Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Sophia Ononye recently obtained her NACD Corporate Director certification in addition to completing a DDN masterclass in Systemic Cyber Governance by the DDN. In March 2023, the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) recognized her with a 40 Under 40 Leadership Award.
BS Honors, Biochemistry, BGSU
MPH, Public Health Administration, UTOLEDO
MBA, Healthcare Management, UCONN
PhD, Medicinal Chemistry, UCONN
Advanced Business Certificate, Healthcare Finance, UCONN
Predoctoral Fellow, Pharmaceutical Science, AFPE
Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical Oncology, YALE
9 Peer-reviewed Scientific Publications PUBMED
20+ Publications in Influential Media Outlets
67 Curated Video Podcast Interviews
Co-Inventor for Patent on Epigenetic Agents (WO2013192554A1)
USPTO Trademark for Amplifying Scientific Innovation (Reg. No.6,377,047)
NACD Directorship Certified®
Author, Creator, Host, Showrunner & Producer, Amplifying Scientific Innovation
Board of Directors, Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: DARE)
Nominating & Corporate Governance (N&CG) Committee, Daré Bioscience
Compensation Committee, Daré Bioscience
Advisory Council, Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN)
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, YALE
Member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)
Inaugural Member, EY Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN)
President, Healthcare Businesswomen Association (HBA), New York Chapter Board of Directors
Member, Yale Alumni Association (YAA)
Mentor, Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI)
Women in Business Advisor, UCONN
Invited Guest Speaker, UCONN
Scientific Advisory Board Member, BioSortia Pharmaceuticals
Contributor, Entrepreneur Leadership Network
Member, Female Founders Collective
Woman of the Week, Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN)
Member, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MASSBIO)
Contributing Writer, Inc. Magazine
Woman of The Week (WoW) Podcast Guest, PharmaVoice
Guest Contributor & Host, Pharmacy Podcast Network
Venture Partner, FundRx
Advisor, Harvard Biomedical Careers Science Program
Editorial Advisory Board Member, Cell & Gene
Panelist, MIT Technology Review
Contributor, Life Science Leader
Contributor, PharmaBoardRoom
Member, HLTH Expert Network (HXN)
HBA Mentor Recognition
Spark Awardee, HBA (2 awards)
Certificate of Congressional Recognition, 30 Black Stars Award
Tradition of Excellence Award, UConn School of Pharmacy
Top Digital Health Influencer, Women's Health (FemTech), Commetric
First 1,000 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Certified Corporate Director
Digital Directors Network (DDN) Masterclass in Systemic Cyber Risk Governance For Corporate Directors
Member, Private Directors Association (PDA)
Member, Equilar Diversity Network
National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) 40 Under 40 Minority Health Leader Award
Sophia Nnenna Ononye, PhD MPH MBA NACD.DC is a Nigerian American Scientist, Entrepreneur, Board Director, Strategic Communications Leader, and Author. Dr. Ononye has over 15 years of cross-functional experience in the biopharmaceutical industry across drug discovery, medical affairs, strategic marketing, and corporate communications. In addition to her specialty training in hematology, oncology and women's health, Dr. Ononye's diverse therapeutic area experience includes regenerative medicine, aesthetic medicine, and rare genetic disorders. She has authored over 30 publications in leading outlets like WebMD, MIT Technology Review, Medscape, Entrepreneur, and Inc.
Dr. Ononye is the owner and principal of The Sophia Consulting Firm (SCF), a certified, 100% woman-and minority-owned scientific communications and executive leadership consultancy. She is the Creator, Host, and Producer of SCF's flagship video podcast series, Amplifying Scientific Innovation®, launched at the height of COVID-19 as a credible source of information on science advocacy, health equity, and influential leadership. In June 2020, The series has amassed nearly 2M views on YouTube and featured world-class C-Level executives such as WebMD's Chief Medical Officer and the American Cancer Society's CEO. In June 2023, Dr. Ononye globally launched the first in the Amplifying Scientific Innovation leadership book series, The 5 Leadership Perspectives on Scientific Innovation, available on Amazon, BookBaby, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers.
Dr. Ononye is a Board Director at Daré Bioscience (Nasdaq: DARE), a leader in women's health innovation, where she serves on both the Nominating & Corporate Governance and Compensation committees. In addition, she is a Yale Entrepreneur in Residence, EY Entrepreneurs Access Network inaugural member, Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network Advisory Council Member, Cell & Gene Editorial Advisory Board Member, and former President of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) New York Chapter.
Dr. Ononye's prestigious accolades include a 2023 National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) 40 under 40 Minority Health Leader Award; 2022 Nasdaq closing bell recognition as one of the first 1,000 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Certified Directors; a 2021 Commetric Top Digital Health Influencer (FemTech); and a 2020 HBA Mentor award and HBA Spark Award.
Dr. Ononye holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and an MBA in Healthcare Management from UConn; an MPH in Public Health Administration from the University of Toledo; and an Honors BS in Biochemistry from Bowling Green State University. She completed her postdoctoral training in Medical Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine.
CLINICAL TRIAL DIVERSITY
Dr. Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP, Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine and Associate Director of Diversity and Outreach at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, specializes in eliminating the barriers to cancer screening tests in underserved populations. C
CLINICAL TRIAL DIVERSITY
Dr. Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP, Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine and Associate Director of Diversity and Outreach at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, specializes in eliminating the barriers to cancer screening tests in underserved populations. Carmen is also an attending physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Presbyterian Medical Center. As an American Cancer Society volunteer, Carmen has held leadership positions at every level of the organization, including president of the former East Central Division Board and has served on the American Cancer Society Board of Directors since 2016. Carmen received the St. George National Award for her dedication to our mission in 2017. Carmen has served on the Mission Outcomes Committee, ACS Clinical Guidelines Development Group, and the National Advisory Council on Health Equity.
SCIENCE ADVOCACY
Dr. James (Jim) Boyle is a co-founder and the Managing Director of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI), a business/educational unit within Yale University that was formed with the mission of mentoring students with new venture ideas and that has expanded to include the development of faculty ventures. Prior to forming
SCIENCE ADVOCACY
Dr. James (Jim) Boyle is a co-founder and the Managing Director of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI), a business/educational unit within Yale University that was formed with the mission of mentoring students with new venture ideas and that has expanded to include the development of faculty ventures. Prior to forming YEI, Jim was responsible within the Office of Cooperative Research (OCR) for the licensing and venture startup of a number of engineering-based technologies. Before joining OCR, he developed and actively managed the University’s largest corporate research alliance, managing a large array of both Yale and external scientists in bioimaging-based collaborations. Earlier, Jim co-founded and grew a predictive analytics consulting practice, providing both technical and pricing guidance on new product development to a wide array of Fortune 1000 companies in the scientific equipment industry. Jim began his entrepreneurial career while still a Yale graduate student, developing novel instruments for characterizing trace biomolecules with the support of the National Institutes of Health, and later commercializing these devices through a wide array of OEM partnerships as part of a Yale startup.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Ms. Ellen Wingard is an early innovator in the field of leadership development and has for 30 years coached and advised CEOs and emerging leaders in health care, financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, technology and higher education. She is co-author of Enlightened Leadership: How Women are Transforming
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Ms. Ellen Wingard is an early innovator in the field of leadership development and has for 30 years coached and advised CEOs and emerging leaders in health care, financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, technology and higher education. She is co-author of Enlightened Leadership: How Women are Transforming the Practice of Leadership. She is past Board Chair of World Pulse Media, an media channel linking 50,000 grassroots leaders across 190 countries, and a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard Kennedy School, where she engages with 150 top global corporate leaders on the latest practices in global talent development, gender inclusion and socially responsible business. She is part of the Executive Coaching pool of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program and has been a commentator on career navigation and intergenerational mentoring to the Committee of 200, the Fletcher School International Business Program, Harvard Kennedy School, and NPR Marketplace. She has also served as a Mentor for the Impact Center a program affiliated with the Federal Leadership Program for distinguished public sector women leaders.
Video courtesy of Face2Face Africa where Dr. Sophia Ononye was honored with a 30 Black Stars award and personalized certificate of congressional recognition from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on November 15, 2019 in Houston, Texas.
In January 2022, Dr. Sophia Ononye participated in the Science of Aging Panel at the Aesthetics Tech Summit 2022 in Newport Beach, California. The dynamic panel with leading industry and subject matter experts discussed high level trends and the future of aesthetics R&D, preventative aging as well as intrinsic aging and cellular health.
In May 2022, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) recognized Sophia Ononye, PhD MPH MBA as NACD Directorship Certified®. In August 2022, Dr. Ononye-Onyia was joined the Nasdaq Closing Bell Ringing Ceremony in NYC for her notable achievement as one of the first 1,000 NACD Certified Directors.
In August 2020, SCF launched the 'Amplifying Scientific Innovation®: Virtual College Seminars' to expand its impact and reach. Through targeted speaking engagements at leading academic institutions, Dr. Ononye aims to inspire the next wave of talent in the life science and healthcare space.
In April 2021, Dr. Sophia Ononye was appointed to the Board of Directors of Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: DARE), a leader in women’s health innovation.
Dr. Sophia Ononye was recently honored with a Tradition of Excellence Award by the UConn School of Pharmacy. She also served as a Guest Speaker on "Healthcare Innovations" for the UConn Executive MBA program and was featured as the Alumna of the Month by the UConn School of Business Alumni.
In January 2021, Dr. Sophia Ononye was featured as the Most Influential Digital Health Influencer in FemTech on Twitter by Commetric, a media analytics solution company.
Dr. Sophia Ononye joined the the Advisory Council of the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) and is the current President of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA), New York Chapter Board of Directors.
Dr. Sophia Ononye was recently selected to join the inaugural class of EY Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN). The EAN is part of an elite community of Black and Latinx business leaders with tailored programs designed to transcend barriers and scale businesses.
Dr. Sophia Ononye's story as a Nigerian American Millennial Female STEM Entrepreneur was featured on Inc.
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