Dr Payal Keswarpu
Principal Scientist
Philips
Dr Payal Keswarpu is a member of:
- Expert
My Introduction
I am a medical doctor with a post graduate degree in pathology. My
special interest is in oncology and women’s diseases. I am born and
bought up in Orissa. In my academic achievements, I was awarded the
University gold medal at both undergraduate and the post graduate level.
I have worked for a few years in the Oncology Research Institute,
before joining Philips.
Role I Play in My Company
Currently I am working as Principal Scientist in the Corporate Research
division of Philips in Bangalore, where I play a significant role in
Healthcare Innovation for the emerging markets. I am responsible for
innovations relevant for oncology care in India. My interest areas span
across Innovations in Medical Technology & Diagnostics specifically,
working towards better Healthcare in my professional roles and
collaborating with various like-minded organizations to achieve these
goals.
Making the Right Career Move During the Journey
My parents are doctors and were posted in rural parts of Orissa as a
part of their job. This gave me an opportunity to be exposed to
healthcare from my childhood. It had an impact on my choice of
professional education as a doctor. As I was exposed to various facets
of medical profession, I felt there was a significant gap in translating
research to applications on the field. This made me move from being a
doctor to being a Research Scientist at Philips.
The Challenges Faced Being a Woman
A lot is in the mind of the individual. During the initial part of my
career I had similar perceptions. Soon I realized that the “law of lid”
can be self created. In professional and personal aspects it is
necessary to be focused on your role. Its only competence and
determination to succeed that matters. One must not let mere perceptions
influence career.
My Personal Leadership Vision
My vision as a medical professional is to make medical technology
accessible, affordable and available to all. As a technologist have
meaningful innovations for healthcare.
Ways to Maintain a Healthy Work-life Balance
Most of my free time is spent with my 2.5 year old daughter and at end
of a work day, she is something I look forward to coming home to. I
enjoy traveling and visiting new places for short trips, and trying out
new restaurants.
My family has been very supportive of my decisions and career path chosen. That is very important for maintaining the balance.
Ways of Doing Things Differently if Given a Chance to Start from Scratch
I believe in the choices I have made and stand by them.
“Women leaders are a driving force for powering business” Explain
Many organizations have women in leadership positions now. It is only
being emphasized more and more. Similarly there are many entrepreneurs
who are women. Women have a natural ability to multitask, keen sense of
observation, “sense” situations and that can be very useful for business
success.
Learning Process During my Career Days and Achievement Gained.
Learning is an integral part of life. The moment you let yourself
dragged into daily chores only, you will burnout soon. Breaks from
chores in the form of doing something new, learning something new will
keep the spirits very high and thus positively contribute to other
domains of life.
One of my favorite sayings, which I try to incorporate in my daily life is “Read, learn, listen to keep up-to- date”.
Couple of Years from Now
I would answer that in the next question.
Career Accomplishment that I am proud of
It is yet to come, I would say. It would make me proud if 5 years down
the lane one of the solutions I am working for solves the challenges in
delivering healthcare to cancer patients.
Advice/ suggestions
Being focused on your objectives and building a good team to achieve these objectives are key elements to success.