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Anna De Boer, PhD
Senior Market Access Writer
Anna completed her PhD in 2015 at the University of Guelph specializing in cellular cross-talk mechanisms in obesity. She currently works in clinical research and liaises with various trade organizations and government groups to solve scientific issues and communicate scientific advancements.
*The views and opinions expressed in this profile are those of the professional and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of their employer.
In grad school, what were your initial thoughts of industry?
I had this unique circumstance where I started working about 6 weeks before I defended my PhD. Towards the end of my PhD, I began exploring career paths outside of academia that still involved research.
I made sure to stay in touch with past graduates at conferences, and this is how I learned about the different pathways that existed.
With this in mind, I started applying for jobs while writing my thesis. I learned that a company in Guelph was looking for a project coordinator to help develop some methods for a third-party analytical testing program they were assembling.
Through past conferences, I happened to meet someone working at the company that helped me determine how well I would fit within the company.
Since then, I have transitioned away from analytical work to more of a clinical trial and medical writing focus.
How does your role differ from being a grad student?
We’re not necessarily compensated based on our ability to publish so there isn’t this same expectation to publish that there is in academia.
We’re compensated through industry sponsors, so it’s about delivering projects on time as opposed to a focus on writing grants and teaching.
I have found that my work-life balance is different than in grad school because my work weeks are typically capped at about 40 hours, but people in senior management will often work more than this.
I also have a much better understanding of the importance of being refreshed, which only happens when we get a chance to step away from work briefly. because a big part of my role is to be the best resource possible for my colleagues.
Soft skills are super important. I’ve been involved in lots of interviews over the last couple of years and we have the same discussion after every single one. “How well will this candidate fit within our culture?”
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What are the biggest challenges and rewards with your current role?
Sometimes it can be a challenge to monitor a large number of projects and deliverables at once. Deadlines often get delayed or moved up and you try to space things accordingly.
That said, some weeks are busier than others and we really have to push ourselves to get our deliverables out. We also have to keep on regulatory guidelines for health product and drug development in Canada and throughout the world to help clients bring unique products to market.
However, sometimes it works out that you end up with 20 deliverables in one week and 5 deliverables the next week. I really enjoy the mentorship part of my role.
I love seeing writers grow in their roles and I’m thrilled when they grow as researchers and as individuals. It’s awesome to be involved with studies that contribute to health and well-being and to be a part of landmark studies when they come along.
How has COVID impacted your work and what does the future
look like for you?
Thankfully, I’ve been able to stay busy. There is a degree of uncertainty, however, as we’re unsure how potential lockdowns will affect how clinical trials are run; we’re looking at things on a month-to-month basis right now.
Fortunately, there are adaptations and contingency plans in place to keep clinical research going throughout the world.
In the future, I could see myself in a role where I’m organizing processes across different departments and becoming more involved in quality management across the organization.
This has seemed like a logical progression for me because I would get pulled into larger meetings where I’d gain a better understanding of how systems work. I could certainly see myself in this managerial capacity.
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