Student organizations play a vital role in a pharmacy student’s development. Leadership, communication skills and personal growth are essential for a professional path.
The Industry Pharmacists Organization is one of the newest student organizations at the USC College of Pharmacy. It recently was named the top overall student group for 2023-2024 by the national organization.
Launched in 2022 through the efforts of Clinical Associate Professor Michaela Almgren, Ph.D., and Nikki Chen, 2024 Pharm.D. Almgren serves as faculty advisor while Chen was its first student president.
The idea emerged when students expressed a growing interest in learning about the pharmaceutical industry during internships at Nephron Pharmaceuticals, where Almgren maintains her clinical practice and developed and now directs the student internship program.
The IPhO group is open to pre-pharmacy, pharmacy and graduate students and has continually grown in membership.
“We provide a lot of networking opportunities and a platform for students to learn about the drug industry,” Almgren says. “Many students are looking for nontraditional roles in pharmacy, such as clinical research, education, regulatory affairs and marketing.”
Being part of IPhO helped prepare me for a role in industry with the baseline knowledge needed to understand the many gears that work together to make medication development a reality.
Nikki Chen, Pharm.D.
Chen, now in a fellowship with Eli Lilly Regulatory Affairs International and U.S. Policy, was searching for more resources to learn about industry careers as a student.
“There are so many fellowships and internships in industry, and IPhO creates a database to connect students to those opportunities,” she says. “Being part of IPhO helped prepare me for a role in industry with the baseline knowledge needed to understand the many gears that work together to make medication development a reality.”
Maddie Zediker, Class of 2025, served as the organization’s second president during the 2023-2024 academic year and helped organize the group’s first drug discovery workshop. The educational outreach event, sponsored by Pfizer, demonstrated the stages of taking a drug from inception to market.
“This workshop allowed students to see how integral pharmacists are to every step of the drug development process,” Zediker says. “I hope we can continue to make these types of industry connections to create more rotation opportunities for students.”
For current IPhO President Sydney Chason, Class of 2026, there is no equivalent in the curriculum to gain the knowledge that students learn as members of IPhO.
“We provide those resources and opportunities to industry-minded students that help foster an environment of curiosity and interest,” Chason says. “I hope our alumni who are working in this amazing field will reach out to share their wealth of knowledge with us.”
Topics: Pharm.D. Program, Student Organizations, Experience