McMaster Science students go behind the scenes at Eli Lilly Canada

It’s not every day that undergraduate students get to go behind the scenes at one of Canada’s leading pharmaceutical companies or have the chance to talk one-on-one with the scientists and staff at the heart of the drug development process.

But, recently, a group of McMaster Science students had the opportunity to do just that.

Eli Lilly Canada hosted six students from the School of Interdisciplinary Science for a half-day of programming, offering them valuable insights into the many facets of drug development and talking to students about the array of possible career paths in the pharmaceutical industry.

“It was an unreal experience,” says Regan Mestdagh, a third-year student in McMaster’s Life Sciences program, who took part in the visit, along with fellow students Aisha Hashmani, Arwa Al Abdul Wahed, Kaitlyn Lampic, Nava Najafabadi and Sundas Ramzan.

The students won the opportunity to visit Eli Lilly Canada after placing first in a unique film festival created by Rosa da Silva, an assistant professor in McMaster’s Department of Biology and School of Interdisciplinary Science, who designed the competition as a way for students to flex their creative muscles and hone their science communication skills.

The festival, which was adjudicated in collaboration with experts from Eli Lilly Canada, challenged teams of students in da Silva’s LifeSci3AA3 Human Pathophysiologycourseto produce short videos exploring the different ways in which pharmaceuticals can be used to treat illness or other conditions.

“In class, we learned a lot about drug development like how clinical trials work, and about the FDA and Health Canada, but after going to Eli Lilly Canada and talking to professionals in the pharmaceutical industry, I realize there’s so much more to the process than I thought,” says Mestdagh.

“It also let us, as students, know there are many career options out there that we didn’t know about before,’ she adds. “There are people working on many aspects of drug development, and it made us think that wecould do the kinds of things that they’re doing – it was really eye-opening.”

During the visit, this diverse group of female STEM students had the opportunity to engage with employees at the pharmaceutical company’s Toronto facility and take part in both formal and informal Q&A sessions with scientists and staff including McMaster alumni Dr. Donna Mojdami, a clinical research physician and graduate of McMaster’s School of Medicine, and Kathryn Bishop, a medicines quality consultant who graduated from McMaster with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Biology and Pharmacology Co-op Program.

Students also had the opportunity to meet and interact with members of Eli Lilly Canada’s executive team including McMaster Science alumnus Michael Stone, vice-president of biomedicines and chief marketing officer; Karen McKay, vice-president, human resources and learning and development; and Dr. Doron Sagman, vice-president, research and development.

Dr. Donna Mojdami, clinical research physician, was among the panel of professionals that spoke with the students. In her role at Lilly, she brings the voice of the patient and health care providers to company activities. Her career advice? “Be open minded and don’t be afraid to try new things even if it doesn’t fit the exact mold of your educational background. You may be pleasantly surprised!”

Panelist Kathryn Bishop, medicines quality consultant, also spoke about her role at Lilly and her career path. Bishop supports global clinical development teams during clinical trial execution by helping individuals understand and comply with global regulatory requirements, and leads teams through regulatory inspection preparedness and management activities.

“Initially I thought I was going to school to be a researcher, and I was not aware of the breadth of roles in the pharmaceutical industry or that I would find my home as a quality professional,” says Bishop. “My time at McMaster introduced me to the pharmaceutical industry, and the importance of building a network. My further studies to obtain my Masters of Science led me to be curious, learn my strengths, and look for career opportunities to push myself out of my comfort zone.”

Da Silva, who joined the students on the visit, says there’s tremendous value in teaming up with industry partners like Lilly Canada as a way of enhancing student learning.

“For students in all my courses, part of the educational experience is making sure they know that science is more than just what happens in an academic setting,” she says. “It is especially important for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to be exposed to role models that are employed in careers that they can also aspire to strive towards and attain.”

“There’s a lot happening outside of the university world that students need to be aware of,” da Silva continues. “By engaging in these types of experiential opportunities, students are able to gain exposure on different career trajectories, and how research and partnerships outside of the university help push scientific innovation forward – an experience like this one at Eli Lilly Canada helps them make those connections.”