VanMeerhaeghe bound for fellowship in NYC

P4 student Sydney VanMeerhaeghe, Louisburg, was recently accepted into the prestigious Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program (RPIF) and will serve in a Pfizer Oncology Medical Affairs Fellowship after she graduates in May. The fellowship equips PharmDs with the expertise and experiences essential for a thriving career in the pharmaceutical industry.

“I wanted to do something a little bit more non-traditional and go into the pharmaceutical industry because there are a lot of opportunities,” said VanMeerhaeghe. “It can be very cutting edge, and you can impact a lot more patients on a day-to-day basis. It's very exciting to me to have the potential to impact patients on a very large scale, especially in oncology where it's affecting so many patients every day.”

Through specialized training in oncology medical affairs, fellows develop a comprehensive understanding of the field while benefiting from extensive networking opportunities. The program emphasizes expanding clinical knowledge, with a focus on breast cancer treatments, by offering exposure to a diverse array of therapeutic approaches. Fellows collaborate closely with medical directors, actively contributing to the planning and execution of various medical affairs initiatives.

She will be working in New York City, which she says is an example of where a KU Pharmacy degree can take you. “I'm very grateful for everybody who helped me along the way,” said VanMeerhaeghe. “It's not something I would have been able to do on my own. I've had plenty of mentors reach out to a lot of individuals to kind of help guide me along the process. [KU] is very clinically focused, so you get a very strong background in all of the medical and scientific knowledge that is so helpful and so useful as you move forward into your career.”