Athena Life Sciences Committee
A Fireside Chat with
Susan Tousi
She helped rewrite genome sequencing at Illumina, then left to run an oncology startup. Two hours on how she made that call, and how to recognize your own.
Susan Tousi
Chief Executive Officer, DELFI Diagnostics
Early-bird pricing until 24 September.
- 4:30-6:30 pm PT
- aTyr Pharma
Sorrento Valley, San Diego - Or on Zoom from 5:15 pm
Fireside Chat with Susan Tousi
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 · 4:30-6:30 pm PT · aTyr Pharma and Zoom
- Format
- Hybrid. Attend in the room or on Zoom
- Presented by
- Athena's Life Sciences Committee
- Powered by
- Fragomen and aTyr Pharma
Event overview
How do you know when it is time to change? The defining moments in a career are rarely the promotions. More often they are the moments that make you adapt, leave the comfortable job, and back yourself before the path is clear.
Athena's Life Sciences Committee hosts an intimate fireside chat with Susan Tousi, chief executive of DELFI Diagnostics and, before that, chief commercial officer of Illumina. Susan has made that call more than once. She helped rewrite genome sequencing at Illumina, then left an industry leader to run an oncology startup working to change how cancer is detected.
In conversation she sets out the thinking behind the pivotal decisions of her career: how she handled the uncertain stretches, how she knew when it was time to move, and why betting on yourself compounds. Whether change arrives by choice or by circumstance, you will leave with practical ways to build resilience and lead through it.
Emerging professional, scientist, entrepreneur, manager or executive: the material is built to be used on Monday.
The hardest career decisions are the ones nobody hands you. This is two hours with someone who has made several.
The shape of the evening
- 4:30 pmDoors and in-person networking at aTyr Pharma
- 5:15 pmZoom opens; the virtual room joins
- 5:30 pmFireside chat with Susan Tousi, then audience questions
- 6:30 pmClose
The room opens 45 minutes before the broadcast. Come at 4:30 pm for the networking; join on Zoom at 5:15 pm for the conversation itself.
Your speaker
Someone who has already made the decision you are weighing.
Susan Tousi
Chief Executive Officer, DELFI Diagnostics
Susan Tousi is chief executive of DELFI Diagnostics, which is building blood tests to detect cancer earlier than today's screening does. She took the job in January 2024.
Before that came a decade at Illumina: first as chief product officer, running the development organization behind the sequencing technology that made reading a genome affordable, then three years as chief commercial officer. Leaving a company at the top of its industry to run a startup was a deliberate choice, and it is the choice this conversation opens with.
What you will gain
Five things to take back to work.
- 01
Executive insight from a leader who has run product, then commercial, then a company
- 02
How to handle a career transition, a reorganization or a sudden step up in scope
- 03
How to spot an opportunity, adapt with confidence and decide well while the ground is still moving
- 04
When a calculated risk is worth taking, and how to back yourself before the path is clear
- 05
The case for a career defined by growth rather than comfort
How to attend
One ticket, two rooms.
In the room
aTyr Pharma
10240 Sorrento Valley Rd, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92121
Doors at 4:30 pm for 45 minutes of networking before the conversation starts. Space is limited.
Open in MapsOn Zoom
The virtual room opens at 5:15 pm PT, in time for the fireside chat and the audience questions that follow.
Luma emails the joining link when you register. No separate ticket is needed.
Change is coming to your career whether you choose it or not. Spend two hours with someone who chose it.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 · 4:30-6:30 pm PT · Early-bird pricing until 24 September.
Questions? Get in touch, or see every upcoming Athena event.