Diana van der Graaf-Harris, started her career as a biotechnology researcher and has spent nearly 20 years at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine in Leiden. Along the way, she has worked across manufacturing, operations, automation, leadership, and organizational development, gaining first-hand experience of the many career paths available within the life sciences.

Today, she is Training & Learning Site Lead responsible for developing people, leaders, and future talent for a biologics manufacturing site of approximately 2,000 employees. With a PhD in Biotechnology from TU Delft, she combines scientific expertise with a deep understanding of how people, teams, and organizations learn and perform.

Diana is committed to strengthening the connection between education and industry. Through internships, mentoring, onboarding, and work-learn programs, she helps students and young professionals explore careers in life sciences. She is actively involved in CIV Bio Sciences and Biotech Delft and led the establishment of a process operator work-learn program at J&J in collaboration with CIV Bio Sciences, opening new pathways for students and early-career professionals to enter and grow their careers in life sciences.

Diana enjoys helping students discover the many opportunities the life sciences have to offer. She believes you do not need to have it all figured out from day one—curiosity, learning, and taking opportunities can take you further than you might expect.