Christine Haenggeli, M.D.
Occupation:
Regional Scientific Manager-Neuroscience,
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Hopkins affiliation :
Postdoc (Neurology), Nov. 2001 to Oct. 2006
Rewind one year back to late summer 2006. Christine Haenggeli, M.D. was wrapping up
her postdoctoral training as a Milton Safenowitz Fellow in Neurology and pounding the
pavement hoping to discover prospective employment opportunities. Within a few
months of scouring job search boards and targeted networking, Dr. Haenggeli was able
to generate several leads, the most interesting of which came during a 4th of July
celebration on the mall in Washington, DC. With fireworks serving as the backdrop, Dr.
Haenggeli initiated a conversation with an individual in the crowd who, in addition to also
being from her home country, Switzerland, happened to be the Intern of the counselor
for Science and Technology at the Swiss Embassy. While this lead did not materialize to
a new job, it did increase her networked connections. The most genuine prospect,
however, soon followed. Dr. Haenggeli received a call from Novartis Human Resources
department and was invited to interview at their New Jersey office. Several rounds of
interviews later and a few months anticipating a job offer, she landed the role of
Regional Scientific Manager with Novartis covering the DC metropolitan territory. With
her 1st anniversary in this role approaching, Derek Haseltine from the JHMI PDO caught
up with her to discuss the transition from academic bench research to a non-research
career in the Pharmaceutical sector.
PDO: What exactly is a Regional Scientific Manager and what role do you play in
the drug development process?
Dr. Haenggeli: Regional Scientific Managers (RSM), also known as Medical Science
Liaisons (MSL), aid in product lifecycle management from early clinical development
through product commercialization. They interact with thought leaders (i.e. key
healthcare professionals) in a peer-to-peer relationship to discuss topics such as trends
in therapy, clinical development and advances in treatments. They are strategically
deployed throughout the US or other countries to support therapeutic areas
(neuroscience, cardiovascular, etc). They are not part of sales, but are part of medical
affairs, and therefore do not try to sell a product. Rather, their role is more to set up
collaborations for clinical or basic research and deliver medical and scientific support.
PDO: What are the major, “must have”, qualifications required for this position?
Dr. Haenggeli: You must be an experienced doctorate level clinician (i.e. MD, PhD or
PharmD) with strong interpersonal communication and presentation skills. It is essential
to also have demonstrated the ability to work independently, be adaptive and flexible.
Finally, you must be able to digest and absorb large amounts of scientific literature in
very small periods of time to stay on pace with the individuals you interact with on a daily
basis.
PDO: What sorts of individuals do you interact with (internal staff & external
clients)?
Dr. Haenggeli: Typical interactions are with key health care professionals in defined
geographical areas (in my case, the Washington DC metro area). Mostly these
interactions are with academic centers, but also with individuals from group or private
practice. Within Novartis, RSMs have broad collaboration with internal colleagues from
Medical Affairs and Clinical Development and also with clinical operations colleagues
who work on clinical studies.
PDO: How would you characterize the pace in your current position from that of
working in an academic research lab?
Dr. Haenggeli: There are more tight and well defined deadlines. Things move faster and
every day is different.
PDO: What are the pros and cons of working out of a home office?
Dr. Haenggeli: Pros: Flexibility, no boss constantly over your shoulder, independence,
autonomy.
Cons: no colleagues around, less daily social interactions.
Even in this home office setting, the position involves significant traveling (up to 60%),
which can be multiple day travels or daily or even hourly trips depending on the
geography you cover.
PDO: Did you encounter any barriers when you first assumed this position
because of your lack of previous pharmaceutical experience? What sorts of
training opportunities does your employer provide to help bridge this gap?
Dr. Haenggeli: When hiring for these sorts of positions, most pharmaceutical companies
often prefer, and in some cases, require, candidates who possess previous pharma
experience (for example a similar position at a smaller company). Because I did not
come in with a background in pharma, I received highly organized training courses at
our corporate headquarters. Also, I received one-on-one training for months from a more
senior RSM colleague who served as an individual mentor assigned to me. Novartis has
lots of training tools and guidance in place to help you succeed.
PDO: How did your postdoc at Hopkins prepare you for this position? Is a postdoc
position recommended for these sorts of positions?
Dr. Haenggeli: A postdoc and basic research experience is good to have, especially in
the therapeutic area you are covering. Lots of my colleagues are PhDs that also have
postdoctoral experience and worked in a lab and some even previously held faculty
appointments and had their own labs prior to their work as RSMs. Some of my
colleagues are also MDs and practiced medicine. One of my colleagues was a family
practitioner for 27 years before taking on the role of RSM. Finally, some of my
colleagues are PharmDs and worked in a hospital pharmacy for example.
PDO: Describe your interview process? What advice would you give to individuals
actively interviewing?
Dr. Haenggeli: Be yourself. Be positive. Prepare well for the interview. Read everything
you can about the company you are interviewing for and about the position (for example
internet: company’s website, company’s yearly reports, etc). Study the job description
well. Check out similar job descriptions posted on other company’s websites. Check out
interview websites for typical questions, such as behavioral type questions. Ask
colleagues and friends who recently had an interview or had multiple interviews
throughout their careers for guidance and feedback. Make them ask you typical
questions, such as “why do you want this job” and “why would you be good for this job”
and try to answer and get their feed-back. Get a good night’s sleep before and be well
rested for the interview.
Be well dressed, first impressions are important. And get some helpful guidance from the
PDO…
PDO: In addition to RSMs, what other roles (non-bench related) exist for
PhDs/MDs in pharmaceuticals?
Dr. Haenggeli: There are variety of different positions that exist in marketing,
consulting, and regulator affairs. The best way to uncover these positions, is first and
foremost, through a company’s website as well as conducting informational interviews
with people currently working this sector. To find out more about “medical science
liaisons”, simply Google the term.
JHMI Professional Development Office career services resource
August 6, 2007