Marissa Saunders is the recipient of the 2024 Women Tech Data Innovator Award. Her journey has shaped her leadership philosophy. Saunders emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, and curiosity in both data science and life.
From Science Enthusiast to Data Innovator: SheTech Media Interns Discover Marissa Saunders’ Inspiring Career Journey.
Editor's note: We express appreciation to the staff of the historic Salt Lake Masonic Temple for making this beautiful and unique Utah venue available to the public and for this interview.
Salt Lake City, Utah, February 6, 2025
Recently, we had the privilege of interviewing Marissa Saunders, Data Innovator Awardee for the 2024 Women Tech Awards.
Saunders served as Senior Director of data science at Salt Lake City-based Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company using AI and ML and high throughput screening with deep learning models to identify and develop new drug products to be released to the public.
At Recursion, Saunders led a team of data scientists who developed industrialized workflows utilizing deep-learning information and decision engines. She explained, “Our goal was to develop programs in a standardized way with less human intervention. We also worked on assay development to introduce new cell types onto the program and incorporate new high-dimensional experiment types to create well-rounded biology insight.” Her journey into the field of data science began with formative experiences at a young age.
After emigrating from South Africa when she was seven, Saunders developed a passion for science through the support of her mother, who formerly worked at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, and her father, who was well-versed in computers and math. Saunders’ mother shared her love of science and math with her daughter by creating scale models of the solar system and organizing egg drop design parties. She also used computers at home with her father and appreciated technology for its practical value from a young age. According to Saunders, “technology is a tool for meaningful and productive projects, including enhancing cutting-edge innovations and simple solutions.”
In high school, Saunders was driven to excel in learning and obtained a scholarship to the University of Utah. After attending for a year, she paused her higher education to take a break. She explains that “I needed to find myself and my own meaning. The drive to validate yourself externally… to be seen as valuable to others, is such a human thing that never goes away.” She added, “My experiences have taught me that I don't need to receive praise from others as long as I feel okay with where I am and feel internal satisfaction after accomplishing something difficult.” After working for several years, she found the motivation to go back to school and make a difference in her life, but this time, embracing her roots.
With her new motivation, she enrolled at the University of Pretoria to study biochemistry and experience South Africa as an adult. Afterward, Saunders returned to Utah and started a PhD program at the University of Utah. Through a rotation in a computational chemistry lab and a postdoc in a structural biology lab with cryo-electron microscopy, she fell in love with the idea of using computers as a tool to understand biological systems. Saunders explained, “This experience helped me decide that data science was a perfect mixture of computation, math, and statistical physics for me.”
Through experiences at a data science consulting company and an online learning programming company called Degreed, she explored the different applications of data science, immersing herself in developing taxonomies for language models. Eventually, she sought collaboration on the broader level, with a larger data science team, landing her at Recursion. Saunders stated, “I embraced the fusion between biology, chemistry, and data science on a range of projects, including working on LLM agents to interact with data in a more democratized way and developing standard sets of experiments to streamline human interactions.”
When asked about her leadership style at Recursion, Saunders explained how the shift and difference in cultures from her immigrant background impacted her to think broadly, question what was said, and see all the different ways to live and lead. She highlighted how “collaborating with people together and bringing the best out of them to complement one another is a more productive way to lead.” Saunders stated that “people grow, develop, and bloom when you give them the right opportunities to stretch and provide scaffolding to enable them to feel supported while still owning a piece of work.”
Expanding on her leadership, she explained how communication and collaboration in team projects are difficult. She explained, “I think there's often sort of this forming stage where you bring [any] group together and they have to learn how to work together, learn what the norms are going to be in that group. I think it's really important for people to feel the trust that they can show up authentically.” Saunders expanded on how natural tension between group members from various backgrounds is necessary for the group dynamic because “it helps us to get to the right things and the right solutions to work on.” She added that “even if the solution may not come the first time, understanding this and working for improvements allows not only an individual but an entire group to move forward.”
Outside of her career, an obstacle that was the most impactful for her occurred when she joined a kickboxing fitness class and saw people fighting in Muay Thai tournaments. When she decided to participate in a national Muay Thai competition, she learned that “you can really do anything if you're willing to fall down a lot. It's all about being in the moment and paying attention to what's happening right now. I think, for me, having that physical experience really hammered it in.” This ability to learn and grow is evident as Saunders moves forward with her plans for her future professional life. While she is passionate about healthcare and technology developments, she also knows career paths are not straightforward, stressing that “the plans for the future should be open and not narrow as people prepare for different opportunities.”
When asked what advice she could give high schoolers and college students, she said, “I encourage students to pursue things that interest and captivate them while slowing down to enjoy the little things because there is much more to life after high school.” Saunders ended by explaining that one of the most important things a person should find is a balance in life and self-identity, outside of work and school. She expanded by stating, “We are so much more than a facet of ourselves. Finding space for all of the parts that make us who we are is very important.” Taking the time to listen to oneself through mindful journaling and meditation will help promote mental well-being.
Additionally, Saunders recommended the ability to keep going forward daily, trying different things, and not being afraid to have curiosity and branch out in different directions than before, or than previously planned. Saunders concluded by saying, “I think being open to exploring what the world has is really important. In computation, philosophy and life one often encounters the question of explore versus exploit, which is how much do you explore new things versus how much do you exploit the things that you have already done. A lot of times we are too afraid to continue exploring, and we get stuck in that rut of exploiting what we have already done.”
Saunders further explained that something that helped her back in high school was looking at a future path with a mindset of “ ‘what would happen if I don’t do anything and stay in the same place,’ instead of the negative, ‘what is the worst thing that can happen.’ “ She encourages everyone she works with to “take on stretch challenges and to do the things that feel just on the edge of impossible as you will get a lot further through this than if you just stayed where you were comfortable.” She concluded, “You don't know in high school what it is that you're going to do for the rest of your life, but you can set yourself up to be prepared for the opportunities that come along by staying curious and open.”
Isabelle Wolchek and Lexaide (Lexi) Araujo are SheTech Student Board members and SheTech Media Interns with the Women Tech Council and TechBuzz News. Isabelle is a senior attending DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts in Ogden, Utah, where she started a SheTech Chapter and conducts university-level research in molecular medicine. Lexi is a junior attending American Preparatory Academy, where she participates in the yearbook committee, volunteers with N.M.D.P, plays violin, and performs with her Mariachi band. Both have attended several Women Tech Council events, Student Board meetings, and other SheTech events, such as the upcoming Explorer Day that will take place on February 25, 2025 at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, Utah. Through their media internship, Isabelle and Lexi interview prominent female STEM leaders in Utah, including 2024 Women Tech Award Finalists. Their articles are published on TechBuzz News, Silicon Slopes, and in other media channels.