Career Path Of A Regulatory Affairs Analyst At Large Medical Device Company
Ryan's career path deviated from the initial goal of becoming a doctor, shifting toward the "infrastructure" of healthcare after realizing a preference for "problem-solving" over clinical medicine. This led to a post-market regulatory affairs analyst role at Applied Medical, where they handled product complaints, recalls, and customer outreach, dealing with issues ranging from minor manufacturing defects to serious device failures requiring FDA communication.
Regulatory Affairs, Medical Device Industry, Problem-Solving, Communication, Teamwork
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Undergrad
Grad Programs
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Ryan Perera
Regulatory Affairs Analyst
Large Medical Device Company
UCLA 2015
Boston University: Master’s in Medical Sciences (2018) UCLA: MBA (2024)
Biology & Related Sciences
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Operations and Project Management
Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Ryan's career path highlights a non-traditional route to a regulatory affairs analyst position, starting with a microbiology and political science undergraduate degree, followed by a master's in medical sciences. This showcases the value of diverse academic backgrounds in the field.
2. His experience in biotech labs and his decision to shift from a clinical career path to a regulatory role in the medical device industry illustrate the possibility of career pivots. This is valuable for students considering different industry choices or those who may initially aim for a different career path.
3. His description of his role at Applied Medical—handling post-market regulatory issues like product complaints, recalls, and customer outreach—provides a concrete example of daily tasks and responsibilities in a regulatory affairs analyst position. This gives students a realistic view of the profession and its challenges.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
My career path took an unconventional turn. I started my undergraduate studies at UCLA, majoring in microbiology and political science. After graduating, I spent two years earning my Master's in Medical Sciences at Boston University.
The goal at the time was to become a doctor. However, as I spent more time working in and being exposed to the medical field, I became more interested in the institution of healthcare itself. I was more interested in the infrastructure behind the scenes, before a patient even sees a doctor.
For example, a doctor sees a patient, charts them, treats them, and then sees the next one. This happens throughout the day. But there's so much infrastructure involved in getting the equipment, preparing the hospital, ensuring necessary supplies are available, and managing scheduling systems so patients can see doctors.
I found this infrastructure to be more personally interesting and impactful. I realized I could do more in this area. So, I decided to look into industry spaces instead of pursuing a medical degree.
I worked for about a year at two different biotech labs to gain industry experience. I realized lab work wasn't quite for me. I really liked the science, but I didn't find the day-to-day work very interesting.
Then, I got a job at Applied Medical in a post-market regulatory role. I liked this a lot because it involved more infrastructure-based problem-solving. My job was to handle product complaints for our devices.
My team would be informed of a complaint and work with the engineering team to determine its seriousness and if it needed to be reported to the FDA. We would then decide on additional steps. Sometimes, the issues were minor, like a device being the wrong color but still functioning medically.
However, these were still manufacturing issues. The engineering team needed to be informed, and we would evaluate what happened. Occasionally, we had events where a device broke within a patient, which could lead to serious harm.
These situations required more serious responses, including increased communication with management and reporting to the FDA or other regulatory agencies. That is what I did at Applied Medical.
On top of that, I also get involved in projects regarding recalls, product improvements, and customer outreach when customers have had negative experiences with our products. I collaborate with other team members to communicate with doctors and nurses, ensuring they understand that we are working on the issues and investigating what happened.
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