IPhO News

The inaugural IPhO Fellows Networking Event was held in late September, hosted at RevHealth in Morristown, NJ. Over 40 PharmDs attended from the tri-state area, including fellows from over 18 different programs, industry pharmacists, IPhO staff, and two IPhO student officers. The attendees enjoyed an opportunity to network and learn, which was capped off with a night out in Morristown with the PharmDs of RevHealth!

Fellowship Sponsor Company: United Therapeutics (UNC)

Function/Discipline: Clinical Research & Drug Development

Fellowship Years: 2018—2020

Alma Mater: University of the Pacific, Class of 2018

My pharmacy school had an accelerated program, which meant I completed the typical 4 year pharmacy curriculum in 3 years. Consequently, we had no summer breaks, so my industry knowledge was limited by not having the time to intern at a biopharmaceutical company.

I always believed that I would pursue a traditional career path through residency. However, all of that changed when I began working on a clinical trial, spearheaded by a professor at my school, and my interest in clinical research and industry grew immensely.

This opportunity, along with my involvement with IPhO, solidified my decision to pursue a career in industry. Obtaining a fellowship in clinical research was the next logical step for me.

I’m happy to have found a career path that combines my passion for novel research with the ability to apply my clinical knowledge. I look forward to all the new skills I’ll learn during my fellowship.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: UCB/IPhO

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Strategy

Fellowship Years: 2018—2020

Alma Mater: University of Illinois at Chicago - College of Pharmacy, Class of 2018

Pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry comes easy to some, but can be a discovery process for others. For me, I felt it was a little of both. I knew I wanted to pursue a non-traditional career path and I knew I wanted it to be in industry, but the discovery for me was deciding which function was the best fit. Industry provides opportunities for pharmacists to grow exponentially, which is what initially intrigued me and drew me in. Regardless of which company you choose, you will be faced with challenges and opportunities that will require the scientific knowledge gained in pharmacy school, and will allow you to apply skills such as critical thinking and strategic planning. The growth acquired from these opportunities can completely change the dynamic of a pharmacist's career. After learning more about industry I came to understand that not everything is black and white, and pharmacists have been and can continue to be trained to create the grey that is necessary to ensure medications in development are truly meeting an unmet global need.

IPhO and Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) continue to build upon their strong foundation of professional development resources, created to advance the skills of student pharmacists interested in pursuing an industry career.

The partnership was established to grow the leadership skills of the student members of both organizations by creating a series of learning opportunities, all of which are and will continue to be available on the IPhO website. The first professional development webinar, "Leadership and Industry Pharmacists," was delivered to a group of SNPhA pharmacists, and can be viewed here. Its success and value to the audience in attendance reinforced the need for additional resources of this kind.

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy. IPhO now connects them to a national network of over 4,000 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!

The 1^st annual National Fellows Council (NFC) Live Summer Kick-Off Meeting was held in early August at Sanofi Genzyme in Cambridge, MA. Thirty NFC fellows from Boston, New York, New Jersey and North Carolina gathered face-to-face to kick off the new fellowship year. Typically, NFC work is done remotely as members are located across the country, so this opportunity to meet in person, network, and discuss the year's initiatives was invaluable.

Since its launch in 2012, IPhO has experienced significant growth in its National Student Chapter Network and is currently 58 chapters strong! The IPhO network and all its tools and resources have been met with enthusiasm by student pharmacists across the country and have raised awareness among student pharmacists nationwide about the industry career opportunities available to them.

To maintain messaging consistency, while keeping up with the continuous expansion of the network, IPhO is proud to introduce the new 2018 IPhO Student Chapter Handbook. This handbook offers in-depth guidance on the process of starting and maintaining a student chapter and includes the most up-to-date IPhO policies, branding guidelines, leadership opportunities, resources and services. Chapters are encouraged to become familiar with this handbook and refer to it as a resource when needed.

Company and Department: Sanofi Genzyme, Medical Affairs

Current Role: Medical Science Liaison

Alma Mater: University of Southern California, Class of 2006

After earning an undergraduate degree in biology, I started working at Amgen in the preclinical research department. It was there that I discovered my love for working in the pharmaceutical industry. More than anything, I enjoyed being surrounded by innovation and cutting-edge science, where the ultimate goal was simple: to help patients. I was encouraged by a PhD coworker to continue my education and I decided to pursue a doctorate of pharmacy. I was admitted to USC pharmacy school, where I spent every day gaining knowledge and growing more appreciative of my education. With the help of two other classmates, I started the Student Industry Association where pharmacy students could learn about careers in industry.

In July 2018, pharmacy students from across the country gathered for the National Pharmacists Association/Student National Pharmaceutical Association Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Educational services, professional training, professional development and best-health practices were discussed at the conference.

IPhO was invited to have an exhibit table at the conference to raise awareness among pharmacist and student pharmacist attendees about the opportunities for pharmacists in industry and the active roles they play. IPhO National Student Officer Mitchell Linton and IPhO Regional Student Officer Kimberly Watson (both Howard University, Class of 2019) represented IPhO at the event to help raise awareness among student pharmacists about how they can leverage their education and clinical expertise in industry to have a broad impact on healthcare.

Company and Department: PTC Therapeutics, Business Operations

Current Role: Senior Director, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships

Alma Mater: University of Florida, Class of 2010

During my first rotation, I came up with what I thought was a great idea for an article. I spent a number of hours researching the topic and finally mustered up the courage to share the idea with one of my professors, Dr. Epstein. While he appreciated the enthusiasm, he gave me a particularly skeptical look when I told him I would like to publish the paper in The New England Journal of Medicine. We ultimately collaborated on a different project, which became the start of a great relationship that would end in a journey to industry and beyond.

I then decided to pursue a fellowship at the East Coast Institute for Research (ECIR) with Drs. Epstein and Choksi. My two years would be spent teaching, researching (phase 2-4), and publishing manuscripts. ECIR also had a separate arm that consulted for a wide range of pharmaceutical companies like AZ and Novartis. This was where I got my first exposure to industry and I absolutely fell in love.

Company and Department: Accelovance, Inc., Medical Writing

Current Role: Medical Writer

Alma Mater: University of Maryland, Class of 2018

Throughout pharmacy school, I sought a non-traditional career path and perceived the pharmaceutical industry to be a world of endless excitement and innovation. The core of my pharmacy training was clinically-focused, so I gained skills that would help me prosper in industry.

I spent most of my extracurricular time engaging in international pharmacy enterprises by traveling to six different countries throughout pharmacy school: Honduras, Argentina, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Singapore, and Australia. My key strategy for retaining the clinical skills I acquired in each location was to thoroughly document my experiences and reflections and share them with my professional network. I sought out opportunities to publish my reflections via a variety of pharmacy platforms and learned very quickly that I enjoyed writing – so much so that I would then pivot into industry by showcasing my communication and articulation skills.

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. IPhO now connects them to a national network of over 4,000 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!

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. IPhO now connects them to a national network of over 4,000 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!

IPhO is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with INDEED, a leader in the job search industry, to bring you relevant, high-quality career opportunities for industry pharmacists. Now, you can browse thousands of jobs from Indeed, all with top industry employers!

Save hours of time sifting through job search results and trying to find opportunities that are relevant to you. IPhO has already done the work for you. We've created pre-defined searches based on functional areas that are in high demand by industry pharmacists.

The 2017-18 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 55! These leaders worked tirelessly to ensure that all IPhO student pharmacists were well informed about the resources and tools available to them.

During the 2017-18 term, IPhO NSOs and RSOs:

• Managed all ongoing operational, marketing, and social media communications between IPhO and its Student Chapters and handled onboarding training for multiple new Chapters
• Precepted 50 IPhO interns working on a variety of priority projects
• Collaborated on the development and implementation of the 5th Annual IPhO National Student Meeting, the most successful National Meeting to-date
• Coordinated with the National Fellows Council (NFC) on the VIP Case Competition, which had the largest number of participating chapters ever
• Updated and maintained internship, fellowship, and certificate catalogs that connect students and fellows with meaningful career advancement opportunities

Thank you to the following 2017-18 NSOs and RSOs!

As the 2017-18 fellowship year comes to a close, IPhO would like to recognize and thank its National Fellows Council (NFC) committee members, who have dedicated time and attention to making the year's initiatives incredibly successful.

Congratulations to the following committee members, who are completing their fellowships and accepting full-time industry roles.

Company and Department: Pfizer, Medical Affairs

Current Role: Medical Outcomes Specialist

Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Class of 2004

When I entered pharmacy school in 2000, an industry career was not on my radar. I was working as a pharmacy technician at a large retail chain and planned to continue my career there as a pharmacist. During my fourth year of pharmacy school, I was in a 6-week rotation with a pharmacist working in Medical Affairs at Pfizer. This was when I first became fascinated by the idea of an industry career path.

Despite my fascination, I did continue to work as a retail pharmacist after graduation. I worked in various locations and positions, including a staff pharmacist and pharmacy manager. Although I enjoyed working closely and directly with patients, I realized after 7 years that I was ready to make a career change.

IPhO is pleased to announce five fellowship partnerships for 2018-19! For the programs listed below, IPhO is a full partner in both recruiting and program administration. All candidates were identified through the 3,000+ National Student Network, and all recruiting was successfully accomplished through the IPhO FellowMatch service (without the need for the ASHP Midyear Meeting).

These IPhO fellows will be leaders within the IPhO National Fellows Council, and they are involved with IPhO leadership at multiple levels.

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. IPhO now connects them to a national network of over 4,000 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!

This year's VIP Case Competition saw no shortage of thoughtful, creative, and well-crafted submissions, with University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy taking home the second place cash prize.

The creative process of UIC Student Chapter Members began long before the start of their product development, when they approached their faculty advisor with an innovative concept: encourage students to participate in the VIP Case Competition to earn credit toward their elective requirement.