Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Mari Mitrani. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Dr. Mari thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
I had an “ahaaa” moment in 2020 when I read a quote from Stephen Jacobsen, “Progress is a process of making mistakes, so get started making mistakes faster.” Think about it, every single day we are presented with opportunities to make decisions, these decisions can either be “good” or “bad”. The good ones can be celebrated as successes, while bad ones are typically interpreted as bad, but in truth, they are not necessarily that bad. When you make a bad decision, you can reflect and choose to approach the experience in a different perspective by changing certain aspects of that decision. That’s how I see it; life is an experiment and TAKING A RISK often means that you can progress and accomplish the unthinkable.
I live by the moto “Dare to Fail”. The more you fail, the more you learn. The quicker you adapt and make changes, the more you don’t need to be afraid of failure. Through med school, I failed. Through my business career, I have failed. But looking at where I am now, I am not defined by my failures.
Reflecting on my life, failure has always been a constant, but the most important thing is to stand up and try again. Every time I have failed, I’ve learned more than if everything would’ve gone smoothly. We have been taught to be perfect, to always strive for perfection. Our parents and education systems have overlooked the importance of failure and taking risks. There is an incredible world out there waiting for you to fail!
As the Chief Science Officer of a public biotech company, I have taken many risks throughout my career, and maybe it comes with the role of being a scientist, but experiments require multiple tries. It’s beautiful to learn about something new and want to become the expert of a specific subject. I am always searching for more, finding answers to unanswered questions, creating new solutions to existing problems, and creating new questions that no one has thought about. Even though my field of Regenerative Medicine is still in its infancy, in these past 15 years, I’ve learned that by continuing to take risks, the results of failure and hard work have prevailed.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m a Physician Scientist by training and currently the Chief Science Officer of a public Biotech company, but before all my titles and accolades, I’m a woman, a mother, a fierce Latina and a life-long student.
I was born in Quito-Ecuador, daughter to a surreal physician father and a magnificent dietitian/cook loving mother, both entrepreneurs running a Preventative-Regenerative Medicine practice. As long as I can remember, my siblings and I learned about the human body and the incredible work my parents did for patients with chronic diseases. We grew up going to medical congresses, and our dining table/living room was always transformed to a classroom on any given day.
Growing up, I never thought I was going to pursue medicine even with the direct influence of my parents. When 10th grade hit, I realized there was a trend; I began to enjoy and excel in my science classes and my favorite subjects soon became Anatomy, Physiology and Biology. At that point, I knew it only made sense to continue the legacy in my family and attend medical school.
Going to medical school in the USA, Ecuador or China has a common factor: learning the complexity of the human body and all environmental factors that affect it (epigenetics). Not surprisingly, these topics are so multifaceted that you are required to leave everything aside and dedicate the rest of your life studying and learning about it. And that’s exactly what happened to me. After graduating med school and becoming a Medical Doctor, I decided to continue my studies receiving my PhD in Neural Therapy, studying Acupuncture, and most recently receiving my certification in Plant Based Nutrition. I don’t plan to stop there either, with medicine being a constantly evolving subject, it is guaranteed that I will continue my journey as a life-long learner in all aspects of health and wellness.
In the early years of Stem Cell Therapy, my husband and I received an incredible opportunity to learn and run a successful clinic that performed autologous (the patient’s own) therapy for many conditions. Our lives were changed after witnessing many miracles, and our life mission became very clear – we need to let the entire world know about this therapy.
We embarked on a unique journey which has shifted and changed drastically every year as the industry keeps growing and adapting to new protocols. It took us several years until we decided to focus everything we learned into one specific subject. After understanding the power of regenerative cells, we decided to hone in on the field of extracellular vesicles – small vesicles secreted by all cells. The extracellular vesicles we study now come from regenerative cells only.
Under my oversight, our company has secured FDA approval studying our lead biologic drug for several conditions: acute COVID-19, Long COVID-19 sequelae, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Knee Osteoarthritis. One of the highlights of my career came as a surprise last year when I was recognized as one of the ‘Top 100 Healthcare Leaders’ by IFAH for my work spearheading COVID-19 therapeutics. The satisfaction of working daily with an unbelievable scientific, regulatory, and medical team is priceless. Hard work and consistency over the last 15 years has resulted in many achievements, and there are still many more to come.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
One of the most important things you can do to achieve your goals, whether it be in your career or in general, is to be consistent. Showing up every day will take you further than just knowledge and academic training. There is a saying in Spanish, “El diablo sabe mas por viejo que por Diablo” – “The devil is knowledgeable because he’s old, not because he’s the devil”. The more you repeat an activity, the more you learn and are acquainted with a problem, the more you learn from it and progress comes effortlessly. Consistency helps build discipline, accountability and responsibility, all traits that are important in any field and in your life. Show up every day ready to be a better person than you were the day before.
There are tough moments starting and running a business, when things don’t go smoothly, and the easiest way out seems to be to give up. That’s when you show up even earlier and more committed than ever. Quitting should never be an option, I swear I’ve been in those shoes before, multiple times. If you are struggling right now, know brighter days will come. There is something you can control, even when everything fails, your consistency can be controlled. Build that superpower!
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
When I first began medical school, I had it in my mind that I was going to be an OBGYN. I was extremely excited and committed to fulfill that path, but then things changed, and honestly, for the best. I rotated for 7 years in a unique clinic that offered water deliveries. I would study and attend school during the day, and at night I would voluntarily do shifts in the clinic. I witnessed how amazing the transition of birthing can be, how scary things can be when they go wrong, and how important it was to have trained physicians in charged. The beauty of bringing babies peacefully in a room with dim lights, warm water and respecting the physiological positions when birthing fulfilled me so much that OBGYN was no doubt what I wanted to achieve!
Internship year came around and through that rotation I learned the harsh reality, and just like that, after 3 months I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing that. I loved my teachers, nurses, residents, attendees, but it became clear to me that I did not want to spend the rest of my life in that specialty. For my thesis, I connected with a Neonatologist that was studying the irrigation (blood distribution) from twin placentas. This project changed my life, but I didn’t know that then. I spent several hours a week testing and examining placentas, their veins and arteries. I learned that in a pregnancy with twin babies and only one placenta, the irrigation system is almost perfectly divided into 2 for each baby. The placenta’s role is to filter and select only what’s needed for the baby to perfectly grow every day. Essentially, the placenta is the perfect matrix that ensures the nutrition and survival of babies. Little did I know that I was going to translate those skills later in my career and become an expert on regenerative cells from perinatal tissue.
I love what I do, and I am glad that my path has taken me here! It was always a no brainer that helping others comes natural to me, but seeing people achieve their optimal health and wellbeing is irreplaceable. My mission and choice to be a physician scientist is to help patients improve their quality of life. Everything I’ve done in my professional life has always been aligned with this mission and my experiences have shaped me into the physician scientist I am today. The opportunity to translate my past experiences and conduct clinical research in a large scale gets me closer every day to achieving my goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://organicell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marimitrani/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/organicellTM/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marimitrani/