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In July 2020, Dr. Sophia Ononye  shared her story as a Nigerian-American STEM Entrepreneur in Inc.
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In the News: Inc.

Dr. Sophia Ononye-Onyia's story as a Nigerian American Millennial Female STEM Entrepreneur was featured  on Inc. 

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Spotlight: Dr. Sophia Ononye-Onyia

Select Honors & Affiliations

🎖 Featured Leadership Roles & Honors

  • Creator & Host, Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast
  • Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Yale Ventures
  • Board Advisor, Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: DARE)
  • Scientific Advisory Board Member, BioSortia Pharmaceuticals
     

📢 Media & Thought Leadership

  • Contributor: Inc., Entrepreneur, Life Science Leader, PharmaBoardRoom
  • Editorial Advisory Board Member, Cell & Gene
  • Panelist, MIT Technology Review
  • Top Digital Health Influencer, Commetric (Women’s Health, FemTech)
     

🏆 Awards & Recognitions

  • 40 Under 40 Minority Health Leader, National Minority Quality Forum
  • Mentor Award, Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA)
  • Spark Award, HBA (2x Recipient)
  • 30 Black Stars Award, Face2Face Africa
  • Tradition of Excellence Award, UConn
     

📚 Professional Memberships & Certifications

  • Member: Women in Bio (WIB), MASSBIO, Female Founders Collective, RedBoxMe
  • Former President, HBA New York
  • BiteLabs Digital Health Partner

Professional Summary

Dr. Sophia Nnenna Ononye-Onyia is a scientist, entrepreneur, and educator-entertainer (PhD, MPH, MBA) translating complex science into strategy, digital storytelling, and measurable workforce development at the intersection of life sciences, digital health, and innovation.


With nearly 20 years of experience across pharmaceutical R&D, medical affairs, investor relations, public relations, and digital health transformation, she brings scientific depth and executional clarity to both digital strategy and workforce development initiatives. Trained as a cancer research scientist (PhD in Medicinal Chemistry; postdoctoral training at Yale Cancer Center), she pairs analytical rigor with creative delivery.


She is the Founder and CEO of The Sophia Consulting Firm, an innovation leadership organization advancing digital storytelling and workforce development. She is also the creator and host of Amplifying Scientific Innovation®, a six-year global platform spanning a YouTube video podcast, publications, and a paid, student-led apprenticeship program bridging academia and industry through digital storytelling and applied learning.


In Fall 2025, she partnered with the Orange County Department of Education as a Silver Partner and continues to deepen that collaboration toward Diamond Partner status, with Cohort 2 underway and Cohort 3 planned for October. Her apprenticeship model delivers measurable outcomes through digital storytelling while advancing workforce readiness across sectors.


She is currently pursuing California Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) approval for digital marketing and laboratory research apprenticeships, with additional occupations in development. Her work has been featured by MIT Technology Review, Inc., Entrepreneur, and the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40, and she advises organizations and speaks on digital strategy, responsible AI, workforce development, and innovation leadership.


Dr. Ononye-Onyia earned her honors bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University, her MPH from the University of Toledo, and her PhD and MBA from the University of Connecticut. She completed her postdoctoral training in medical oncology research at the Yale School of Medicine, focusing on metabolic enzymes as potential targets for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) therapy.


A recent California transplant, she lives with her family in Irvine and enjoys television, 90s music, cooking, and time with her family.

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Advisory

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

HEALTH DISPARITIES


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 

HEALTH DISPARITIES


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.    

James Boyle, PhD

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT


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 form

STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT


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.

Ellen Wingard

Carmen Guerra, MD MSCE FACSP

Ellen Wingard

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT


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

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT


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.

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