Bridging Academia and Industry through Diverse Career Insights - Recap of the Annual Networking Reception Night
On April 4th, the LSCDS Networking Team hosted the annual Network Reception Night at Hart House, bringing together 34 professionals from various organizations and companies across a wide range of sectors, including Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Consulting, Market Access & Sales, R&D, Clinical Research, Medical Writing, Science Communication, Policy, Quality Assurance, and Data Science. The event featured structured and open networking sessions, providing students with the opportunity to connect with 2-3 professionals at each table and learn about their unique career journeys and insights.
Navigating Diverse Career Paths in Market Access and Sales
Aaron De Jong, a Market Access Manager at PIVINA Consulting, shared his transition from a biochemistry background to a Master of Biotechnology and his current role in bridging pharmaceuticals and public payers post-Health Canada drug approval. He emphasized the dynamic nature of his role, involving health technology assessments (HTA) and client company access.
Similarly, Martha Kubarakos, the Sales Training Excellence Manager at Johnson & Johnson, discussed her diverse experiences transitioning from a biomedical researcher to a medical writer and editor, and finally to her current role. She highlighted the ability to translate the skills gained during graduate training to technical skills required for the industries, such as understanding product monographs and distinguishing between different trials, which are directly applicable to her current position. Her current role involves training sales teams on off-label usage and providing medical information to medical partners regarding the efficacy and safety of the product. Martha also emphasized the collaborative nature of her work, which involves interacting with various teams including market access and management teams, and the potential for career growth within a large company like Johnson & Johnson.
Both speakers emphasized the opportunities for personal growth, shadowing, and a broader scope within the medical affairs and commercial networking sectors. As professionals advance in their roles, particularly in market access, they may encounter conflicts of interest between different teams and the pharmaceutical company's benefits. Navigating these challenges requires adaptability, collaboration, and a strong understanding of the industry landscape.
Medical Writing: Transforming Scientific Knowledge into Engaging and Accessible Content
The Network Reception Night also highlighted the dynamic and collaborative nature of medical writing, with insights from Dr. Kristine Jolliffe, SVP of Strategic & Scientific Integration at Scientific Global Communications, and Dr. Sana-Kay Whyte, a regulatory affairs specialist at Tag.
Both speakers emphasized the dynamic nature of medical writing, which involves collaborating with diverse teams, including graphic designers, infographic specialists, and clients from various backgrounds, such as clinicians. They highlighted the importance of adapting content to different reader groups. Speakers also highlighted their dynamic roles involving the development of engaging formats, such as games, pitches, and creative presentations as well as contributions to the editorial review and submission process.
The work-life balance in medical writing is often client- and company-oriented, with workloads varying seasonally, especially during the event of a product launch or closer to submission. However, individuals can establish boundaries to maintain a healthy balance. The speakers also shared that some challenging aspects of the writing process can be meticulous, requiring detailed referencing of each page for internal review, but overall they all considered a fulfilling career.
Regarding career advancement, the speakers provided insights into the hiring process, which often includes assessments of writing proficiency through a writing assessment by providing engaging content and stories after digesting paper findings. They encouraged aspiring medical writers to distinguish themselves by showcasing unique perspectives and communication skills through platforms such as podcasts, websites, or newsletters, outside their research studies.
Guiding the Trial: The Key Roles of Clinical Research Managers and Operations
Clinical Trial Managers (CTMs) like Rachel wear many hats to ensure local clinical trials run smoothly from start to finish. Her responsibilities at Amgen include creating budgets and timelines, identifying suitable trial sites, providing training and supplying treatments at those sites, and monitoring for any deviations from trial procedures. Rachel’s role is highly collaborative with various local and global collaborations, including with various ethics boards, medical science liaisons, budgeting and data science departments as well as on-site and global teams.
Unlike CTMs, Riya Misra, a Clinical Operation Lead (COL) at Roche, expressed how COLs face the additional challenge of navigating international regulations for clinical trials. COLs also play a role in protocol building. For example, Riya focuses on creating patient-friendly protocols, especially for trials involving food intake. Riya further acknowledges a recent shift in participant recruitment. Many companies now prioritize diversity inclusion over aiming for easy enrollment.
Ensuring Drug Safety and Quality Throughout the Drug Development Process
Mark Kua, an Events, Deviations, CAPA & Change Management (EDCC&M) expert at Sanofi, brought a unique perspective to the Networking Night as the sole representative of the quality assurance sector. Mark indicated that his primary responsibility in quality assurance is to ensure smooth operations and product quality. An Events & Deviations manager is usually the first point of contact for filing unexpected occurrences during production and/or testing, and is responsible for identifying departures from approved procedures. He emphasized how his day-to-day tasks vary greatly; for example, his recent responsibility involved writing an annual report of the company’s goals and fiscal quarter. Additionally, his work involves collaborating with different industry stakeholders, including the supply team, medical science liaisons, market axis professionals, and regulatory bodies like Health Canada, to ensure that the product meets quality standards.
Orchestrating Projects and Trials as a Research Administrators
Dr Lisa Leung, the Executive Director for the CANSTOREnergy Research Program, provided attendees with detailed information on her work as a research administration professional. As the executive director of a research program, she acts as the bridge between industry, the community, and researchers, driving collaborative programs between principal investigators and companies. Similar to Mark, Dr. Leung mentioned how her daily tasks change depending on the project stage, with some days filled with meeting diverse stakeholders, while others involve writing financial reports. Dr. Leung ended the networking session with invaluable advice for graduating job seekers. Dr. Leung advised graduating job seekers to focus on maximizing their skills and experience gained through extracurricular activities like clubs and internships. While internal referrals are helpful, they are not essential. By highlighting their extracurricular accomplishments, graduates can become strong candidates during their job search.
The Collaborative Journey of Bringing Drugs to the Market
Importantly, the Networking Reception highlighted a recurring theme: the pharmaceutical industry's interconnected nature. Effective and open communication between departments, from drug trials to quality control to market access, is crucial throughout the drug development process. This smooth operation, facilitated by cross-functional dialogue, expedites healthcare innovations to the public market to ultimately improve patient outcomes.