Women in STEM: Passion for science to achieve more sustainable healthcare solutions

Anna Bachmayr-Heyda: Fighting cancer in the lab and in rural Kenya

Anna is a biologist, specialized in immunology and cancer research. She spent her PhD analyzing ovarian cancer samples in the lab. “I enjoyed learning which genes are expressed and how cells communicate with each other.” With this knowledge and expertise, Anna joined Boehringer in 2018, shifting her focus to cancer drug discovery. Now a Principal Scientist, she oversees a lab in Vienna, with a keen interest in complex in vitro models for evaluating the efficacy of drug candidates to improve patient’s lives. 

In 2020, Anna learned about Together Women Can (TWC), an initiative at Boehringer aimed at preventing, screening and treating cervical cancer in rural Kenya. “I knew immediately, this is something I wanted to support,” she says. The TWC team started a research collaboration with the Kenyan MOI University and Anna became one of two co-leaders, learning about the serious challenges many women in Kenya face: 20 percent of new female cancer cases are cervical, and more than half are fatal. 

However, solutions are within reach by building on an existing infrastructure: The TWC-MOI project team has successfully equipped five rural clinics,  ran awareness campaigns in five sub-counties, and trained 44 healthcare personnel and local volunteers. Within a year, over 3,700 women were screened. Of these, 3.7 percent were diagnosed with precancerous lesions, most of whom were then able to receive immediate treatment. “In my job in drug discovery, the clinical benefits of a new drug often only show a decade after the research phase,” Anna says. “With my work for TWC, I can see the immediate impact for these women. This is truly rewarding.” 

Fostering acceptance through awareness campaigns, their efforts have even revived the  national cervical cancer screening program in Uasin Gishu County, located in rural Western Kenya. Anna and her team are currently preparing to publish their findings in a global scientific journal. The next project, a collaboration with the local NGO WaWa Kenya1, aims to screen women for cervical cancer and vaccinate girls against HPV in neighboring Homa Bay County in 2024.