SAPh traineeships create symbiotic relationship between students and organizations

Dr. Gloria Chen presenting her dissertation, which used data sponsored by AbbVie, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in 2024.

Traineeships in the Social and Administrative Pharmacy (SAPh) program at the College of Pharmacy are akin to a “supersized” internship, according to Dr. Angie Carlson, adjunct professor in the Pharmaceutical Care & Health Systems department. Unique to the college, these traineeships offer graduate students an extended period of immersion at an organization to more fully participate in research projects and experience a realistic post-graduate work environment. 

In a typical internship model, perhaps three months long, the experience is often half-way over by the time students discern what they’re interested in and want to achieve, Carlson noted, and often doesn’t leave time for a student to witness the results of their project and the “totality of what it takes to bring products to the marketplace.” These traineeships, on the other hand, typically last two semesters and a summer at 20 hours per week, making it far more likely that students will see a project through from start to finish. This design also allows students to acclimate to the oftentimes stressful, fast-paced health care world and pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

“For a lot of the things that we do in the SAPh discipline, which focuses on health, economics and outcomes research, a three month period is not enough to accomplish anything,” Carlson said. “Not only is it not a good way to experience the pharmaceutical industry, but the pharmaceutical folks and the medical device companies… don't have a chance to really gain anything either.”

In turn, the organization benefits from the work and contributions of advanced SAPh students, the value of which is reflected in the fact that most traineeships are renewed. Some have even led to employment after the student graduated. 

Dr. Gloria Chen, a 2024 graduate of the college’s SAPh program, started a traineeship at AbbVie as a second-year PhD student. She began in a data analytics role in their epidemiology department, which also provided a database for her PhD dissertation on non-small cell lung cancer, and worked on over a dozen projects throughout her time there as a student. She attended multiple conferences using the travel stipend from her traineeship, which during the later stages of her PhD training, gave her the opportunity to present her work. AbbVie renewed Chen’s traineeship for three cycles before hiring her full-time after graduation. 

“Because of this fellowship over the past five years, I already knew the team and the team already knew me very well, so I got this position. I would say I attribute a lot to this traineeship experience,” she said. “It truly helps to train your ability to handle multiple tasks and manage your time. Also, you gain mentorship through this process and start to build networks in the industry.”

Chen’s mentor at AbbVie, Dr. Dongmu Zhang, also a graduate of the college’s SAPh program, said trainees don’t just participate on training projects, but typically conduct data analysis, generate and present the results, create conference abstracts and poster presentations, or even help publish manuscripts— playing an active role in helping the organization as a business. 

“Because of the training these students have with the [University of Minnesota], the feedback from the department is really high— that's why we keep the relationship going,” Zhang said. 

Carlson considers the traineeships to be a win-win for everyone involved, an “amazing partnership” allowing students to contribute instantly and stick around for the life of the projects they work on throughout the year. 

“I don't know of another program like this in the country from any colleges of pharmacy that have a [SAPh] focus…This originated here in our program, to the best of my knowledge,” Carlson said. “These are remarkably unique and impactful experiences.”