REGULATORY SCIENCE ALUMNI ATTEND HOMECOMING AND ALL ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND

Written By: James Polli, PhD, the Shangraw/Noxell Endowed Chair in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics

Alumni and current students from the School of Pharmacy’s MS in Regulatory Science program gathered in Pharmacy Hall on Sept. 17 during the School’s annual Homecoming and All Alumni Reunion Weekend to reconnect with each other and reminisce about their time in the program. The gathering featured presentations from Soo Jin Park, MS ’16, regulatory compliance officer with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Mark Williams, MS ’16, senior manager at MedImmune, and Gary Hollenbeck, PhD, adjunct professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC).

Continuing to Learn from Each Other

Park, Williams, and Hollenbeck discussed available careers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Public Health Service, biologics development in industry, and advancements in chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) in industry and academia, respectively.

“Drug and biologics development is an ever-expanding field,” said Park. “It is important that you continue to expand your own capabilities in this area, beyond your current job duties.”

“Always strive to be helpful, even if that means branching outside of your specific job responsibilities, such as to another department,” added Williams. “Soo and I were members of the same study team during our time in the program, and you never know when we might swap jobs in the future.”

To which Park jokingly responded, “I can’t wait to go to MedImmune when Mark takes my place at the FDA.”

Helping Working Professionals Advance Their Careers

The MS in Regulatory Science program is a part-time, online program that is designed for working professionals who typically have not taken a university-level class in several years. Sue Mathew, who started the program only one month ago, commented, “At the beginning of the semester, I was feeling unsure about my ability to complete the program on time. After one month, I now feel much better about my progress. This program is truly convenient for working professionals, but still incorporates the same interactions with faculty and classmates that I found in the courses that I took in college.”

A tour of the FDA is being planned for students enrolled in the program in Spring 2017.