IPhO News

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of two new student chapters to our growing national network!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy and University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy. IPhO now connects them to a national network of 88 chapters and more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, click here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

Healthcare CEO and Entrepreneur George Zorich offers an insightful three-part video series for pharmacists—including students—and anyone else interested in learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur and build a business. This is excellent content delivered by an industry expert.

The series begins with an introduction to entrepreneurship that explains why it is so important to pharmacists and industry. You'll then move on to cover tips on building a business from the ground up—critical information for every entrepreneur. Finally, the series provides examples of current entrepreneurs in pharmacy, so you can learn from their success stories.

Company: Genentech

Current Role: Clinical Specialist

Alma Mater: University of Southern California

When I first started pharmacy school, I thought for sure that I wanted to become a clinical pharmacist and do a PGY1 in acute care. In my first year, our school promoted some of the dual degrees they offered and I decided to apply for the MBA. To be honest, I didn’t have a good reason for applying except for the thought that the extra business degree might come in handy if I ever decided to go into hospital administration later in my career. My second year when I started business school, I discovered a hidden passion for marketing, which led me to completely reimagine how I wanted to build out the rest of my career.

Business school really opened my eyes to all the possibilities outside of traditional pharmacy and I never looked back. From there, I focused on talking to as many people as I could across pharma and consulting companies to learn how to best marry my two degrees and set myself up for long term success in the business world. The Commercial Rotation Development Program (CRDP) program at Genentech stood out to me the most because it was a rotational program that would allow me to build a strong foundation in marketing and sales within a company that aligned with my background in science and pharmacy.

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of another new student chapter to our growing national network!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. IPhO now connects them to a national network of 86 chapters and more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, click here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

As the 2019-2020 school year winds down, IPhO is pleased to announce the 2020-21 National and Regional Student Officers! They will continue the beneficial work being done by this year's group and IPhO is looking forward to kicking off the new year with them in the coming months. We are starting the year with 85 IPhO student chapters (and counting)—more than 60% of U.S. pharmacy schools now have established chapters!

Congratulations and welcome to the following officers! Click here to view their schools and IPhO roles.

Megan Larison, PharmD

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Merck

Function/Discipline: Oncology Global Medical Affairs Post-Doctoral Fellow

Alma Mater: University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Class of 2020

Are you going into your first rotation at a pharmaceutical company? If so, you are probably feeling a little nervous leading up to your first day stepping into a non-traditional pharmacy rotation.

Don’t let that discourage you. You just need to know these few things to help set yourself up for success!

Before your rotation begins: Research the company and their pipeline. Become familiar with the different functional areas within the pharmaceutical industry but don’t get caught up on people’s individual titles, as they vary at every company.

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of three new student chapters—which officially makes our network 85 chapters strong!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at:

• University of the Incarnate Word–Feik School of Pharmacy
• Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy
• Shenandoah University Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy

IPhO now connects them to a national network of more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, click here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

Company: Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Current Role: Lead Pharmacovigilance Scientist

Alma Mater: University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Class of 2020

Prior to pharmacy school, I worked as a clinical trials coordinator and had my first exposure to industry. I mostly worked with MSLs and monitors, but over time I met several professionals with a PharmD that held a multitude of various positions within the industry. I had always wanted a career that combined my passion for helping people with my desire to work on cutting edge research, so I decided to pursue a PharmD with hopes of advancing both my scientific knowledge and clinical skills.

IPhO is hosting two national live online seminars during the month of May entitled,

Developing an Industry CV to Optimize your Experiences for Employers. Join Jerry Silverman, Senior VP Professional Development and Coaching, for this complimentary opportunity to learn about the methods he has utilized to conduct over 400 one-one-one coaching sessions during the past 6 years. Each of two seminars will be 90 minutes to allow for ample Q and A. See registration infomation below.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: IPhO / BioNJ

Function/Discipline: Rotational: Business Development, Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Marketing

Fellowship Years: 2018—2020

Alma Mater: University of the Sciences, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Class of 2018

I went to pharmacy school to become a clinical oncology pharmacist so I could help those who needed it most—specifically, people without current treatment options. Fortunately for me, my school offered many round table events for students to get acquainted with a variety of different positions available to pharmacists. I was consistently drawn to the “industry” tables and found myself fascinated with everything industry had to offer someone like me. Not only did I learn that industry provides an opportunity to work on delivering medication to those in need, but I also learned that I wouldn’t have to limit my versatility to be able to get the job done.

I desired a career that would accommodate my two conflicting interests—creativity and concrete facts—making it a challenge to find a place where I belonged. It didn’t take long for me to realize that as a pharmacist in the pharmaceutical industry I could appease both sides of my character: I could contribute creative ideas in order to market a company’s medication, but also be able to back it up with the science involved, honing in on safety and efficacy. Working in industry means that no single day is the same as the last. The possibility of constant change and challenges coupled with the ability to better the lives of many by contributing to a team that is bringing new medications to the market is truly captivating to me.

The 2019-20 term has been incredibly productive and exciting for our IPhO National Student Officers (NSOs) and Regional Student Officers (RSOs). We want to take a moment to thank them for their numerous accomplishments. Notably, during their tenure, the number of IPhO student chapters grew to 85! These leaders worked tirelessly to ensure that all IPhO student pharmacists were well informed about the resources and tools available to them and expertly navigated challenging remote circumstances as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring semester.

During the 2019-20 term, IPhO NSOs and RSOs:

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of two new student chapters to our growing national network!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at:

• Western University
• University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy (UNM)

IPhO now connects them to a national network of nearly 85 chapters and more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, click here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

Company: Pfizer

Current Role: Territory Business Manager

Alma Mater: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

“Delay does not mean denial.”

During my time as a pharmacy student at Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, I was President of SNPhA, APhA-ASP, and other professional organizations for four years. I worked diligently to educate my classmates and faculty about opportunities for pharmacists outside of retail and clinical—I wanted to highlight that pharmacists could do more and that pursuing a career in industry could open many doors. I was even able to secure Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb to come and speak at my school about their industry roles.

After realizing that my path did not include a fellowship or residency, I applied for business school at Florida State College (FSU). While attending FSU and studying for my boards to become licensed, I began the search for a role in industry. I wasn’t sure about which role was best for me. I knew most about becoming a Medical Science Liaison, since that’s where most PharmDs I knew navigated to, but continued to explore other options that would also allow me to leverage my MBA.

Company: Eisai Inc., Scientific Communications, EGNBU

Current Role: Medical Information Specialist

Alma Mater: Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy, Class of 2019

Since the beginning of pharmacy school, I always knew I wanted to pursue a career path far from the norm. I did not know what it was until I hosted my very first event on campus, which highlighted the unconventional roles of pharmacists. This event showcased careers in public health, managed care and pharmaceutical industry. I was utterly in awe of the accomplishments made by industry pharmacists and aspired to be a leader in this field someday.

Like many of my peers, I worked in the retail setting for the majority of my professional career. Although there were many aspects which I appreciated about this field; this was not how I wanted to utilize my degree. During my final year of pharmacy school, I began to do intensive research on specific departments within the pharmaceutical industry. I found that functions within medical affairs intrigued me the most.

Company: AstraZeneca

Current Role: Medical Scientist in Late Phase Immuno-Oncology

Alma Mater: University of Maryland Baltimore, Class of 2016

Four years ago, I was in your very shoes, approaching graduation and wondering what I was going to do with my life. For those of you reading this, I hope my story provides you with some inspiration, as I poured over these IPhO spotlights myself in those days of praying for a job in industry, and it truly gave me hope as to what I could achieve.

I was a late starter in my interest of industry. I thought industry was all intense research and benchwork in labs, working by myself, and as I was a people person, I thought it wouldn’t be a place for me. Then, as I attended AMCP roundtables hosted by my school and read over the Rutgers Fellowship Brochure, I was excited to find that there were many opportunities besides lab work in industry, and they sounded interesting and innovative.

I was lucky enough to get into an FDA rotation before Midyear and my school placed my Eli Lilly rotation afterward. Midyear, as many of you know, is a grueling process, and I completed 36 interviews in 4 days (which looking back, may have been a bit excessive). I waited and waited until late January, when I realized I wouldn’t get an onsite interview, as some of my friends had already received offers. I thought it was nearly impossible to get a job in industry without a fellowship, so I decided to try for a residency, thinking that additional clinical skills could only help me to get an industry job later. I ended up interviewing onsite at multiple hospitals, but ultimately didn’t match, the first or second time.

Now in its 5th year, the annual VIP Case Competition has become a highly recognizable, signature IPhO program that provides participating chapters with an opportunity to develop a cohesive plan to bring a theoretical new molecular entity from ‘bench to bedside’.

Each and every year, chapter participation and submissions grow more competitive and knowledge of key industry functional areas for new product commercialization are critical for a competitive submission.

To support the continued success of this signature IPhO program, we are pleased to announce the launch of live online professional development seminars during April 2020, focusing on VIP Case Competition best practices from the 2019-20 award-winning chapters.

Company: Medpace

Current Role: Clinical Research Associate

Alma Mater: Regis University

My curiosity to explore and discover, as well as my desire to build knowledge, naturally drew me to industry. Prior to entering pharmacy school, I had worked in a research lab and gained experience as a pharmacy technician in the community retail setting. In pharmacy school, the integrated curriculum focused on Team-Based Learning at Regis was a good fit and allowed me to hone my teamwork skills by committing to my team’s success. In my first year, I had the wonderful opportunity to be a pharmacy intern at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

At the time, my career plans were focused on residency and becoming a clinical pharmacist. Eager to encounter new ideas, people and activities, I became a student leader in professional organizations, volunteered in community outreach programs, and took on extracurricular projects. My journey through pharmacy school was steady going, with the occasional setback and sacrifice that occur on one’s path to success. I learned a lot about myself through this experience including recognizing my resiliency and perseverance. By my fourth year in pharmacy school, I had grown ambivalent of my initial pursuit of residency. I was torn between what I thought I should do versus what I actually wanted to do.

Company: Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Current Role: Medical Information Specialist, Global Medical Information

Alma Mater: MCPHS University, Boston

There is always more than one path to a goal. To those whose goal is working in the pharmaceutical industry, I would beckon you to first define what it is you would be passionate about doing. For myself, defining this was the first and most crucial step in beginning my path to a fulfilling career in industry.

Throughout my time in pharmacy school I did not put much thought into what career track would provide me with the type of job I found satisfying. Like many of my peers I began working as a pharmacist in the retail setting. Quickly realizing that for myself, this was not how I wanted to use my degree, I took time to investigate the different career opportunities for a pharmacist. I reached out to colleagues who worked in the industry in various roles, trying to understand what it is they did and whether I could see myself in a similar role. I found myself intrigued by the function that pharmacists had in medical information; a focus on understanding and educating others about therapeutic areas and medications, distilling down a wealth of information and using it to support physicians.

Company: Greenwich Biosciences

Current Role: Pharmacovigilance Scientist

Alma Mater: MCPHS University, Boston

If you focus on the finish line and reverse engineer the steps to get there, you'll be able to reach the end.

My interest in the pharmaceutical industry began during my first professional year of pharmacy school. It was at this point in my academic career that I started to learn about the opportunities for a pharmacist within the healthcare system. The concept of the pharmaceutical industry appealed to me for many reasons, but one of the main reasons was to have a global patient impact.

As I learned where I wanted to be after my education, I began to delve into more of the roles within the pharmaceutical industry. I joined organizations at my school, such as IPhO, to gain more insight. During my second professional year, I helped start the first chapter of ISPE (International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering) at my university. These opportunities not only provided me with immense knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry but helped me connect with like-minded individuals and respected industry professionals.

Company: Celgene

Current Role: Global Regulatory Affairs Specialist

Alma Mater: UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

The road to a career in research and development is as long and tough as it is rewarding. To be honest, I’d never pictured myself being able to get my foot in the door for a major company, but life had other plans—and my journey to a position at Celgene was very nontraditional. After my second year of pharmacy school I was selected to participate in a short-term contract position with the Small Business and Technology Development Center in Durham. The application was provided through the university and my resumé stood out, probably due to my involvement in extracurricular activities, more so than academics alone. Through this, I was matched to two start-up pharmaceutical companies, and served as an Associate Clinical Consultant. I realized that this was an opportunity to truly understand the research and development side of pharmaceuticals, and I immediately became immersed in FDA guidance, regulatory affairs, grant proposal writing, and giving presentations to key opinion leaders. I learned more about the regulatory and medical affairs side of drug development, and over time, better recognized the importance of pharmacists in the industry.