Myra Beaudoin Bertrand, who is director of Search and Evaluation at Jazz Pharmaceuticals in Denver, Colorado, grew up on a cattle farm near L’Ange-Gardien in the Outaouais region. The idea of climbing Everest came to her when she was 11. “I had a pretty tough childhood, and I remember being on my bike and thinking, somewhat as a joke, that if I could get through what I was going through at the time, I’d be able to climb Everest one day.” Some 30 years later, that joke became a reality. In the spring of 2024, the outdoor enthusiast climbed Everest, the world’s highest peak (8,849 metres) in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and Tibet.
“In the two years leading up to the ascent, I climbed a mountain over 4,000 metres high and went rock-climbing every week, in addition to doing yoga and speed swimming daily,” she explains. “Colorado, with its 54 peaks over 4,200 metres high, is an ideal place to train for high-mountaineering. I skied every one of those mountains and climbed several others in South America and Nepal.”
Accompanied by an expert team from Alpenglow Expeditions, she climbed the north face of Everest and reached the summit in just 22 days, thanks to eight weeks of acclimatization at home using a high-altitude tent. “The greatest danger on Everest is the lack of oxygen. It’s a risk I always had in mind.” Standing on the roof of the world, she admired the breathtaking view and called her two children. During her journey, she also had the chance to ski down the North Col of Mount Everest (7,000 metres above sea level).
From Gatineau to Colorado
Bertrand was one of a handful of Francophones in the first cohort of the University of Ottawa’s bachelor’s degree in biopharmaceutical science. “I wanted to work in a pharmaceutical laboratory to help invent new drugs and improve the lives of patients. Some of my relatives had multiple sclerosis and cancer, and I’d seen the ramifications of those diseases and the impact that pharmaceuticals and new discoveries could have.”
She really enjoyed her program of study, which allowed her to explore biology, biochemistry and even organic chemistry, her favourite subject. From her time at the University of Ottawa, she has fond memories of Louis Barriault, her professor of organic chemistry, who is now dean of the Faculty of Science. She also really enjoyed the “incredible” co-op program, through which she landed an internship in Boston. “I was bitten by the American bug! During my second internship in Carlsbad, California, I realized that I needed a PhD to work in pharmaceutical research and be a project manager. So, I applied to several PhD programs in organic chemistry in the US and Canada, and had the fantastic honour of being accepted into the program at the University of Michigan, where I decided to attend graduate school.”
After that, the inquisitive Bertrand worked for some 10 years in medicinal chemistry at Bristol Myers Squibb in New Jersey. Gradually, she became aware of her interest in business and her desire to work more with people. The MBA she earned changed the course of her career. “That training has enabled me to work with corporate teams evaluating the market to buy other companies (mergers and acquisitions) or molecules (in-licensing) to help our patients,” explains Bertrand, who is clearly passionate about her work.
Everything is possible
In the next few years, she would like to ski mountaineer Mount Logan (5,959 metres) in Yukon, and Cho Oyu (8,188 metres) in China. But now, she has nothing left to prove to herself. “The mountains speak to me differently since Everest,” she confides. “They used to inspire me to push my boundaries, to overcome my fears, but now I’m not ashamed to turn back if I see there are too many risks. I listen to the mountain when it tells me to take care of myself.”
With the mountains having taught her so much, now it’s her turn to pass on her wisdom. In the fall of 2024, she returned to the site of her teen years, École secondaire Hormidas-Gamelin in Buckingham, to give a presentation on her ascent to the students. Her high school chemistry teacher was among the crowd to cheer on his former student. “I wanted to come full circle to where it all began,” she says. “I’m slowly coming down from the high of this event. If my story can encourage just one student to achieve their dream, that would be fantastic. Anything is possible if you believe and work hard. Never stop dreaming.”
