Tell us a little bit about the work that you are currently doing.
My responsibilities are to oversee clinical trial operations, including site management, initiation and qualification, patient recruitment, the timeline of the study, etc. My job’s primary goal is to ensure that clinical trials can be implemented smoothly and successfully at different clinical sites. With that, high-quality data must be collected and used to support new drug approval.
Why did you decide to get this M.S. degree?
Previously, I didn’t have any work experience in the U.S. industry. DDPM is an efficient one-year program that would give me a comprehensive understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug development process in the U.S. In addition, I was interested in the business side of the industry, which is a large part of the DDPM curriculum.
What did you like best about the program?
There are many guest lecturers from pharma and biotech companies that provided us with professional insights and practical knowledge. That knowledge is what the industry needs. Also, the case studies and the questions from the business class are superb. They really gave me a chance to think about the industry from different perspectives.
What skills are you using that you learned in the program?
I appreciate that I learned the concept of clinical trial design and about FDA regulations. They were extremely helpful for me in understanding the rationale of trial design and clinical strategy, which are very important when collaborating and communicating with different departments. In addition, the program improves your presentation skills by requiring more than 20 presentations throughout the year, which I found to be very useful.
How did you leverage the program to get a new job?
Since the DDPM program is highly related to the biopharmaceutical industry, all the knowledge I gained from the courses was beneficial on the job search. Students are given a general understanding of the role of different departments, which is very helpful in interviews. In addition, some of the faculty are DDPM career mentors, and their advice is truly useful. The guest lecturers are also open to providing insight and expanding your professional network.
What would you like to tell someone who is considering the program?
If you are interested in the pharmaceutical industry and would like to have a big picture of the whole process of drug development, from research to commercialization, DDPM is an amazing program for you to explore.