UCLA intercampus medical genetics post-doctoral research fellowship

Academic Laboratory Research Training
Understanding the role genetics plays in both health and disease provides a path to integrating scientific discoveries into diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of many diseases, both rare and common, as well as overall improvement in the health of society.

The goal for Research orientated trainees is to guide them to become independent, productive investigators through training in a broad, in-depth educational program covering all aspects of human genetics, molecular biology, cell biology and related fields.

Trainees will receive basic research training in medical genetics of the highest quality and sufficient intensity and duration to produce independent productive investigators. Each fellow will develop his/her own independent research program under the guidance of his/her research mentor(s). Trainees will obtain experience in designing and performing research projects, writing up and presenting the results at meetings, and writing manuscripts and grants.

Job Posting: Medical Research Specialist

Medical Research Specialist
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - Washington, DC 20016

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization working toward compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion. For the last 27 years, PCRM has led the way for reforms of federal nutrition policies, and our clinical research programs are breaking new ground in diabetes, cancer, and other serious medical conditions. We have fought for an emphasis on prevention, higher ethical standards in research, and scientific advances in basic research and effective drug development. Over the years, we have taken on battles to end ethically questionable experiments involving children and inhumane animal experiments and have worked to improve science education. We have worked with physicians, federal regulators, politicians, researchers, educators, students, and concerned citizens. And we have so much more work to do.

PCRM is seeking to hire a Medical Research Specialist to play an integral role with our work advocating for nonanimal research methods. This means evaluating specific uses of animals in research, understanding methods of research that do not involve animals, and working with decision-makers and the press to promote ethical research.

Salary Information for Clinical Trials Professionals

Applied Clinical Trials partnered with CenterWatch on the bi-annual review of compensation and fulfillment. The 2010 Salary and Career Development Survey for the clinical trials professional featured new directions and challenges over the previous survey in 2008. First and foremost were the economy and the mergers and acquisitions within the pharmaceutical industry. Salaries by industry again are subject to the number of respondents and breakdown of job title. By industry, the average salary for the biotech was the highest at $130K-plus. This was followed by the independent CRA ($112K-plus) and pharmaceutical sponsors ($109K-plus). The average reported salary for the CRO industry was $87,724.

 

Table 2. Vice Presidents are the top earners according to the respondents.

Read the 2010 Salary & Satisfaction Survey here.

Career Opportunities in Clinical Drug Research

Career Opportunities in Clinical Drug Research
by  Rebecca J. Anderson

This book is an easy-to-follow handbook that introduces readers to entry-level clinical job opportunities and explains how to qualify for them, with a particular emphasis on how to gain clinical experience that a hiring manager will accept. Each chapter covers one of the clinical specialties involved in conducting pharmaceutical clinical trials: for example, clinical research associate, clinical data manager, biostatistician, and clinical drug safety specialist. The chapters are written as personalized narratives, allowing the reader to follow the daily work of a clinical specialist as he or she supports a clinical study and interacts with the other study team members. The descriptions of these specialists are composite profiles that incorporate the true-to-life experiences of typical clinical study team members. A list of career options available to workers after mastering their entry-level clinical position, as well as a tool box for those seeking a position, are included. Career Opportunities in Clinical Drug Research also gives readers a brief overview of research and development in the pharmaceutical industry and explains how a typical clinical study is conducted.

Merck to close 8 research sites and 8 manufacturing sites

In Chinese, the number 8 is considered a lucky number. Today, Merck announced that they'll be phasing out operations at eight research sites and eight manufacturing sites. They will also continue to consolidate office facilities worldwide, as part of the global Merck and Schering-Plough merger restructuring program.

Here are some interesting snippets from the press release today:

As part of today's announcement, Merck plans to phase out operations at eight research sites over the next two years. These sites include: Montreal, Canada; Boxmeer (Nobilon facility only), Oss, and Schaijk, Netherlands; Odense, Denmark; Waltrop, Germany; Newhouse, Scotland; and Cambridge (Kendall Square), Massachusetts, U.S.

Beginning in the second half of 2010, the company will phase out operations at eight manufacturing facilities and these sites will exit the global network as activities are transferred to other locations. Specifically, the company intends to cease manufacturing activities at its facilities in Comazzo, Italy; Cacem, Portugal; Azcapotzalco, Mexico; Coyoacan, Mexico, and Santo Amaro, Brazil, and intends to sell the Mirador, Argentina and Miami Lakes, Florida, facilities. In Singapore, chemical manufacturing will be phased out at the legacy Merck site, but it will continue at the legacy Schering-Plough site. The company's extensive pharmaceutical manufacturing operations will continue at these two Singapore facilities.

Don't miss this:

Merck continues to expect its total workforce to be reduced by approximately 15 percent across all areas of the combined company worldwide as part of the initial phases of its merger restructuring program. The company said it will continue to hire new employees in strategic growth areas of the business as necessary.

Healthcare Research Jobs in Business

I may have confused some of you with the title: "Healthcare Research Jobs in Business." How can you combine healthcare research with business?

When you speak with medical students and physicians about "research jobs," they often think about clinical research or basic science research. There are other types of research jobs in the world of health care. For instance, you may work in a market research company. Or, you may have a job focusing on medical education research. 

Here's an example of a market research job at Harris Interactive (posted on 10/14/2009, so I doubt it's still vacant, but you never know):

VP, Research - Healthcare Research

Overview:

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

Responsibilities:

Develops and manages existing research capabilities, establishes a significant market presence in the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry for the organization.

    * Develops and executes comprehensive plans and programs, short and long term, to support significant sales and revenue objectives of organization.
    * Develops and recommends product positioning, marketing, and pricing strategy to produce the highest possible long-term market share and profitability.
    * Oversees and evaluates market research and adjusts marketing strategy to meet changing market and competitive conditions.
    * Establishes and maintains relationships with industry influencers and key community and strategic partners.
    * Recruits and manages research staff.
    * Establishes and maintains an overall strategic marketing plan designed to build awareness of research capabilities.
    * Present research findings at industry conferences and events on a regular basis.
    * Provide direction on new research product development.
    * Lead the effort to build normative databases.

From R&D to Venture Capital

John LaMattina, PhD, was the former Pfizer president of global R&D (Research and Development). He has now joined the Boston-based venture firm PureTech Ventures as senior partner. LaMattina spent 30 years at Pfizer and I wonder how many years he will spend at PureTech Ventures. Several members of the PureTech Ventures team are MIT graduates (if you're in Boston, that's going to be expected). Some of the associates and partners have PhDs or MDs. Considering a non-clinical career with a venture capital (VC) firm?

Here's a brief snippet about PureTech Ventures:

We specialize in company creation and early-stage investment in novel therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and research technologies. We focus on major unmet medical needs that have yet to be addressed by emerging science. Enlisting the world’s leading academic and industry experts, we identify novel technologies (often prior to publication) and create companies that drive those discoveries to commercially and clinically driven milestones. Once those milestones are achieved, we build out the leadership team, create syndicates for later stage financing rounds, and position the technology to make the broadest impact through public financing or acquisition.

Going back to Pfizer now: Pfizer is splitting its R&D operations into a biotherapeutics division which will be headed by Mikael Dolsten and a pharmatherapeutics division which will be headed by Martin Mackay.

Job Post: Health Research Analyst

The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) in Washington, D.C., is seeking a Health Research Analyst to participate in research on how the health system is changing and the effects of these changes on health care costs, quality, access and care delivery.

Major Responsibilities

The Health Research Analyst will contribute primarily to qualitative research, although there may be opportunities to participate in quantitative research. The Analyst participates in all phases of the research process, working with researchers to identify research topics, develop analysis plans and interview protocols and conduct literature reviews. The Analyst schedules and participates in respondent interviews, takes notes during interviews and codes interview data. The Analyst also collaborates with other research staff in analyzing findings and drafting written products, including issue briefs and peer-reviewed journal articles. In addition to research responsibilities, the Analyst participates in writing proposals, developing budgets and tracking project costs.

Qualifications for Position

• Master’s degree in economics, public policy, public health, statistics or related discipline with superior academic record
• At least one year’s experience in a similar setting is preferred
• Background and strong interest in health services and policy research
• Strong organizational skills with demonstrated ability to work efficiently, accurately and independently
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and keen ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with others
• Strong computer skills; familiarity with qualitative analysis software a plus

About the Center for Studying Health System Change

Founded in 1995, the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) is a nationally renowned nonpartisan health policy research organization focused on the cost, quality and accessibility of health care in the United States. HSC conducts quantitative research using large national data sets, including surveys of households and physicians, and qualitative research using information gathered in telephone and in-person interviews of public- and private-sector decision makers. We focus on objective, timely and policy-relevant research and disseminate our findings to policy makers, the news media, employers, health care providers, insurers and the public. HSC is funded from diverse sources, including major health care foundations and agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HSC is affiliated with Mathematica Policy Research, a leader in evaluating the effectiveness of local, state and federal health, human services and educational programs. For more information about HSC, please visit our Web site: http:///www.hschange.org

HSC offers a supportive and collegial working environment, a competitive salary commensurate with your qualifications, and comprehensive benefits.

If you're interested in this opportunity, please contact me.

Free Webinar on Observational Research

What do you know about the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA)? How about Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS)? Here's a brief summary of this free webinar:

It has been generally assumed within the industry that the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) would increase the number of observational studies required by the FDA to monitor the long-term, real-world safety of new products (whether as part of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) plan or as a standalone study). Based on the post-marketing commitments included in new product approvals over the past year, however, it is not clear where the FDA will ultimately settle regarding interventional vs. observational safety studies.

Complimentary Webinar:

Future Directions of Observational Research: What we expected or plotting a new course?
Jul 30, 2009
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

This webinar reviews the merits and strengths of observational research in terms of safety surveillance, real-world product effectiveness, patient-reported outcomes and health economic measures.

Presented by: Dave Provost; Vice President, Global Post-Approval; INC Research

Dave Provost is responsible for management of the operational unit as well as for providing strategic consulting to clients regarding the design and implementation of their global late phase programs. He has nearly 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, all within the peri- and post-approval areas, and offers deep expertise in program design and implementation strategies. In addition to clinical research, Provost also has a background in health outcomes, market research and data collection and presentation technologies.

Click here to register.

Writing a Book

I've started writing a book about my personal journey into the non-clinical world of medicine. Let me give you a tiny preview:

As an undergraduate student at MIT, I thought I was going to be a biomedical engineer. I studied mechanical engineering and got involved in cancer research. I applied to medical school and graduated. That was when I started meeting other MIT colleagues who had decided to pursue non-clinical healthcare careers. In some ways, that's when my journey began because I started asking the question: "What are my options if I graduate from medical school but I don't want to practice medicine?"

Residency or Research?

I got a note today from a medical student who asked: "If I'm deeply interested in research and I don't see myself practicing clinical medicine, what should I do? Pursue residency? Get a PhD?"

This can be tough to answer because it really depends on so many variables. First, how do you know that you won't enjoy some type of clinical medicine? Have you considered all the options, or only the most common ones? Towards the end of the clinical clerkship years, medical students have gotten exposed to most of the common medical specialties, but they probably haven't rotated through specialties like pathology, PM&R, preventive medicine, and several others.

If you're absolutely certain that you don't want to pursue residency, then step back and look at your long-term career goals. For instance, if you want to do clinical research in pharma, then you probably should do a residency, publish some papers, become an academic faculty, and then make the transition. You don't need an MBA to be a researcher for industry.

If you want to work in hospital administration, then you'll need to have practical clinical experience. Hence, you need to do a residency to really understand the nuts and bolts of managing a hospital system.

My advice is always to try residency first. If you give it a fair chance before you pursue other options, because it's often very difficult to go back to clinical medicine.

The road to a PhD can be a very long one, so if you know that you want to focus on basic science research, then you may want to start down that path earlier than later. However, I would still encourage you to give residency a chance (and try to look for some creative options).

Job Post: Medical Director at Omnicare Clinical Research posted on 5/20/08

Here's a job post from LinkedIn


Medical Director at Omnicare Clinical Research

OMNICARE CLINICAL RESEARCH is a leading Phase I to IV contract research organization (CRO) serving the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. With a global presence in more than 30 countries in Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific we possess diverse therapeutic expertise and a comprehensive scope of clinical services. With our experience of more than 20 years and about 1.100 employees we are a dynamic team of professionals interested in expanding the business and keen to deliver a high quality product. No matter what the project, we have expertise in handling a wide range of studies from pediatrics to geriatrics.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

The Medical Director manages and takes responsibility for medical and scientific aspects of phase I-IV projects in his therapeutic area in OCR International and/or globally, in collaboration with a matrix-structured team of professionals including clinical operations, proposals, business and project management.
* To undertake feasibility work and formal feasibility studies, primarily in his therapeutic area (cardiology or oncology) but also in other therapeutic areas, as needed.
* To collaborate with Business Development in the preparation of proposals as well as attend Bid defense meetings when required.
* To assist in the preparation of clinical development plans in collaboration with Clinical Writers.
* To liaise with expert opinion in relevant therapeutic areas (primarily cardiology or oncology).
* To review clinical documentation (Protocol, Case Report Forms, Informed Consent, etc.) as required by Medical Writers.
* To communicate with investigators and site personnel as needed as a medical monitor.
* To review Serious Adverse Event Reports as required by the Safety Department.
* To conduct a medical review of patients’ safety and laboratory data.

KEY SKILLS

* Ability to work in a team, with sensitivity and diplomacy.
* Able to write clearly and present ideas in a logical fashion.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Other languages would be a plus.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE

* A medical doctor (MD) board certified in internal medicine and with at least two to three years clinical experience in cardiology or oncology.
* Full registration as physician and basic clinical research experience preferred.
* Board certification or eligibility in cardiology or oncology would be an asset.
* Travel occasionally upon request.
* Must be familiar with the MS Office Tools (software).