By: Marie Huang<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Each month, the Rho Chi Post has the wonderful opportunity to sit down with an inspiring leader among the student pharmacists here at St. John\u2019s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions \u2013 someone who is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd and can be the change he or she wants to see in the world.\u00a0 This April, Michelle Pernice, a 6th<\/sup> year PharmD candidate and student chapter advisor of the Drug Information Association, speaks to us about the pharmaceutical industry, graduation, and seafood.<\/p>\n Q: Some of your colleagues have said that you are one of the most involved students in your year.\u00a0 We are curious to know the specifics; what are some organizations and projects you are directly involved in?\u00a0 Please tell us more about them! I have been involved throughout pharmacy school in various professional organizations, some student chapters within the college, and others that were not.\u00a0 One of the first groups that I was involved in was APhA.\u00a0 I was fortunate enough to act as the fundraising chairperson on the executive board from 2009 to 2010.\u00a0 It was a great learning experience.\u00a0 I still recall lessons that I learned during that time, including how to work with a group of people with different backgrounds than myself on a subject; here, it was fundraising.\u00a0 I came from a large-scale, big-picture fundraising group, and worked with a group of people who had greater time and energy restrictions than I was accustomed to.\u00a0 It was good practice in compromise and learning how to communicate different ideas.<\/p>\n Outside of the professional organizations at our college, I immersed myself more fully in groups as the years went on.\u00a0 PSSNY has been a great organization to me; they have very accessible annual meetings and conventions.\u00a0 This past January, I had the opportunity to present at a Continuing Education (CE) meeting on Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies (REMS) at their Mid-Winter meeting in Albany!\u00a0 Most importantly, I became involved in the Drug Information Association (DIA) two years ago.\u00a0 As I developed the strong conviction to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry, I realized that I wanted to align myself with this organization.\u00a0 Since my initial attendance of their annual convention in June of 2010, I have published an abstract in their Drug Information Journal, an editorial piece in their Global Forum publication, presented as a student poster presenter at the 2011 annual meeting, and started a DIA Student Chapter at our college.\u00a0 My involvement with DIA was the single best thing I did for my career, thus far.\u00a0 Through a series of events, I gained experience working at FDA and Amgen, as well as my impending fellowship with Novartis.<\/p>\n Q: Wow!\u00a0 That is impressive!\u00a0 It seems like working closely with Dr. Serajuddin during your third year made all the difference in that it led and allowed you to explore your options relatively early.\u00a0 Did you already have a strong interest in the pharmaceutical industry?\u00a0 How did you come to the point where you said to yourself, \u201cI\u2019ve found my niche \u2013 is this what I want to do after graduation?\u201d Q: Let us focus more about the Drug Information Association.\u00a0 The first time I have heard about the DIA was actually when I received an e-mail our college\u2019s administration regarding an upcoming meeting.\u00a0 What is the importance of DIA, and what is its mission?\u00a0 In addition, as chapter advisor, what do you hope to accomplish? My personal involvement with DIA on the national level was incredibly influential for my career.\u00a0 I feel very strongly about sharing what I have gained from the organization with current students interested in a career in the pharmaceutical industry.\u00a0 The chapter has been wildly successful, with over 100 members already!\u00a0 As chapter advisor, my goal is simple: I want to help students in the way that so many people have helped me, but only in a more accessible way.<\/p>\n DIA is fortunate to have Dr. Patel co-advising the student chapter.\u00a0 She is a great resource, as she is also a faculty member with hands in both, clinical and industry careers.\u00a0 Michael Cronin is a motivated fourth-year PharmD candidate and the first chapter president of DIA.\u00a0 He has been working diligently toward a successful launch of the chapter.<\/p>\n Q: I see here that informing student members of \u201copportunities that exist within the pharmaceutical industry to better serve public health needs\u201d is one of the chapter goals.\u00a0 Pharmacy seems to be a commonly overlooked aspect of public health.\u00a0 What is the role of a pharmacist and the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in public health? Q: Of all of the APPE rotations that you have had, which one has been the most rewarding and why? My first rotation was with Dr. Ezzo at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC), a fantastic learning experience.\u00a0 I learned so much about building SOAP notes and patient care in primary disease states.\u00a0 Dr.\u00a0 See at Beth Israel in Family Medicine was also such an important experience.\u00a0 I learned how to prioritize patients\u2019 complex profiles, a life lesson.\u00a0 Dr.\u00a0 See would politely say, \u201cYou have a very wide differential,\u201d her nice way of saying, \u201cYou\u2019re crazy, get your head out of the sticks, and look at the whole forest for once!\u201d Dr.\u00a0 El-Chaar at LIJMC in Pediatrics was a turning point in my life, as a whole.\u00a0 I always had this inner battle between an industry career and specializing in pediatrics.\u00a0 Ultimately, I chose industry but my focus has (and hopefully always will be) underrepresented diseases and pediatrics.\u00a0 I also have this crazy idea that I will get a per diem position working with cystic fibrosis in some capacity.<\/p>\n Of course, the FDA rotation at Office of Special Health Issues made a huge impact on my career.\u00a0 The amount of incredible people I met there and learned from was overwhelming.\u00a0 The time spent at Pfizer working in Medical Communications was an enriched experience.\u00a0 The preceptors there allowed for a lot of flexibility for me to expand on all of my ambitious ideas, including focusing my final project on personalized medicine and their new product, crizotinib (Xalkori\u00ae).\u00a0 Finally, my last rotation at Town Total Health conducting MTMs turned into my site for my ongoing research project.<\/p>\n Q: How does it feel being so close to graduation and your PharmD?\u00a0 Do you have any regrets of the past or any great plans mapped out for the future? In July, I begin a fellowship with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, through the Rutgers Post-Doctoral Industry Fellowship Program in Drug Regulatory Affairs, with foci on autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and transplant.\u00a0 I am excited for the opportunity to learn, and hope to make an impact during my short, two-year tenure.<\/p>\n I also received an appointment as the new practitioner member on the Public Policy Council for ASHP.\u00a0 I really enjoy sinking my teeth into prominent issues that affect patient care on the large scale (e.g. <\/i>biosimilars, drug shortages, and patient medication information).\u00a0 The idea that I may be a part of a decision-making team pertaining to these issues in the next year is mind-blowing.<\/p>\n Q: So, now, moving away from pharmacy and onto questions that are more \u201cvital\u201d: if you had to give up either pasta or seafood, which would it be? Q: [Laughs] <\/i>Great answer!\u00a0 Would you rather forget who you were or who everyone else was? Q: A very articulate response and I completely agree!\u00a0 Finally yet importantly, if you could choose someone famous, alive or dead, to have an hour conversation with, whom would it be? Q: Thank you so much for taking the time to have this interview!\u00a0 Do you have any last words or tidbits of advice for your fellow student pharmacists?
\n<\/b>A: I would not call myself one of the most involved.\u00a0 I could think of a number of students more involved than myself. \u00a0Many students are incredibly involved, not only in multiple professional student organizations, but also on the e-board of these organizations.\u00a0 I look up to these students.\u00a0 Any involvement I have had at St. John\u2019s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions comes down to an initial relationship I built with Dr. Serajuddin (from my first Pharmaceutics class in the pharmacy program).\u00a0 We began researching pertinent topics in the pharmaceutical industry together, building ideas of problems and solutions.\u00a0 Through our collaboration, I was able to meet various people in the college that would help guide me into the career I am looking for in the pharmaceutical industry.\u00a0 Most notably, Patricia Nolan, from the Alumni Affairs office, had the ability to connect students with unique career goals with the appropriate, prominent alumni.\u00a0 This was exactly what she did for me \u2013 she led me to branch off into the projects and relationships I mention here and more.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: Coming into pharmacy school, I did not know that I wanted to pursue a career in the industry.\u00a0 No particular avenue bought my full attention.\u00a0 Throughout my classes, I would continually hear that I was overanalyzing concepts \u2013 \u201cthinking too far into it.\u201d \u00a0I soon had the perpetual feeling that I was a law student in pharmacy school.\u00a0 This was when I decided to combine the two disciplines and pursue a career in the industry.\u00a0 I developed this more as the years went on, particularly to hone into regulatory affairs (after researching different options and seeing which suited my strengths the best).<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: The DIA Student Chapter is a brand new initiative at St. John\u2019s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.\u00a0 DIA is a non-profit organization that serves to bring together all facets of the pharmaceutical industry (from the private sector to patient advocate groups, government agencies to stakeholder groups) to share ideas and work together towards the betterment of public health.\u00a0 Chartering student chapters is also a new initiative for DIA, as we are only the sixth one in the country.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: The betterment of public health is really the end goal of every decision made in the pharmaceutical industry.\u00a0 In the public, some may not see this motivation so clearly, but it truly is what every facet of the industry strives to achieve (whether it be a dramatic improvement in a dire health need in an underdeveloped country or an incremental improvement in an expensive cancer therapy focused in the more fortunate countries).\u00a0 All of these contributions to health are affecting public health in one way or another.\u00a0 Pharmacists have the capacity to influence public health in a positive way in any way they desire, really.\u00a0 From joining an effort like \u201cUniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases\u201d to taking on a career developing an innovative new orphan drug therapy, if you, as a pharmacist, want to make a public health impact, you will.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: I am being genuine when I say that every single rotation I had been extremely rewarding in a unique way.\u00a0 If you challenge yourself to make the most of every opportunity, you will receive rewards.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: Imminent graduation is surreal.\u00a0 Six years went by quickly, but it also feels like I have been in the program for my entire life, especially because so much has changed.\u00a0 As a rule, I have no regrets.\u00a0 There are endless lessons learned and to learn in the future, though.\u00a0 I am constantly setting short- and long-term goals; I feel that this is the only way I can accomplish anything.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: I am a vegetarian, actually!\u00a0 Well, technically, I am a \u201cpescetarian\u201d because I keep seafood in my diet.\u00a0 If I had to choose between pasta and seafood, I would be a bad vegetarian and choose seafood.\u00a0 I guess it subconsciously stems from my inner fear of pernicious anemia (my last name is a major risk factor).<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: The latter \u2013 so much time and energy goes into cultivating oneself.\u00a0 The vast majority of those efforts include the influences that other people had and will have on me.\u00a0 If I forgot who I was, I would in essence forget what everyone else really meant to me, as well.\u00a0 If I forget who everyone else is, I still carry them and their influence with me (in terms of how I act and what decisions I make).\u00a0 Some people have had such a profound impact on my life that I really could not conceive the idea of forgetting them, even if I had no memory.\u00a0 While that sounds nonsensical, their involvement in my life dominates my actions, and I think that is beyond a memory relationship.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: I have a warped sense of fame; so, this response may be a bit unconventional.\u00a0 Recently listed as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Biopharma today by FierceBiotech, Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, is an example of a person who fits my definition of \u201cfamous.\u201d \u00a0A conversation with her would be invaluable.\u00a0 My interest was first piqued when a friend sent me a New York Times profile on Dr. Desmond-Hellmann.\u00a0 It is easy to admire her influence on the industry and courage to blaze a new trial in the public-private partnership arena.\u00a0 What I would hope to truly gain out of the conversation, though, is not intricate industry wisdom.\u00a0 Instead, I would like to observe for myself the dichotomy often used in her descriptions.\u00a0 Just the idea that she succeeds in this harsh industry (by acting with kindness, while commanding action) is my highest aspiration.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>A: Breathe in deeply, and hold your breath for a moment, appreciating that you can.\u00a0 Then, realize, in exhaling, that you have the potential to blow everyone away.<\/p>\n