabs that can propel us all forward.”
