alpha is for the
quantum physicists. glaciologists. astrophysicists. ocean scientists. biotech founders. neuroscientists. ai builders. policy shapers. science defenders. presidential advisors. women who run science.

Meet your host.

I often think about my own story and how each chapter has led me to the next. From immigrating to the United States from South Africa when I was 18, to earning my PhD in Biomedical Sciences and completing my postdoctorate work in Biomedical Engineering, to the Department of Defense during the Ebola response, to advising the UK Ambassador on science at the British Embassy, to helping lead the President’s Cancer Moonshot at the White House. None of it was planned. No chapter could have predicted the next.

Today I’m a Senior Fellow at Harvard, building the first dedicated financing architecture for cancer care in the countries that need it most. And along the way, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside women whose ideas have shaped policy, transformed medicine, explored the oceans, mapped the universe, defended science, and helped define the future of technology. Their stories deserved a much bigger audience. That’s why I created alpha.

Conversations about how they got there, what they know, and what brings them hope. I was once an 18-year-old who had no idea if there was a place for her in any of this. If I could go back and tell her about the extraordinary path ahead, I would in a heartbeat. But I haven’t invented time travel yet. So instead, this show is here to illuminate the paths forward for everyone who’s ever wondered the same.

follow along → @DrCatharineY