Baindu is an adjunct professor, medical & molecular geneticist and leader in building life science & healthcare innovation ecosystems. Her passion for inclusive discovery, development and innovation in biotechnology is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Starting with her curiosity at such a young age.

Baindu is wearing the Savoir Maxi Dress from our After Dark Collection.

Who were your top role models growing up (famous, alive or dead, family, teachers etc)?

I was lucky to have many people in my life to look up to, but probably like most children, none as influential as my parents. They immigrated to the U.S. from Sierra Leone, West Africa to Indiana where I was born and raised. I really grew up just admiring how they approached learning, how they viewed obstacles, and how they prioritized family. Not only did I want to be like them growing up, I still view them as a standard I can always work harder to reach each day.

What is something you never thought you’d learn to do but can now?

I would not have thought about all the ways a scientific background is essential in the fields of policy and entrepreneurship. I have been privileged to work at the intersection of science policy and entrepreneurship where innovation lives. A biologist and molecular geneticist by training, I never pictured learning business development, negotiation, or small business policy directives as a biomedical scientist, but here I am! I am a lifelong learner and am excited to continue to learn things I never thought of learning before.

What achievement(s) would you want your younger self to know about her future self’s accomplishments?

Like many younger people, I never imagined a world that my parents were not in. I pictured getting older and they would just get older too. To reference one of my favorite TV shows, I thought my Mom and I would banter in our older years like Dorothy Zbornak and Sophia Petrillo. I would want my younger self to understand that it will not be guaranteed that they will be there to witness all of my future accomplishments, and that I should celebrate each and every milestone achievement with them in the most memorable ways possible.

I would tell her that Mom may not get to call you “Dr. Bayon,” but Dad will- and your doctoral dissertation will be the last birthday gift you humbly present and dedicate to him. The degrees and awards will come and they will mean the most because the people you love are there to share the moments with you. I would tell her that she will keep achieving and accomplishing things in their physical absence, but each and every one in their loving memory so that everyone who meets her will know about them.

Throughout your studies, career or even hobbies, what are ways you feel you have made the greatest (large or meaningful) impact on the future for women/girls?

I have had the pleasure of mentoring young women throughout my career via service organizations, academic institutions, and in the workplace. My greatest impact on the future for other women or girls has been to show up as myself in new spaces. I enjoy mentoring young women both in and out of the STEM fields, and a gem I try to share with them is that they belong everywhere they go. If you’re in a room, you deserve to be there and you are supposed to be there. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the “imposter syndrome,” as I believe there is generally an issue with the way others view your capabilities, but not with your abilities themselves.

As Prince said, “My only competition is, well, me in the past.” I am inspired by women who have the audacity to be excellent and to be themselves. It takes intention- and especially as a Black woman, it will require bravery. I hope I am modeling that for young women in a way that makes an impact on the way they intentionally show up in the world.

Who is your #1 cheerleader and what 3 words would they use to describe you?

My #1 cheerleader is by far my wonderful husband, Dominic. I asked him, and he said “beautiful, intelligent, and family-oriented.”

Who would you cast to play you in your BioPic?

I think I would choose Marsai Martin to play younger me and Jill Marie Jones to play ever-so-slightly older me.