MedImmune, School of Pharmacy Launch New Fellowship Program

Partnership will train recent pharmacy school graduates in clinical drug development

By Becky Ceraul
July 6, 2009

A new joint fellowship program has been created by the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and the biotechnology company MedImmune LLC to help produce future clinical scientists with leadership skills for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The program will provide a pipeline for the development of highly-qualified researchers who will be on the forefront of creating new medicines for the treatment of a variety of diseases. The first fellow, John Blake-Haskins, PharmD, a 2009 graduate of the School of Pharmacy, began his two-year appointment on July 6.

The fellowship is designed to be an innovative educational and research experience for recent pharmacy school graduates. It will provide an environment conducive to intellectual growth and scientific development through the provision of hands-on experience and supervised research projects. The program’s aim is to develop scientists who would like to pursue careers in clinical drug development. Companies like MedImmune value the pursuit of scientific endeavors through academic and professional experience. According to Toni Stiefel, director of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs, “this program is an example of our commitment to ongoing education, science and patient health. We are excited to be working with the caliber of talent at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy as we partner to develop future leaders in the biotech industry.”

“As a comprehensive institution, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy educates and trains pharmacists for an expanded role in patient care and produces future leaders in the pharmaceutical industry,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “This fellowship provides an additional avenue for partnering the clinical skills of the School’s graduates with the basic science expertise needed in the pharmaceutical industry. Our hope is that, through this fellowship, we will produce a field of highly-trained clinical researchers, a significant need in the region, that will support the development of new medication therapies critical to improving health in our state and nationally.”

The objectives for fellows in the new program are to understand the pathways for preclinical research, the link between preclinical research and clinical development, understand the toxicology requirements to enable clinical development plans, understand the relationship between regulatory and clinical development, and understand the value of health economics and patient-reported outcomes on clinical development activities.

“In 2007, the School of Pharmacy expanded its Doctor of Pharmacy program to the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville,” says Eddington. “From the beginning, we’ve been extremely interested in relationships with the numerous biopharmaceutical companies in Montgomery County as a means of establishing research collaborations and as a way to offer an even more dynamic educational experience for both our PharmD and PhD students.”

“We are delighted with the relationship that has developed between the School of Pharmacy and MedImmune, and look forward to further efforts to develop strong partnerships with leading-edge genomics and pharmaceutical companies, large health care providers and government health agencies in the Montgomery County region,” notes Stewart Edelstein, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove.”

As the first School of Pharmacy/MedImmune fellow, Blake-Haskins will be working to help bring one of MedImmune’s investigational drugs through clinical trials. “I am honored to be the first fellow selected for this program,” he says. “My work experience prior to pharmacy school included analytical support in the biotech industry, but with this fellowship, I will be able to focus on the clinical development of drugs. I hope to contribute to the team and hone my research skills as I move from post-doctoral fellow into a career in this area.”