biopharmacy sop

We have an amazing power to impact this world through Pharmaceutical Sciences. New diseases are
being discovered in different parts of the world, while present diseases like Cancer, Ebola, Polio and
many more, still have no cure. But through pharmaceutical research and development, these illnesses
may have viable treatments in the future. My desire is to be a part of this research, so that I can save the
lives of numerous people. As the SURF program is intended for the students interested in
pharmaceutical sciences, it will provide me a career building experience and will serve as a stepping-
stone to my dream job.

I decided to pursue pharmacy to learn about medications and their affects on the human body.
Currently, I am pursuing a Doctor of

From the internship, I expect to gain a lot of knowledge in subjects like Pharmacology, Toxicology,
Pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry. This hands-on experience will help me retain more information,
which I will use in later years of study. And this internship is the best way to evaluate what I have
learned in school and what I need to learn more about. While working in the lab, I expect to gain
expertise in working with the new instruments. The thinking that will be involved in assigned research
project will further sharpen my critical thinking and analyzing skills, which will be useful during my PhD
and throughout my Pharmaceutical research career. The career development workshop will educate me
about the opportunities in research and prepare me to be an excellent candidate for future
employment. And the seminar for research career will guide me to make sound career decisions. During
the internship, I will also meet other students with similar interests, so I will be able to gain knowledge
from them as well. Moreover, I also hope to gain skills like communication, teamwork, professional
etiquette and work ethic, which can usually only be developed through actual

John’s University is known for its rigor. When the university offered me to be a part of the Honors
pharmacy program, I accepted it because I wanted to academically challenge myself. In the Science
Symposium held in high school, I presented my research on “Chemistry of Pain medicines” to the
Advanced Placement Chemistry and Biology students and teachers. I also believe that overall
development is very important for a student’s progress. During the fall semester, I was appointed as a
Social Media chairperson for Circle K International (community service club) and was the youngest
student to be appointed as a pre- professional Liaison for Student College of Clinical Pharmacy. Also,
because of my dedicated community service throughout my high school years, Middlesex County
awarded me with the prestigious “Caring Award”. While balancing all these involvements along with
playing tennis, I was able to maintain a GPA of

How did you get into science?

As a person, I am naturally very curious and interested

in why and how things work, and therefore, I have been

interested in science from childhood. I still remember

when I got my first microscope as a child and how

excited I was to be able to see things that are not visible

to the human eye.

What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked

on?

At Sosei Heptares, we are working with G protein-

coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are important key

players in the human body. Their malfunctioning can

lead to various human diseases, ranging from metabolic,

immunological and neurodegenerative disorders to

cancer and infectious diseases. GPCRs are notoriously

difficult to study, which makes working with them

extremely exciting and gratifying. As such, studying

GPCRs is the most interesting project I have worked on.

What has been the greatest challenge in your

career so far?

I am originally from Germany and moved to Canada for

my post-doctoral research, while having a very young

child. It was a challenge to adjust to a different language

and culture, but this experience eventually helped me to

add exciting scientific research to my CV and to also grow

on a personal level. In fact, we even added a second child to

our family during that time and later moved overseas again,

this time to the UK. Adjusting to a new environment was

luckily much easier the second time around.

What inspires you about your job?

Like most scientists, I am inspired by gaining knowledge

and by the prospect of using that acquired knowledge

to improve humanity. Now that I am working for a

biopharmaceutical company, it truly motivates me to

know that my work contributes to the development of

drugs, which will eventually improve the lives of patients.