Introducing the 2023 Keynote Speaker: Dr. Amber Rydholm!

Amber Rydholm is the Director of Drug Substance Manufacturing at Cambrex and her work focuses on the manufacturing of early stage development drug substances. Amber was born in Alaska but she moved with her family to Oregon at only 11mos old. Her family moved to New Mexico during her toddler years but spent the majority of her youth growing up in Minnesota. She received her Bachelor's degree in science from Michigan Technological University. After receiving her degree she moved to Colorado to further pursue her education. She received her Master's Degree and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado - Boulder in 2006. In college she had internships with Kimberly Clark corporation making Kleenex and paper towel products. She also worked with Seagate during her graduate years optimizing the read head inside a computer hard drive. After graduate school Amber found herself in the Pharmaceutical world in contract manufacturing. Amber has spent 17 years in pharmaceuticals. Amber currently lives in Lyons CO and is a mother of three children. She has two girls (7 and 4) and one boy (9).

Why did you choose to become a scientist?

From an early age, I was interested in how things worked and inventing new or better ways to do something. By high school, I was competing in Science Fairs up the state and regional level and applying to colleges to study engineering. Now, I feel fortunate to have made a career doing what I find interesting and challenging. I also feel fortunate to apply my interest in the medical and pharmaceutical fields where my work can directly improve the health and lives of people all around the world. There are constant surprises and challenging problems to solve, but there is also often an equation to apply or an experiment to do that will provide the answers needed, which I find this both exciting and rewarding.

What advice do you have for youth interested in science?

If science is your interest and passion, it is a field full of potential that needs bright minds, hard workers, innovators, and curiosity. It is a field with room for everyone, of all genders, races, and ethnicities. So dare to ask “why?” and “how?” and “wouldn’t it be cool if…..?” and see where it can take you, too!

What advice would you give your 12-year old self?

You don’t have to be perfect, keep your head up and don’t worry about what everyone else thinks, follow your passions regardless of what others think of it. Surround yourself with people that enable you to be your true self.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was really little I wanted to be a zoo keeper and then that turned into wanting to be a vet but then during middle school I became very passionate about chemistry.

What excites you about science?

I want to to use science to understand how things work. I enjoy the puzzles that science has to offer. Science is imperfection, its rarely easy or perfect, it is step by step hard work and I enjoy being able to apply what I learn to solving problems.

When did you know you wanted to be a scientist?

I always liked science but it was near the beginning of high school when it really clicked. I started a science fair project that ended up taking me on a four-year journey to better understand mordant-dyes interactions. The project was inspired by coloring Easter eggs using all natural dyes -- I wanted to look at natural dyes and fabrics and to understand what was happening at the molecular level when dying the eggs.

Who were your role models?

Science was always something that came naturally to me and I was passionate about. It never dawned on me that I couldn’t be a scientist because I was a woman and maybe that was because I had a number of grade school and high school teachers that were woman that really influenced me and showed me it was possible.