Mireille A. Gingras founded

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 HUYA Bioscience International, a biotech consulting firm, in 2004. She is president and chief executive officer

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of HUYA, which is headquartered in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, with offices in Pudong

Pudong

Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...

, Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

Gingras is by education a neurobiologist. In 2010 her interest in China as a source of "research-intensive, expensive-to-develop medicines that are the stuff of patents and high profit margins" attracted the interest of Fortune

Fortune (magazine)

Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...

magazine. Gingras received her Ph.D. from Radboud University Nijmegen

Radboud University Nijmegen

Radboud University Nijmegen is a public university with a strong focus on research in Nijmegen, the Netherlands...

 and has held postdoctoral fellowships at Bordeaux University

University of Bordeaux

University of Bordeaux is an association of higher education institutions in and around Bordeaux, France. Its current incarnation was established 21 March 2007. The group is the largest system of higher education schools in southwestern France. It is part of the Academy of Bordeaux.There are seven...

 in France and The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...

 in La Jolla, California. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Montréal's Concordia University

Concordia University

Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...

.

Also one of the founders of MIR3, Gingras is a "serial entrepreneur" as she has described herself. She is single. Gingras is at least functional in several languages, including Mandarin, in addition to her native French.

Gingras has articulated five points of advice for women who want to succeed in biotechnology

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

as a male-dominated profession:

- 1. Commit to building and growing your career

- 2. Know your industry, and look for opportunities that would play to women’s strengths

- 3. Move away from your comfort zone when networking

- 4. Maintain a balance between drive and patience

- 5. Speak directly and with confidence