Formulary Book Club: The Body Keeps the Score

Lindsay Androski, CEO of Roivant Social Ventures and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School, has our November ’23 book recommendation

Story by Ryan McDaniel | photo credit Lindsay Androski | Published November 28, 2023

Each month, the Formulary Book Club introduces a student, staff, faculty, or alumni of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and gets their recommendation for a great read.

This month’s recommendation comes to us from Lindsay Androski, President and CEO of Roivant Social Ventures. Lindsay’s Formulary Book Club recommendation is The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.

In the book, Dr. van der Kolk brings to bear meticulous data and case studies to demonstrate how unresolved trauma, especially from childhood, manifests both mentally and physically later in life. The book chronicles Dr. van der Kolk’s career as a researcher, psychiatrist, and therapist, essentially giving the reader a history of the field of mental health over the past 30 years. He argues that, while psychotropic or other prescription drugs are often the first-line treatment, they are treating the symptoms rather than the underlying cause – but there are numerous effective non-drug treatments mental health care providers can leverage.

“You will walk away from this book filled with compassion, and with a realization of the immense impact unresolved trauma has on individual relationships and society as a whole,” Lindsay says. “It’s also critical for those of us who work in pharmacology to recognize that prescription drugs are not always the answer, and this book teaches that lesson memorably.”

Lindsay is the CEO of Roivant Social Ventures as well as Special Counsel at Genevant. Her path to these dual roles was anything but straight-forward: “I entered college with the plan to pursue an MD/PhD and conduct medical research, but took a sharp left turn and pursued law and business instead, only to come full circle serendipitously!” she explains. “After a decade as a trial lawyer and federal prosecutor, I transitioned to biotech in the mid 2010s when I joined the founding team of Roivant Sciences after a call from a college friend.”

Lindsay also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor appointment at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy where she co-teaches Making Medicines with Dr. Scott Singleton at the School. She says she hopes the class helps “inspire students to enter the dynamic field of drug development.”

Beyond serving at the School, Lindsay devotes a lot of time to her alma mater, MIT. A first-generation college student, Lindsay is passionate about paying it forward, serving on MIT’s Board of Trustees, Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Science, and several Visiting Committees.

At home, Lindsay is raising three girls and two boys, including a college freshman and a high school junior. Somehow, she still manages to find time to fulfill her love of travel. “I am invigorated by exposure to new places, new people, and new cultures, and by sharing those experiences with loved ones,” she shares. “Recent favorites include biking the Shimanami Kaido in Japan, exploring the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco, and hiking, rock climbing, and downtown tubing in Boulder, Colorado.” Next year, she is excited to visit Rwanda.

Thank you, Lindsay, for the excellent book recommendation!