30Under30 Nominee: Cyndhia Varshni
Great to hear from Global 30 Under 30 Nominee, Cyndhia Varshni, an Engagement Lead at Ambit RD, a rare disease commercialisation strategy consulting firm based in New York. Cyndhia helps biopharma teams figure out how to bring therapies to often overlooked patient populations, drawing on a background in biomedical engineering, behavioural science and market research.
How did you find your way into research, data and insights?
Honestly, it wasn’t the plan. I trained as a biomedical engineer at Cornell and expected to spend my career building products. My first product role was in women’s reproductive health in India. There, we found that 85% of the women we surveyed were undereducated about their own reproductive health, and many didn’t know ovulation cycles even existed. That finding stayed with me far longer than any product spec did. I realised the questions I cared about most were about people: why they believe what they believe and what stops them from acting on their beliefs. That curiosity led me to BEESY Strategy, a behavioural-science-first insights firm, where I grew through the ranks to Senior Research Manager within a year, and stayed on for a few more. It has now brought me to rare disease, where those same questions carry real weight for patients.
What part of your work are you most proud of and why?
The work I’m proudest of is in women’s health, a field that holds a very special place in my heart. When BEESY took on its first large global women’s health project, I jumped at the chance to be involved. The project’s success led to a dedicated women’s health squad, which has since shaped work across IVF, fertility and menopause. It meant a lot to me to see something I care about so deeply become a lasting part of what the firm had to offer.
What have you learned so far that you wish you’d known when you started your career?
You don’t need to wait for permission to fix something you can see is broken. Early on, I assumed new ideas had to come from the top. Over time, I learned that some of the most valuable things I’ve done started with simply listening to a client’s frustration and quietly building a better way. If you understand the problem well, people are usually glad you took the initiative.
What excites you most about the future of insights and what would you like to help change?
I’m excited that AI is taking over so much of the rote work, because it frees us to spend more time on interpretation and judgment, which is where our real value lies. What I’d like to help change is how insights reach the people making decisions. Too much good research ends up in dense decks that busy executives never get to. I believe my generation is well placed to rethink that experience, so that insight is something people actually absorb and act on, not just receive.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in the industry today?
Be curious about the fields right next to yours, whether that’s behavioural science, clinical science, design or technology. Some of my best ideas came from bringing something from one world into another. And worry less about having a perfectly linear path. Mine certainly wasn’t, and every detour has ended up being useful.
Who has helped you along the way?
I’ve been lucky enough to have some wonderful people in my corner. Colleagues, leaders and mentors who believed in me early and gave me room to grow far faster than I expected. Above all, I am grateful for my support system (family and friends), whose support made it possible for me to build a career so far from home.