Chandra Williams, DVM
“I never saw anyone that looked like me that was a veterinarian, but I thought, so what!?”
I am a foodie and love to follow TikTok food influencers. I enjoy helping to motivate and mentor others. I’ve lived in or traveled to 39 states. I had to work multiple jobs while going to school. I use animals as a model of human diseases so that we can make new and improved medicines. I am a veterinarian.
When you think of a veterinarian, the first thing that comes to mind may be the person you take your pets to see when they are sick or need a checkup. But in reality, we're in a lot of other places you might not expect! We’re food inspectors, researchers, surgeons, dermatologists, radiologists – any field that works closely with animals usually has some veterinarians on the team. I am the Director of Comparative Medicine at Pfizer, which means I oversee a team of over 40 people that work with animals as a way to better understand human disease. By working with animals, we can do responsible and ethical experiments that show us how well our treatments might work. For most of my career, I worked hands-on with animals, but these days I work behind-the-scenes to manage projects and make sure everyone has what they need to succeed.
For most of human history, we had to suffer through tragic diseases that were difficult to treat. These days, teams of researchers from across fields can work together to try to minimize the harm caused by these dangers. As our world becomes more global and our environment changes, new diseases can emerge quickly, which is why it’s so important to have systems in place that are ready for anything. Using animals as models for research is one part of a system that allows us to work quickly to find new vaccines, medicines, or cures without risking human lives. What we do is very regulated, and a big part of my job is to make sure the animals are treated with the utmost care. As a veterinarian, this is especially important for me. I care about the animals, I care about the research, and most of all, I care about the lives that can be saved by what we do.
I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian for most of my life. As a kid I had a hamster who got sick. I wanted to help him by bringing him to my doctor, but my mom told me he needed a special doctor who treats pets. That’s how I learned what veterinarians were, and I decided that’s what I wanted to be so that I could help other animals to live long and healthy lives.
I was raised by my mom and grandma. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we went to church every Sunday and I always felt supported in school and in my pursuits. At the same time, I was also bused to school and faced a lot of intolerance because of the color of my skin. This didn’t stop me from deciding to apply to 25 different veterinary programs, and getting into 24 of them. I had a hard time deciding – it felt like such an important decision to get right – but I ended up choosing a school in North Carolina (even though I missed orientation!).
School had its ups and downs. During my second year of veterinary school, I struggled after my grandmother passed away. We were very close and I almost quit. When I did finish, I didn’t get matched with any residency programs and I didn’t pass my national board examination -two major steps in becoming a veterinarian. It was pretty devastating. That’s when I discovered my interest in comparative medicine, a field where you work with animals as models to study human disease. I decided to follow my curiosity about the field to work in labs all around the United States and gain as many experiences as I could. I moved from New Mexico to New Jersey, working with monkeys and at pharmaceutical companies. In these fast-paced environments, I had some wonderful experiences and some tough experiences, and not every job worked out the way I’d hoped. In my career, I’ve worked in companies, at universities, on big teams, and on small teams. I’ve enjoyed learning different skills in different settings, and it’s that diversity of experience that got me to where I am today.
I absolutely love music. In one year alone, I traveled to 22 concerts across over a dozen different cities. I love road trips and no journey is too long if the destination is right. I’m also a foodie, I have a patio garden and often cook new recipes I find on Tiktok. At 7:30pm, you’ll find me watching Jeopardy. It’s on my bucket list to be on the show. I strongly believe that laughter and comedy are good for the soul. I’m the type of person that really likes to help others, nourishing their growth and being a mentor to guide others along their paths. I love chasing new experiences, and fully intend on visiting all 50 states, whether for a good concert, a great meal, or my next adventure..
I am a woman of faith. This shouldn’t surprise you, but because of the way religion and science are sometimes presented in pop culture, some people might think you can’t have both. I’ve never felt like there was any real reason for that. My faith and my science are both very important to me, and they get along just fine.
Change is constant. Planning is great, but it’s when those plans fail that you learn the most about yourself. In times of failure, look for strength, resolve and the foundational teachings of your youth, and give yourself permission to change plans. The opportunities are out there for you. Use the same energy you put towards researching things on social media, whether it's finding out when the latest Beyonce single may drop or learning the latest TikTok dance, to find a lab, a summer program, a scholarship, or another gateway to a career that will keep you fulfilled.
