The U.N. recognizes February 11 as International Day of Women and Girls in Science to highlight women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to encourage interest in those fields. REALM, and its subsidiaries Ambry and Invicro, are shining examples of businesses with many women working in these areas to make medical history and advancements every day. As a woman who made her life’s work in medical physics, Morgan Lyon, Invicro Senior Director of Discovery Research Operations, is an inspiration for future scientists.

As the daughter of an MIT engineer, Lyon had an affinity for math and science at an early age. She loved doing word problems and participated in math and creative problem-solving competitions for pure enjoyment. She gained confidence in her abilities when she was encouraged to pursue a career in science by her 7th grade science teacher.

Lyon’s discovery of her career path exemplifies the importance of exposure to different fields and the opportunities many students may not realize are available and in demand. Lyon went to college undeclared, interested in pursuing something in physics and possibly sustainable energy. Then she discovered medical physics, introduced by a professor at UMass-Amherst, and had the opportunity to shadow professionals in the field at a nearby hospital. Medical physics combines physics and health care to create a job that includes challenging science, rewarding patient interaction and direct benefits to patients. For Morgan, this was the right fit.

In graduate school at Georgia Tech, Lyon gained exposure to research in nuclear medicine. As a nuclear medicine physicist, Lyon learned to study functional imaging, where a tracer labeled with radiation can be injected into a patient to assess functional changes in organs. This type of imaging can be used to stage, monitor or treat a patient. Then, as a graduate research assistant at Emory University Hospital, Lyon codeveloped an image correction for the BrainPET combined PET/MR system. After that, she completed a clinical rotation in radiation oncology, propelling her career in nuclear medicine and oncology.

After returning to Boston, Lyon furthered her education and practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a senior research assistant in the Nuclear Medicine division, working on clinical research in quantitative dual radionuclide SPECT imaging of infection and low-dose cardiac SPECT. Lyon continued this research at Harvard Medical School, where she lent her knowledge of image analysis and processing to the preclinical SPECT imaging system.

Lyon’s education and passion for medical physics led her to Invicro in 2015, starting as a senior study manager. Invicro helps pharmaceutical, biotech and research organizations discover and develop life-changing drugs. Since then, she’s grown in the Discovery Research (DR) Department—a segment of the Discovery and Preclinical Services (DPS) business unit that is focused on managing the study execution, data analysis and reporting of a broad-range of preclinical imaging studies. Lyon has used her talents to help develop the operational infrastructure within the DPS team, which has been the foundation of the growth they have achieved in recent years. She works on a little of everything, providing her expertise and enjoyment of reaching solutions calmly and intelligently in such a fast-paced environment.

One aspect of Invicro that Lyon appreciates is the collaborative, not competitive, workplace. She and her colleagues work together to create an equitable work environment that fosters creative problem-solving.

With this positive experience, Lyon feels she can help more patients by accelerating the timeline for new treatments to translate to the clinic, building value in the marketplace.

Invicro supports women in STEM fields, with many in different positions of leadership and science roles. Lyon observed the imbalance of women in the field when she was in the engineering school at Georgia Tech. At Invicro she participated in job shadow days where she conducted mock interviews with young women interested in going into STEM positions, in partnership with The Bottom Line, a national non-profit that helps students of color from underserved communities earn college degrees by providing them with individual support, guidance and resources. Lyon hopes programs like this will inspire future generations to pursue more scientific fields.

Like many REALM employees, Lyon has a personal story that gives value to her work. Her medical background gave her insight during her pregnancy in 2017. During Lyon’s third trimester, she felt something was wrong when she noticed her baby wasn’t moving as much. She called her doctor and was soon having an emergency C-section. Doctors explained that her daughter had suffered a stroke inside the womb. As someone with a background in medical imaging, she was especially appreciative of the doctors who reviewed her daughter’s MRIs to find answers.

This experience led to Lyon being part of Tedy’s Team, a non-profit created by Tedy Bruschi, an NFL player who suffered from a stroke at the age of 31. The organization raises awareness of stroke signs and symptoms. They also sponsor runners at the Boston Marathon. Lyon was one of the runners, completing her first marathon in Chloe’s honor in 2019.

Thankfully, despite a start in the NICU, her daughter Chloe made a full recovery and is a thriving five-year-old who enjoys musical theater and currently wants to be a mom when she grows up.

“I explained that she can be a mom and a scientist,” Lyon says with a smile. She would be thrilled if her daughter followed in her footsteps and recognized that opportunities for exposure to STEM activities have increased for kids in the last 20 years. For now, Lyon focuses on instilling confidence in her young daughter to pursue whatever her passions may be. She tells her daughter she is smart, kind, strong and beautiful every day.

If being the Senior Director of Discovery Research Operations, wife, mother, and mentor weren’t enough to fill her schedule, Lyon is also pursuing her MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University!

“I perform my best when I’m challenged,” Lyon says. She says that it’s essential to prioritize. “You aren’t going to be able to do everything perfectly every day, and make sure you give a little bit to yourself, too.”