Career Path of a Clinical Trial Pharmacist at UCLA Health
Chai's career journey began with a bachelor's in "microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics" from UCLA, followed by six years in biotech at LabCorp, performing "clinical diagnostic testing and R&D". After earning a pharmacy degree from UCSF, a pivot into clinical research led to their current role as a Clinical Trial Pharmacist at UCLA Health, a position they've held for six years after gaining experience in hospital and retail pharmacy settings.
Career Development, Clinical Research, Pharmaceutical Industry, Higher Education, Career Pivoting
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Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Chai Lam
Clinical Trial Pharmacist
UCLA Health
UCLA 2004
UCSF PharmD
Biology & Related Sciences
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Research and Development (R&D)
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Completed a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at UCLA.
2. Gained six years of biotech industry experience at LabCorp, encompassing clinical diagnostic testing and R&D.
3. Pursued a four-year pharmacy degree at UCSF and accumulated clinical experience through part-time work at Shriners Hospital for Children and in retail pharmacy before specializing in clinical trial pharmacy for the past six years.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please also include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
Sure. I started my undergrad at UCLA, earning a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. It's one major, but it has a long title.
After undergrad, I worked in the biotech industry for LabCorp for six years. We did some clinical diagnostic testing and also research and development, specifically developing diagnostic tests.
After that, I decided I wanted to pursue drug research and development further. So, I pursued a pharmacy degree at UCSF. That's a four-year graduate program.
Since then, I've been a pharmacist for eight years. For the first couple of years, I needed clinical experience. I worked part-time at Shriners Hospital for Children and also in retail pharmacy to get a better understanding of pharmacy and to improve my skills.
Then I pivoted into drug clinical research and development. I've been a clinical trial pharmacist for the past six years.
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