TIBBS Career Blitz Career Profile Questionnaire: Karen Ann Cherkis, PhD

Career Profile:

What is your current title and how long have you worked in your current job?

  • Medical Science Liaison, Mid-Atlantic
  • Current Job: 3 months, but I have been an MSL for 2+ years

Where did you get your PhD and what discipline was it in?

  • UNC- Genetics and Molecular Biology

Did you do a postdoc?

  • No

What are your main daily responsibilities?

  • Establish a respectable corporate presence in the medical community
  • Represent company at all pertinent events in the geography
  • Maintain a high standard for integrity in the medical community
  • Adhere to all regulations and guidelines
  • Identify and develop relationships with the medical community, thought leaders, and treatment advocates.
  • Identify the appropriate physicians, researchers, and groups that corporate team should interact with on a local and regional level
  • Create and maintain open lines of communication with all corporate contacts
  • As appropriate, include contacts in corporate programs, projects, and events
  • Be the scientific representative to the medical community and facilitate the appropriate exchange of scientific information
  • Share approved data in full compliance with guidelines and regulations
  • Communicate internally any trends in the market place that may have an impact on corporate strategy
  • Interact with key people in the medical community to be aware of any changes in treatment trends that could impact product lines
  • Coordinate with corporate partners to ensure success of all product lines
  • Contribute to Liaison team activities/initiatives
  • Participate in training programs for Liaisons
  • Participate in staff meetings
  • Participate in the organization and planning of Global/National/Regional opinion leader meetings
  • Facilitate clinical phase study completions and presentations

What are the keys to success in your career field?

  • Ability to influence decision-making via negotiating, advocating, and being an active listener
  • Self-motivated, assertive, and self-confident with the ability to act with urgency and passion
  • Proven ability to work with a high level of integrity, accuracy, and attention to detail
  • Strong organizational skills in order to maintain a high level of productivity, innovation, and priority-setting in order to complete assignments on-time and on-budget
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills for effectively interfacing with all levels of management and departments within the company and external partners
  • Strong problem-solving skills to evaluate technical information and identify appropriate regulatory actions in real-time
  • Ability to make thoughtful, integrated, timely and meaningful decisions and take corresponding actions
  • Willingness to work collaboratively by incorporating diverse perspectives and appropriately managing relationships in order to strengthen decision-making
  • Proactively seeks out and recommends process improvements
  • Resourceful, creative, enthusiastic, and results-oriented
  • Entrepreneurial, enjoys working in a fast-paced, small-company environment.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision as well as part of a team environment
  • Ability to manage multiple projects, identify and resolve regulatory issues
  • Flexibility in requirements of travel and new initiatives

What were the most important factors in choosing your career path?

  • An outlet to relay scientific knowledge and participate in meaningful data discussions w/out having to be at the bench
  • Use both business and scientific skills
  • Remunerated for skill set
  • Exposure and collaboration to/with multiple thought leaders

What activities (if any) did you participate in that helped you be successful in obtaining your job?

  • Involved in teaching
  • Exposure to business opportunities and entrepreneurship
  • Worked in business development for a year to get exposure to pharmaceutical companies and pipelines

What 1 or 2 pieces of advice do you have for people who want to land a job like yours?

  • MSLs have a very competitive job market, apply for as many jobs as it takes to get your foot in the door. Reach out to recruiters both at the company you are interested in as well as generalists who work at placing medical affairs positions at multiple companies
  • Advocate for yourself and know the value of your skill set
  • Network, network, network- never be afraid to ask for advice or for a conversation with someone who has a job your interested in or who works at a company that interests you