A Neurologist Moves to a CRO
Mary Quiceno, MD is a behavioral neurologist that works at Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Mary is a neurologist with a passion for Alzheimer’s disease. She practiced as a private practice neurologist initially and then moved to academic neurology. After a number of years in academic practice she decided she was “at the end of what she could do there” and she “loved research”.
Her research experience included observational studies, translational research and pharmaceutical trials. She had been a Principal Investigator (PI) of studies, had written grants, and was a part of an NIH national steering committee.
During her academic tenure, Mary welcomed opportunities to meet people – pharmaceutical representatives, Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs). These networking opportunities led her to being invited to participate in advisory boards for pharma companies. Her academic position was 40 miles away and she did not have the flexibility she hoped for her family.
She moved to Paraxel as her first industry experience
She describes the process where she realized she could “totally do this job tomorrow”; she had the self-confidence and “never looked back” after being offered the job.
Initially she did not look for a pharmaceutical role because she wanted to work remotely, where she lived.
Regarding the CRO, she enjoyed the exposure to so many areas – small biotech with pre-clinical data, pharmaceutical companies conducting phase 2/3 studies, consulting, earning business and understanding the business relationships. She enjoyed working in varied indications related to neurology and all phases of research.
Mary enjoyed her time working at Paraxel, but her “heart is with Alzheimer’s disease”. She had completed a fellowship in dementia and very much focused on geriatric neurology included Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimers. Given this, after 1 ½ years at the CRO she decided she wanted to explore a role in a pharmaceutical industry. She interviewed at 3 different companies and ultimately took a role at Janssen.
Her hiring manager at Janssen wanted to hire someone that was early in their pharma career and needed to be mentored so Mary felt this was a great opportunity for her.
(Mary makes sure to mention that she also applied to jobs that she never heard back from or got turned down for… it is not always an easy path – )
As she compared her roles at Paraxel vs. Janssen she discussed the differences:
At the CRO her day to day responsibilities were different every day. She might be working on a bid defense (“selling” the CRO to be chosen to work with a particular company), consultation, medical monitor responsibilities, starting a study from the beginning, reviewing a study protocol, many indications, supporting a team.
Compared to working within a pharmaceutical company where she supports one drug, one indication , one study. There is more continuity. In this role, she focuses on study specific activities like reviewing Informed Consent Forms (ICFs), answering regulatory questions, conducting Investigator Meetings, reviewing data and safety data.
Another difference between CRO and Pharma is the more academic nature of the pharma company where publishing and presenting is critical.
Mary and I spoke about a couple of important topics: