Medicinal Chemistry Students Host Career Forum
On Friday, May 18, the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan Chapter (ACS MedChem) graduate student organization hosted a Career Forum. The student-organized, full-day event began with a keynote lecture by Bruce Roth, former VP at Genentech, and inventor of the best-selling drug for high cholesterol, Lipitor. Dr. Roth discussed the development of the blockbuster drug and how it compares to the current drug development pipeline in industry. Panelists covering a wide range of careers joined Dr. Roth in a lively discussion with the students on career development, and answered questions such as “how do we make sure our resumes are seen by the right people?” and “how did you end up at your current position?”
During lunch, students were encouraged to continue their discussions with the panelists in a more personal environment. Afterwards, Sara Wong and Samantha Devenport from the Cellular and Molecular Biology program led an Active Career Exploration workshop, encouraging students to build their networks and set up “informational interviews” to learn more about jobs in which they might be interested. Students then had the opportunity to receive one-on-one CV/resume advice from the panelists. Students benefited from receiving feedback from professionals on how to present themselves and their background to potential employers.
Panelists included:
Prof. David Bartley, Chair and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Adrian College
Prof. Carole Parent, Former Deputy Director of the Center for Cancer Research and current Raymond W Ruddon Collegiate Professor of Cancer Biology and Pharmacology, Professor of Pharmacology, and Adjunct Research Professor, Life Science Institute at University of Michigan
Dr. Sarah Mikelman, Medical Writer at Oxford PharmaGenesis
Dr. Anthony Emanuele, Senior Development Scientist at Beckman Coulter Inc.
The event was funded by the ACS Medicinal Chemistry Division and the Dean's Strategic Initiative Grant from Rackham Graduate School.
