Dr. Alice Sapienza has a rare combination of credentials: experience as a general manager in a Harvard teaching hospital (Beth Israel); master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard Business School; consultant to national and international science and technology organizations as well as government organizations; and wide graduate teaching experience. In 1990, Dr. Sapienza joined the faculty of the Healthcare Administration Department at Simmons, where she taught organizational strategy in the healthcare environment; her executive teaching focused on leadership and organizational development.
In her academic research, Dr. Sapienza has written about the management of research and development and strategic planning in high-technology firms. In addition to articles, case studies, and book chapters, she has written Managing Scientists: Leadership Strategies in Scientific Research (Wiley, 2004 (2nd ed) (translated as Forscher Manager, VCH, 1997) and Creating Technology Strategies (Wiley, 1997) and is co-author of Leading Biotechnology Alliances — Right From the Start (Wiley, 2001) and Successful Strategies In Pharmaceutical R&D (VCH, 1996). Some of her consulting clients have included the US Veterans' Administration, Centre for Medicines Research (UK), Birmingham National Health Service (UK), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Sapienza received the 2005 School for Health Studies Faculty Research Award for her scholarly achievements and is currently Professor Emerita. She is active in municipal initiatives, including a state-funded pilot on microtransit, and is the Livable Ambassador for Sudbury, Massachusetts.