Diane Pennica, Ph.D. ’77, has made a lot of discoveries in her 30 years in the biotechnology industry—discoveries that have helped to extend the lives of millions of people. You could call that big. We certainly do.

With her doctorate in microbiology from URI, Pennica was recruited by Genentech, a company considered to be among the founders of the biotechnology industry. That was the start of a career dedicated to a number of research projects to reduce or eliminate the effects of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. In 1987 she invented the clot-busting drug Activase, which has been used to treat nearly 5 million patients who have experienced heart attacks or strokes. She later cloned a vital tumor-suppressor gene that was dubbed “Molecule of the Year” in 1993 by the journal Science and opened a new field of cancer research.

She also discovered three new genes that are implicated in colon cancer, and she was the first to clone the protein responsible for joint destruction, which led to the development of Enbrel and other therapies that have helped millions of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

Thanks to the successful treatments she’s developed, Pennica has received numerous cards and letters from patients thanking her for saving their lives. “It makes me realize that all the hard work, no days off, all the training I got at URI, was worth it,” she said.

Although officially retired from Genentech, Pennica continues to consult for the biotech industry. She was named Inventor of the Year in 1989 by the Intellectual Property Owners Foundation and one of the Women Inventors Who Make a Difference by the American Chemical Society in 2000. And this year she was awarded the URI Distinguished Achievement Award.