{"product_id":"mud-microbes-and-medicine-elizabeth-reed-aden-9798896360384","title":"Mud, Microbes, and Medicine: How a Curious Anthropologist Got to the Boardroom","description":"\u003cb\u003eFor fans of \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLab Girl\u003c\/i\u003e, an arresting memoir that chronicles a young woman's journey from remote island research to Big Pharma and the boardroom.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eElizabeth \"Betsy\" Aden, a twenty-something anthropology student, is clinging to academia as a safety net--until she's offered a grant to spend the summer on a remote island in Melanesia, famously home to cannibals. Adventure calls, and Betsy doesn't hesitate. Once she arrives, though, reality hits: no running water, no electricity, and no Western medicine. Inspired by her experiences, Betsy returns to school with a new perspective and changes her field from cultural anthropology to biomedical anthropology. Driven by a new purpose, she returns to Melanesia for two years to study the transmission hepatitis B and sets up an ingenious field laboratory to collect and test blood samples. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBack at home, resourceful and determined Elizabeth successfully navigates the complicated \"boys club\" of academia. She explores teaching and advertising and finds a fit in biotech from which she builds a career in Big Pharma. That choice, along with her tenacity and willingness to take risks, propels Elizabeth on a meteoric rise to the senior executive suite in a large Swiss company and into the boardrooms of scrappy biotech companies. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith electric detail and candid honesty, \u003ci\u003eMud, Microbes, and Medicine\u003c\/i\u003e is a testimony of resilience and resolve in the face of challenges so large and unimaginable, you will wonder how Elizabeth's story could even be true.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Elizabeth Reed Aden\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798896360384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e She Writes Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Elizabeth Reed Aden","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48454198952191,"sku":"9798896360384","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e2ee1aee-999f-427a-92ce-b6dd885b7797.jpg?v=1777304765","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mud-microbes-and-medicine-elizabeth-reed-aden-9798896360384","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}