Parisa Sanandaji is currently the Director of US Patient Advocacy Relations at Intercept Pharmaceuticals in New York City. Prior to joining Intercept, she spent 13 years at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and 3 years at Eli Lilly in roles spanning Sales & Marketing, Medical Affairs and Patient Advocacy. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Rutgers University and her Masters degree in Developmental Genetics from NYU.
As a recovering scientist spending her career in corporate roles, she ultimately found her passion working with patient groups across the drug development spectrum. By incorporating the patient voice on innovative projects in clinical trial planning and development programs, she led teams to bring novel approaches in optimizing these companies’ patient-focused missions. It was also during this time that she learned a very valuable lesson around excellence in leadership: efforts to provide clear, concise communication while leveraging the power of your networks should never be underrated!
Continuous professional development, especially in activities that elevate women’s roles across corporations, is another one of Parisa’s passions. During her time at Boehringer, Parisa chaired the Business Partnerships team within the Women’s Leadership Initiative while holding memberships with the New York City chapters of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and Women in Bio.
Mentoring brilliantly talented young Iranian women, such as Soha Ghanian, is not only a powerful way to commit to a community she holds dear, it is a privilege and an honor.
In her spare time, she finds her passion through traveling (pretty extensively!), scuba diving, and spending time with her amazing family across the US and in Iran.