As the start of fall semester approaches, students of the USC School of Pharmacy share updates on how they kept busy this summer, expanding their knowledge by taking on internship and research opportunities.
“This summer I’m a graduate intern at Kite Pharma. My favorite thing so far is the company’s culture and the work environment! I am enjoying learning about Kite Pharma’s manufacturing process, quality procedures and operational projects.”
– Harlan Tsui
MS, Management of Drug Development ’22
BS, Pharmacology and Drug Development ’22
“I am completing a summer internship at the University of Sharjah, College of Pharmacy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I am helping with a pre-diabetes prevention program where I am responsible for translating educational materials to patients from English to Arabic, organizing patient screenings that fit into the UAE’s culture and traditions and more! I’ve enjoyed being exposed to community pharmacy and spending my summer abroad.”
– Samer Sultan
PharmD ’24
“What I enjoy most about my experience as an intern this summer at Simulations Plus is working on model development and validation using literature data to meet the requirements for external projects.”
– Melissa Martinez
PharmD ’24
“I am enjoying my role as a regulatory and quality assurance intern this summer at Exelint International, gaining experience in quality management systems, the Medical Device Single Audit Program and more!”
– Naisargi Patel
MS, Regulatory Science ’23
“I am a global market access strategy intern this summer at Intuitive, one of the pioneers of robotic-assisted surgery. Through this role I’m gaining great experience that will help me work toward achieving my dream of impacting lives around the world.”
– Kirati Thakker
MS, Healthcare Decision Analysis ’23
“As a research and development intern this summer at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, I am enjoying having the opportunity to engage and learn from experienced professionals in the pharmaceutical industry. I am strengthening my understanding of regulatory strategy and how my team works cross-functionally with other departments on large projects.”
– Anna Wilder
BS, Pharmacology and Drug Development ’24
“Being a part of Dr. Paul Seidler’s lab this summer has made me feel more confident about running experiments independently. I aim to continue developing innovative approaches to protocols and techniques in my research.”
– Nader Mostowfi
MS, Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology ’23
“I am gaining new knowledge in managed care and developing clinical skills as a pharmacy formulary intern this summer at L.A. Care Health Plan, working with patients with chronic diabetes who are enrolled in the California Right Meds Collaborative initiative.”
– Luis Larios
PharmD ’25
“Being a part of Dr. Bodour Salhia’s lab at the Keck School of Medicine this summer has made me realize the importance of research in creating therapeutics and understanding the pathology of diseases. As I continue to learn in the lab, I hope to better understand the epigenetics of cancer.”
– Eric Abnoosian
BS, Pharmacology and Drug Development ’23
“I’m interning this summer at EY-Parthenon, one of the largest global strategy consulting organizations. My favorite part of the EY-Parthenon experience has been working with a wonderful team and learning more about the firm’s various sectors. The internship has allowed me to gain analytical skills and better understand strategy consulting.”
– Nayeli Camacho
MS, Healthcare Decision Analysis ’23
“I am a clinical development intern this summer at Freenome, a company whose mission is to develop world-class cancer screening tests by utilizing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning. I am deepening my understanding of clinical trial management and its processes and regulations, all while having access to amazing mentors.”
– Karolina Kutnik
MS, Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology ’22
MS, Regulatory Science ’22
“I am a regulatory affairs summer intern in urology and pelvic health at Boston Scientific. I assist my team with their device applications to the FDA and Notified Bodies, an organization that assesses the conformity of certain products before being placed on the European market. I enjoy working cross-functionally with other departments, helping me understand the “big picture” of the global impact of regulatory changes and submissions in the medical device industry.”
– Shambhavi Nabar
MS, Regulatory Science ’23