Yu-Hui Rogers ’17

We’re at a point where personalized genomic medicine is ready to be implemented in the healthcare sector. But making the paradigm shift from average population-based medicine to individualized or precision treatment is more than a scientific challenge. It’s an economic, financial, and social challenge. How do we push the entire sector into precision medicine? As a scientist, I recognized that I needed new tools, and Yale SOM is the perfect place for me to build skills in areas like economics and finance. We need to develop a new economic model, and a financial model, to ensure that there's sustainability in the healthcare sector. I'm writing a paper with one of my economics professors about the impact that genomic medicine will have on the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries.

I’ve always relied on my strengths and on my hard work to make things happen. But I’m realizing that in order to facilitate a paradigm shift in healthcare, I need to be able to motivate and lead people. I’ve started focusing a lot more on the people I work with. Things we’re learning at Yale SOM about teamwork, about building networks, and about inspiring people to understand your vision are some of the most important things I’ve learned as a leader. I tend to focus on achievement. I’m very results-driven. But there’s an African saying: “If you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together.” SOM has really enforced that.

My CEO walked into my office and said, “Yu-Hui, tell me, is anything that you've learned in school applicable now?” I looked right back at him and I said, “Are you kidding me? Everything that I'm learning I use every day.” I'm the operations manager, so all of the financial reporting and operations, the theories, and quality control issues we study—all of it really helps me make decisions. And the same goes for the leadership courses. All the leadership principles, I apply them every single day.