Early on in this project, a close friend told me that he hoped I’d interview Ana-Claire Meyer. Now I know why. Take a listen, and you will, too.

AC’s professional and personal journeys are marked by curiosity, humility, and an eagerness to tackle big problems. After graduating from Amherst College, she held a variety of different jobs, but HIV test counseling piqued her interest enough to propel her to medical school. She studied neuroinfectious diseases, earned a Fulbright scholarship that took her to Kenya, and then joined the U.S. Army as an army civilian, becoming a senior clinical advisor for medical research and materiel command. It was in that role that she helped shape the Army’s Covid-19 pandemic response. Today, she’s senior medical director for Denali Therapeutics, a company that’s focused on defeating neurodegenerative diseases.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How testing patients for HIV in the mid-’90s led AC to pursue medicine
• What she learned while helping lead medical preparedness and innovation at the U.S. Army during Covid-19
• Why she still hasn’t found her destination professionally, and why that’s not a bad thing
• The role Amherst played in shaping her journey—and the faculty members who showed up for her at just the right time
• The classmates she hopes I’ll interview next

To get in touch with Ana-Claire, find her on LinkedIn.