UNC School of Medicine students and postdocs co-created this series, which will begin June 1, to offer all interested individuals opportunities to engage in conversations and workshops with professionals in medical and regulatory affairs careers.
The first-ever Medical and Regulatory Affairs Summer Series (Tuesdays in June) will kick off Tuesday, June 1 at 5:30 p.m. The MedRAC Series Planning Committee consists of UNC graduate student and postdoctoral leaders Danielle Chappell, Ashley Trojniak, Natalie Tanke, Dr. Oleg Kolupaev, and Dr. Dorsaf Ghalloussi, in collaboration with Texas Medical Center Medical Science Liaison Club leader Matthew Dysthe.
Co-sponsored by UNC Chapel Hill (UNC), Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and the University of California Irvine (UCI), with speakers and participants from all three regions, attendees and participants will have the opportunity to engage in conversations and workshops with professionals in medical and regulatory affairs careers. From recent graduates and early career professionals to seasoned hiring managers, the series will cover each career stage from skill development for clinical presentations and therapeutic areas, to getting your foot in the door and developing on-brand job materials, to understanding expectations of medical and regulatory career roles. Series participants will have the chance to practice presenting clinical papers, develop their personal elevator pitch, and create an on-brand industry-style resume.
Two recent leaders, Dr. Verrill “Chip” Norwood IV and Dr. Kimberly Koehn, are example of the successful career development transition — in the process of serving on their MSL@UNC Leadership roles they have been offered and transitioned into medical and regulatory affairs roles. Furthermore, many of our initial trainee founders also transitioned successfully into medical and regulatory affairs careers, including Dr. Deirdre (Sackett) Rodeberg and Dr. Dmitriy Usenko. We hope this inspires other trainee leaders to fully engage in roles like this and to take advantage of the professional development opportunities, networks, and leadership experiences available.
Professional development recognition and awards will be offered to top rated participants, including copies of, “The Medical Science Liaison Career Guide: How to Break Into Your First Role” authored by one of our invited speakers, Dr. Saumel Dyer, CEO of the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Society. Dyer and the MSL Society initially collaborated with UNC TIBBS to found our student chapter of the MSL Society and the first career cohort dedicated to Medical Science Liaison careers at UNC in fall of 2016.
The foundational MSL group on campus, MSL@UNC notes that, “the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a specific role within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, CRO and other health-care industries,” and MSL@UNC was founded to provide “education, career development and advocacy opportunities to trainees interested in the MSL profession.” The series also serves as an expansion of the career cohort, which will continue to include MSL career preparation but also now includes medical and regulatory affairs.
The series, jointly sponsored by multiple collaborating institutions including UNC, UCI, and BCM (hence representing trainees and professionals across the nation), is also co-hosted by the former MSL@UNC as well as serving to introduce the rebranded club name of MedRAC@UNC. Since the re-launch in summer of 2020, the group has included this broader career preparation vision, and they are excited to continue co-hosting events and speakers with the MSLS, UNC alumni, and other professionals in medical and regulatory affairs for ongoing MedRAC events throughout the year.
Read more and register at: http://tibbs.unc.edu/2021-medical-regulatory-affairs-series/ Designed for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees in biological, biomedical, and clinical research. Also open to early career researchers and early career professionals. Any questions may be directed to: rlayton@unc.edu.