1. So, Jeff, what are you currently up to?
a. I am currently the Director of Medical Affairs for Heart Failure at AstraZeneca. I was recently promoted and am in the process of moving my family from Indiana to the Wilmington, DE area.
2. What is the best part of your job as a Medical Science Liaison with AstraZeneca?
a. When I first started as a pharmacist I quickly grew an interest in diabetes medicine. When an opportunity to become an MSL in the cardio-metabolic space was offered it allowed me the ability to focus my professional energy on educated providers on the current data and science of what I loved the most. Educating providers was one of the main things I was doing as a clinical pharmacist and so this allowed me to make an impact on a broader scale.
3. What is a book you’ve recently read?
a. A Brief History of Black Holes by Rebecca Smethurst
4. What advice would you give your P4 self?
a. Don’t box yourself in early in your career. Say yes to opportunities even if it’s not necessarily part of “the plan”
5. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
a. Convincing my wife to marry me. Professionally, I’d say it’s when my co-workers encouraged me to go for a promotion. It means they trust me with the decision-making responsibilities that would affect their work.
6. In what ways were you most impacted during your time at GSOP?
a. I’m not the most social person and academically I’m not competitive by nature. I would not have made it at a big school. GSOP allowed me to develop a small group of friends, get to know my professors on a personal level, and not feel like a number in the classroom.
7. What do you do for fun?
a. Run, for some reason
8. What is the best professional advice you’ve received?
a. People can be smarter or luckier than you but you can only blame yourself for getting out worked. During my residency the critical care attending said this on the first day of rounds.
9. What is something you learned at GSOP that you will never forget?
a. How to do a Journal Club properly.
10. What is the best way to start a day?
a. Usually I’d say morning run. But lately it’s a cup of coffee and an episode of Bluey.
11. What has been the best professional decision you’ve made?
a. Getting back into industry. Honestly I wish opportunities in industry was talked about more when I was at GSOP. There are so many things you can do in pharma and it certainly isn’t the “dark side” I thought it was. There are very dedicated and intelligent people working hard to develop better and better medications.
12. If you weren’t a pharmacist, what job do you think you’d be really good at?
a. I love to write so I like to think I’d be good at that but probably construction
13. What song do you have completely memorized?
a. I’m old now…almost any Dave Matthews Band song.
14. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their life?
a. Work themselves to total exhaustion before the sun comes up
15. What is your favorite memory of GSOP?
a. Eating lunch on the intercoastal
16. What is something you thought you knew about the pharmacy profession, but it turns out it was different?
a. I thought clinical pharmacists were the best. Turns out every type of pharmacist job is extremely important and has its pros and cons. Everyone should try a little of everything during school and pick what makes you happy. But also make yourself available to move around in your career
17. If your life were a movie, what would the title be? Who would play you?
a. Never Sits Still. Jason Bateman
