Renu Swarup is presently Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Having served in Department of Biotechnology for over 29 years, she also holds the position of Chairperson, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Company incorporated by the Government to nurture and promote innovation research in the Biotech Enterprise with special focus on Start‐ups and SMEs. In a candid telephonic interview, she opens up about her thoughts on teamwork and leadership.

Ron Vale is a Distinguished Professor at University of California, San Francisco. He is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and was recently named Executive Director of the Janelia Research Campus. He has co-founded several organizations dedicated to facilitating scientific publishing, outreach, mentorship and networking, including iBiology, ASAPbio and IndiaBioscience. During YIM 2019, we chatted with Ron Vale about his experience as a leader.