Daphne Nwobike
Staff Writer
What does it mean to pursue your passions? Elizabeth Ann Stringer (C ’03) is the perfect model of using passion to shape what life during and after Sewanee could look like. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Stringer graduated from Sewanee in 2003 with a degree in physics. Instead of conforming to the expected career trajectory of working as an engineer, Stringer entered the field of biology and found herself in the entrepreneurial industry. On November 15, the Babson Center invited Stringer to campus as this semester’s Humphreys Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Stringer is glad that she chose to attend Sewanee, not only because of the many opportunities she obtained here but because of the foundational friendships and relationships that have remained with her, even after her time at Sewanee. “There’s such a sense of community at Sewanee that you do not get at other places,” said Stringer, “I have the best friends you can imagine from my time at Sewanee, and I cherish those friendships, and I feel so fortunate.” As Stringer grew in her personal endeavors, she also grew in her love for physics. She found a major she loved and was in cahoots with equally passionate and like-minded individuals. Stringer is incredibly content with how she spent her time at Sewanee. Even the hard times were important in preparing her for life after college.
An essential perspective that Stringer provides is the importance of resting after working hard. Despite being head-over-heels in love with physics, learning, and all the joys of college and academia, Stringer needed a break after graduating. “I was set to go into a Ph.D. program in physics, and sort of at the last minute, I was just like, I need some time off. It was nice to have a year off before I actually ended up going back to grad school,” Stringer said. In grad school, Stringer explored her interest in biology. Although Stringer mostly works in biology-focused careers, she cannot understate the difficulties she faced at the beginning of her journey in this new field. She said, “I wasn’t prepared for the fact that I hadn’t had any biological science experience, and sometimes I felt like I was fed to the wolves. That struggle of finding the resources I needed to fill those gaps had served me well for my career move into entrepreneurism and start-ups.”
Stringer’s entrepreneurial career began at axialHealthcare, a Nashville-based start-up focusing on pain and opioid use. “I was interested in neuroscience, and I learned that a huge part of pain is our endogenous opiate system. I was just drawn to this field and the fact that there were so many unanswered questions and so little funding. So much had not been learned, and that is what drove me in the direction of studying pain and opioids,” remarked Stringer on her transition into the biomedical field. The most memorable aspect of Stringer’s time at axialHealthcare, outside of the incredible work she did in providing a good, solid foundation for the company’s future, was the team she got to collaborate with. Stringer said, “I feel really rewarded by the team I got to work with and those relationships I built. We didn’t achieve what we had set out to achieve by the time I left, but seeing people who feel really driven by a mission come together and try to solve a problem because it’s huge was huge.” She was also impressed by how tenacious her teammates were in making career advancements in business, especially since most hadn’t received formal business training.
In her new role at Nashville Biosciences, Stringer’s human-focused work only continues to grow. She noted, “Individuals diagnosed with the same disease have different underlying causes. Our ability to build these really deep phenotypes allows pharmaceutical companies to design medications targeted to their specific biology. And so we’re doing a lot of work there.” For instance, she and her team have been focusing on the best ways to approach treating fatty liver disease that doesn’t arise from alcohol since most of the existing studies and solutions are focused on the illness through the impact of alcohol.
Despite the obvious pressure and expectations of her work, Stringer genuinely enjoys what she does at Nashville Biosciences. The plethora of opportunities presented to her definitely keeps her going. “We have all of these critical parts to make this massive impact, and so that’s incredibly motivating. It’s like I have to see this through,” Stringer said. Furthermore, Stringer’s team, family, and friends motivate her and give her the energy to keep going, especially when life throws an unexpected curveball. Ultimately, Stinger’s advice to Sewanee students is: “Be mindful of the things that are going on around you, which will serve as a great foundation. You’ll be able to build connections to the experiences that you’re having by summoning experiences that you have later.”