The CEO who ‘didn’t set out to be in women’s life, but luckily fell into it’

Marissa Fayer of DeepLook Medical discusses improving the representation of women in medical research.

Marissa Fayer is the CEO of DeepLook Medical, a healthcare company specializing in imaging and radiology technologies, specifically for the detection of soft tissue lesions. He is an author, founder of the global non-profit HerHealthHQ and a frequent speaker at important industry events in the medical field.

But he didn’t actually plan a career in health care. Fayer told SiliconRepublic.com, “I didn’t set out to have a women’s life, but luckily I fell into it.”

At first, he believed that he would join the aerospace industry and started his professional life as an engineer. However, before long, she was recruited into health care at a time when very little was understood about women’s health, which gave her more room to innovate and advocate for other women, whether professionals or patients.

She said, “I’ve always been a supporter of STEM, being a woman in a STEM role. Four to five years into my career, I was fortunate enough to join one of the largest women’s health companies and it all took off from there for me.

“I was inventing women’s health technology, I was traveling and traveling around the world, working in the M&A area of ​​women’s health and at the time, I was addicted.

Equal representation

For Fayer, women’s health has reached exciting heights, as it is finally being recognized as an important industry, however, there is progress to be made.

He said, “The funding and infrastructure to support it is not there yet, so it’s an exciting time and a huge opportunity right now for the healthcare industry and the world at large.

“It’s really exciting that we’re moving into awareness and communication and developing capabilities and growth mode. That’s where the real infrastructure and focus starts to grow and expand the space.”

This shift in space is reflected in the way people feel comfortable discussing women’s topics that are often considered inappropriate, such as menopause, period pain, mental health and maternal health.

She added, “I’m also delighted that ‘smaller’ areas of women’s health are becoming part of our brand such as endometriosis, PMOS and uterine fibroids.

“We don’t focus on those small areas, but when we talk about it at the top, when celebrities start talking about it in public, what was thought is no longer important. That makes me happy because the movement starts when the discussions continue and they start to work.”

A valuable investment

And for Fayer, including more women in medical research is a movement that’s been a long time coming and has important groundwork to build. He explained that since 1993 it has been policy that women must be included in clinical trials, using the new NIH rules.

Until then, it was accepted that women would be excluded for a number of reasons, including the risk of exposing women of reproductive age to dangerous drugs during testing, and the general neglect of women’s health issues.

He said, “Most of the research that took place in the past was aimed at men, in fact women have been allowed to be included in research since 1993 and they still make up less than 40% of all research participants.

“For a group of people who make up 51pc of the population and haven’t been equally included in the past, that gap is going to take a long time to close. And that research gap is leading to slow innovation and innovation in the women’s health space.”

So how are these gaps overcome? For Fayer, it’s all about the level of investment not only in research but also in innovation, policies and reforms needed to ensure equality and women’s equality and women’s health.

He added, “It doesn’t have to be investment money all the time, but that helps a lot. Time, many types of money sources and changes in personal and social thinking that start to overcome gaps.”

That does not mean, however, that it is only up to women to change their place. As noted by Fayer, it is not the responsibility of any one gender, whether male or female, to ensure that all clinical research conducted is of high quality.

He said the inclusion is not an act of charity or charity, but a commitment to high-quality research that benefits society and overall success.

“Women have a responsibility to be part of the solution, but this is for all of us to take full responsibility for change and especially to take action to make change.

“Building infrastructure for women’s health is not only a woman’s job, but for everyone to see, change and innovate to make these changes.”

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