EDUCATION: PhD in neuroscience from Florida State University

HOMETOWN: Bombay, India

WORK/RESEARCH: Fewell is in charge of developing RNAi products and bringing them to market at Open Biosystems. Previously, she worked as a research scientist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center.

Today Fewell's subjects are people. She spends a lot of time talking to researchers to understand what tools they want. To get those tools into their hands, she works closely with the company's R&D staff and sales team, as well as with researchers at a number of academic institutions collaborating with Open Biosystems.

GOAL: "I plan to continue to try to address the changing needs of scientists and bring new technologies to market. My goal is to enjoy my work, challenge myself constantly and, ultimately, to have contributed to the advancement of science."

KEY MOMENT: "I remember always being fascinated with the brain. As a six-year-old, I would walk along wondering 'what's happening in my brain that is allowing me to walk?' Trying to get at that understanding of what makes us tick inspired me to get into science."

TOUGHEST CHALLENGE: Balance. "It's a pretty demanding career path. I have a family with three children (and of course they're perfect), and we're very active. The challenge really is striving for that perfect balance."

BIGGEST INSPIRATION: Fewell says her biggest motivation is the promise of advances in science and technology. "RNAi technologies being used by scientists today may be responsible for producing tomorrow's cures. The promise that my children may no longer need to worry about cancer as they grow older is an inspiration."