Lauren Laing, Senior Associate, HealthTech

Lauren supports the creation of early-stage HealthTech companies at OSE, working closely with founders to translate complex science into real-world solutions. She was recently named one of DeciBio’s Women of Precision Medicine 2026, recognising leaders shaping how precision medicine is built, translated and scaled.

I’ve built my career at the intersection of science, translation, and venture creation. Before joining OSE, I started in academia, completing a PhD in Epigenetics at the University of Exeter, followed by roles spanning postdoctoral research, startups, and technical consultancy at TTP Plc.

At TTP, I led Life Science Tools and Diagnostic product development programmes, contributing to IP and commercial strategy and supporting projects through full R&D and transfer to manufacture. I later led TTP’s Omics team, working with startups and multinationals to bring technologies to market.

Now at OSE, I’m part of the HealthTech team, working closely with academic founders and early-stage teams to turn strong science into viable companies. I support spinouts and early strategy, helping technical teams navigate commercial, regulatory, technical and organisational challenges. I’m particularly interested in building the teams, cultures, and processes that allow great science to succeed beyond the lab.

For me, supporting and promoting women in science really matters because it directly influences the quality and impact of the work being done. Women remain underrepresented in senior technical, leadership, and decision-making roles, and that inevitably shapes which problems get prioritised and how solutions are approached. When women are supported to progress, lead, and influence direction, we retain valuable expertise and improve how effectively science translates into real-world impact.

In my day-to-day work, I see how diverse teams consistently make better decisions. They challenge assumptions earlier, surface different risks, and ultimately build stronger, more resilient companies. Supporting women in science isn’t just about representation – it’s about enabling better science, stronger teams, and better outcomes overall.

For me, empowerment comes from a mix of structural change and everyday behaviour. At a structural level, the STEM industry needs clearer progression pathways, flexibility that genuinely recognises different life stages, and more women visible in senior technical and leadership roles across the industry.

Day to day, I’ve seen that empowerment often comes from sponsorship rather than mentorship alone. Having people actively back your ideas, advocate for you in rooms where decisions are made, and offer opportunities before you feel fully ‘ready’ can make a huge difference – it certainly has for me. Creating environments where women feel comfortable taking up space, asking questions, and shaping direction is one of the most powerful ways we can support lasting change.

 

Sanne de Jongh, Partner, Life Sciences

Sanne is a Partner in OSE’s Life Sciences team, working with founders to build and scale biotech companies. She brings more than a decade of experience across life sciences venture capital, underpinned by a background in biochemistry and biochemical engineering.

I’m a partner in the Life Sciences team at OSE. Over the past decade I’ve been fortunate to work alongside founders and scientists building biotech companies from early venture creation through to scaling. Before joining OSE in 2023, I worked as an Investment Manager at Gilde Healthcare, focusing on biotech investments across Europe.

Earlier in my career, I held roles at Anterra Capital, a transatlantic venture capital firm on a mission to improve the global food supply chain, and at the life sciences team of M Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA. I hold a BSc in Biochemistry from Leiden University with a minor in Neurology, and an MSc in Biochemical Engineering (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology.

Because it is logical and necessary. Science loses talent, perspective, and impact when structural barriers prevent capable people from advancing. Women are well represented at early career stages, yet their representation drops sharply at senior levels, not due to lack of ability, but because of accumulated biases, unequal access to networks, and disproportionate social responsibilities.

There is no silver bullet solution. Progress requires sustained, intentional action across many small but meaningful changes.

Q: How can we better empower women in science today?

Sami Walter, Associate, Deep Tech

Sami is an Associate in OSE’s Deep Tech team, partnering with scientific founders to bring breakthrough research to market. Trained as a chemical engineer, she brings an operator’s perspective to investing across energy, quantum and industrial technologies.

I’m on the Deep Tech investment team at Oxford Science Enterprises, where I work with scientific founders to turn cutting-edge research into real-world impact. Trained as a chemical engineer and an energy professional, I bring an operator’s perspective to early-stage deep tech investing across areas including clean energy, quantum computing, industrial solutions and space technologies.

Before my current role, I worked across the energy industry, from advising energy utility companies on strategic initiatives to developing and financing large-scale renewable energy projects.

I think it’s important to support and promote women in science because science shapes society, and science should be shaped by a workforce and a talent pool that reflects the society the science is aiming to impact. Science and innovation will play a key role in solving some of the greatest challenges our society faces. From curing cancer to combating climate change, successful solutions will be developed by a diverse workforce of talented minds.

We can support one another through opening doors, offering mentorship, and making connections. Very few reach success on their own, and thus we must strive to reach back and promote forward to shift the gender balance at all levels.

 

The voices shared here reflect the role OSE can play: backing ideas early, opening doors, championing sponsorship as well as mentorship, and supporting flexible, outcome-focused ways of working. Progress is not driven by a single initiative, but by sustained commitment and everyday actions.

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re committed to supporting women across science and innovation – not only by investing in breakthrough research, but by investing in the people behind it.