SWE Distinguished New Engineer
Anne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
Hemex Health
For leading research and data analysis to bring diagnostic technologies to market; for advancing the work of nonprofits supporting underserved communities; and for demonstrating that STEM careers have no boundaries.
Anne Rocheleau, Ph.D., has had a distinguished career as a research and development (R&D) and quality engineer bolstered by her educational experiences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she earned a B.S. in chemical engineering, and as a fellow in the National Science Foundation Science Master’s Program at Cornell University, where she completed master’s degrees in chemical and biomedical engineering.
She continued at Cornell, completing a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with projects in computational modeling of white blood cell-blood vessel interactions. From Cornell, Dr. Rocheleau spent a year working as a quality engineer for Nypro Healthcare (now Jabil), a medical device manufacturer in Massachusetts, before moving to Portland, Oregon, and venturing into R&D. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon Health & Science University, where her work focused on microfluidics research for applications in hematology. Combined, her academic research accomplishments at these academic institutions resulted in eight peer-reviewed publications and 12 conference abstracts.
Dr. Rocheleau was hired as a research scientist by Hemex Health, a Portland startup developing novel technology to diagnose both malaria and sickle cell disease in underserved parts of the world. She has played a pivotal role in bringing diagnostic technologies to market. Dr. Rocheleau led several projects and initiatives at Hemex to build and grow its R&D, clinical, algorithms, manufacturing, and quality teams. She has monitored and analyzed data from more than 10 clinical study sites worldwide and has traveled abroad to work with the clinical site users. From these studies, Dr. Rocheleau produced 14 conference abstracts/posters and one peer-reviewed publication.
A longtime member of the Society of Women Engineers, Dr. Rocheleau has served in roles at the collegiate, local, and Society levels. She was a co-founder of Cornell GradSWE and received the university’s Alice H. Cook and Constance E. Cook Award for establishing the group. Cornell GradSWE held events and workshops to connect and engage women graduate students and prepare them for engineering careers. Her attendance at SWE regional and annual conferences inspired her to remain involved post-Cornell.
Dr. Rocheleau joined the SWE Columbia River Section and has been the scholarship chair and newsletter editor. She is currently vice president of collegiate relations. At the Society level, she has served on the program development grants committee and the awards and recognition committee. She has participated in multiple conferences, including the annual conference, WE Local, and regional conferences. She has supported them both visibly and behind the scenes as a presenter and panelist, an abstract reviewer and judge, and a graduate coordinator, among other contributions.
Apart from SWE, Dr. Rocheleau supports several nonprofits that collaborate with other STEM professionals to provide programs, resources, and events that connect to underserved and global communities. She produces a grants-based newsletter for Seeding Labs, which connects STEM researchers and students in developing countries to resources that are critical but often out of economic or geographic reach.
Dr. Rocheleau lives with her husband and young daughter in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She enjoys reading, hiking, and spending quality time with family and friends.