Olga Neumueller
“I have danced ballet since I was a child.
What fascinates me isn’t just the movement. It’s the idea behind it: strength, discipline, attention to detail. You work hard so that it looks effortless. That mindset shapes how I approach my work.
I work in regulatory affairs, but it has more in common with dancing than you may think. Many of the skills you need in dancing – discipline, accuracy, and precision – are essential in my role.
I studied pharmacy in Germany. During my PhD at the University Hospital in Frankfurt, I researched protein–protein interactions in human blood platelets. PPIs drive critical cellular functions like signalling, metabolism, and gene expression, and I wanted to understand the purpose behind the interactions. I would ask: ‘what is this good for?’ And even though I work outside the lab now, that question still drives me.
I knew I wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry, but I wasn’t sure what discipline. My ‘aha’ moment came later, as a trainee in a small company in southern Germany. I worked closely with a regulatory affairs manager and saw how the role connects science with purpose. At the end of the day, it’s about enabling access to medicines for people who need them. That’s when I knew: this is what I want to do.
Regulatory affairs bring together everything I enjoy. It combines scientific thinking with collaboration – working together with different experts, exploring what’s possible. Building a healthy team environment is important. When trust is there, better performance follows. A great example of that is when we achieved approval of an albumin product in China a few years ago – a major milestone. For me, it was a ‘Win Together’. Not just because of the result, but because of how we got there.
I genuinely enjoy working with people. Early on in my career, I knew I wanted to lead a team. Not to be at the centre, but to enable others. At CSL, I was lucky to meet mentors who believed in me – people who trusted me to take the next step, often before I was sure myself that I was ready. Today I try to pass that on.
When I was younger, I didn’t really understand the idea of purpose. Over time, that changed. I realised that even a small contribution can make someone’s life easier. There are many diseases that need treatment, and I hope that through innovation we can progress medicines that make life easier, if not cure diseases.
I feel proud to work at a company like CSL, because our work truly matters. When I started at CSL, we held a town hall, and we invited patients. One of my colleagues asked a patient with haemophilia B: ‘What do you wish from us? What would bring the greatest benefit for you?’. The patient said gene therapy. That’s what he wanted. Ten years later we do have an approved gene therapy that treats haemophilia B.
When you’re a people leader, your impact isn’t always visible. There’s no finished submission document or report, no immediate output. But sometimes, there are these moments. A team member who would not smile or open up at first suddenly laughs and shares personal stories during a one-to-one. A former team writes me a card with personal words when I’m going through a difficult time myself. That’s when you know you’ve done something right.
From another perspective, when I began working in sickle cell disease research around nine years ago, patients had not seen a new treatment option in more than two decades. Hearing patients share their experiences over the years,whether at advocacy meetings or scientific conferences, brings that reality into focus. Patients speak about the challenges of navigating healthcare systems, finding clinicians who truly understand their disease, managing pain, and holding onto hope for what a clinical trial might offer.
The best advice I’ve ever received is to believe in yourself – especially when things feel uncomfortable. Like in ballet: You train. You fall. You get back up. And one day, it looks effortless.”
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