How a cancer researcher shifted her STEM career and built a clinical research startup, with Dr Sue Nguyen

❓What if the real barrier to your next career move isn't your capabilities but your plan B?

🔍 What You’ll Learn: For every STEMM professional feeling stuck delivering someone else vision 9-5, This episode help you reframe your frustration into opportunities with one simple question.

You will learn from yet another PhD who turned around their academic career to live up to their own vision and :

the catch 22, that traps entry level into a loop of needing experience to get experience, especially in clinical research. How to magnetize people by communicating your purpose so well that you can open door that you never felt were possible. How to unlock your full resourcefulness potential by forcing full commitment. Tactical first steps for launching a values-driven career transition—from personal vision to rallying people and pricing experiments.

🎧 Ready to break the cycle of regrets? Hit play to learn how Sue went from postdoc to purpose-driven entrepreneur.

🧠 About the Guest: Dr. Sue Nguyen is the founder and CEO of Clueo Clinical, a training and coaching organisation on a mission to solve the entry-level catch-22 in clinical research. A cancer genomics PhD turned entrepreneur, she combines deep scientific knowledge with a heart for impact—empowering the next generation of STEMM professionals to find their place in industry.

📌 Episode Highlights: 00:00 Why clinical research has a skills gap—explained 03:45 What CL Clinical teaches (and who it’s for) 06:10 From cancer research to clinical trials 09:00 Growing up in Vietnam, chasing free education 14:15 “Why did my grandmother get sick?” A question that sparked a career 17:30 How real passion landed her first job—without applying 22:10 The untapped potential of academics in industry 24:00 Leaving corporate life during a pandemic—cold turkey 30:00 Bootstrapping without a fallback plan 36:00 Why vision > backup plan 40:00 The three first steps to make your idea real 45:00 Serving underserved regions—and charging sustainably 53:00 From early adopters to sustainability (3-year journey) 56:00 Winning the Global Healthcare & Pharma Award

🔗 Resources Mentioned: CL Clinical Global Health & Pharma Awards

🤔 Reflection Time: What core question or injustice in your field keeps you up at night—and could drive your next career chapter? Can you articulate your passion and what you stand for? Do you have any limiting mindsets that keeps you small?

Want to craft a career story that opens doors? I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you. 📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn

⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers If you enjoyed this episode, please: ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏 ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.