Didem Sarikaya makes products that help scientists make sense of complicated biological data.

Before embarking on her PM journey, she spent a decade as a PhD biologist in the field of genetics. Her scientific career included studying what cells do when the mother and fetus form a connection through the placenta, sweeping the Hawaiian forest bed looking for rare fruit flies to study how females reproduce in different environments, and using powerful microscopes and gene editing tools to watch how our cells “talk” to each other. Over the years, Didem learned hard-earned lessons on how to build effective hypotheses, test them rigorously, and iterate on hypotheses to gain a deeper understanding of the world we live in.

During the pandemic, she traded in her lab notebook to the JIRA board and made the transition to become a PM. Now, she brings her scientific expertise to build impactful products that allow medical researchers to unlock insights through cutting-edge research tools.

In her free time, she makes goat-themed pottery.

“Product management has, in many ways, felt like a natural extension of my scientific training, and I delight in the ways I can bring the two worlds together.”