Intern - Epidemiology & Safety Analytics

Pharmacyclics is committed to the development and commercialization of novel therapies intended to improve the quality and duration of life and to resolve serious unmet medical needs for cancer patients. Pharmacyclics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), a global, research-based  biopharmaceutical company. Oncology is a key therapeutic area for AbbVie, with a portfolio consisting of three marketed products and a pipeline containing multiple promising new molecules that are being studied in more than 200 clinical trials for over 20 different types of cancer. More than 1,200 Pharmacyclics and AbbVie research scientists, clinicians, marketing, operations and corporate professionals work in the San Francisco Bay Area. They combine their expertise in immuno-oncology, stem cells, and cell-signaling with their knowledge of bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and covalent-inhibitor technologies to discover and develop novel cancer treatments. Together, we are striving to outsmart cancer.

 Pharmacyclics is seeking for a summer intern to work in Epidemiology & Safety Analytics

 The Internship:

Some see it as public health, some see it as risk/benefit management, and others see it as drug safety. All would agree safety is a cornerstone of the drug approval process, and crucial to prescribers informed decisions as well as the patients’ lives.  At Pharmacyclics within the department of Drug Safety, Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology (DSP&E), Epidemiology and Safety Analytics group contribute to the development and execution of safety evaluation and risk management strategy; and conduct epidemiologic research, via literature review or real-world data study, and Interface with biometrics to conduct integrated safety data analysis using clinical trial data, to help safety signal evaluation, regulatory document preparation and submission, and inform decision making in clinical development.

This summer internship program offers first-hand experience and meaningful contributions to our core functions as well as broader exposure to other departments’ contributions.  The intern will learn fundamental principle of epidemiology applications in drug safety, clinical development, and outcome research, get exposure and interaction in a team based work environment at a pharmaceutical/ industrial setting, and have hands on experience in literature search and review, data analysis and interpretation, preparation for scientific presentation. Additional growth opportunities may be available in the DSP&E department.  Broader growth and development is offered by the internship program through networking opportunities, career development lunches, etc.

 Requirements:

• Currently enrolled Master or Doctoral student at an accredited college/university
  
• Major in a health professional degree program including Epidemiology, Public Health, and other relevant fields (e.g. health outcome research, health service research, and biostatistics)
  
• Desire to learn about drug safety, and epidemiology in the field during drug development and throughout the product life cycle
  
• Work collaboratively in a team based environment to support ongoing scientific deliverables
  
• Have GPA above 3.0
  
• Ability to complete 10 weeks of internship work, starting either June 11 or June 25
  

 Job description:

• Under the oversight of Epidemiology and Safety Analytics:
  

o   Conduct comprehensive review of scientific publications, particularly in epidemiology field, to describe incidence, prevalence, patient characteristics, risk factors, and disease natural history for selected conditions

o   Participate in data analysis and interpretation of results using clinical trial or real-world data to evaluate safety signal and/or identify patients at high risk for a particular safety concern

 Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Self-motivated, excellent organization and planning skills
• Scientific and medical terminology acumen
• Strong interpersonal skills and communication skills (both written and oral)
• Experience of using PubMed or other search tools and ability to synthesize scientific findings
• Basic programming skills with SAS or other software
• Proficiency in MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Flexibility to perform other duties as assigned

Final Presentation

Each Intern is expected to prepare a short presentation to their team to share what they have learned through their internship and how they hope their experience will help in their future career pursuit. Presentations may be approximately 10-15 minutes long and should include visual aid (posters or PowerPoint).