Shannon Klingel
Clinical Research Safety Associate, Medical Writing and Clinical Safety Monitoring
Shannon has a long-standing passion for the interactions between nutrition and disease occurrence. In particular, Shannon has a keen interest in clinical research and leverages her ability to work efficiently in different settings to provide researchers with outstanding clinical recommendations.
*The views and opinions expressed in this profile are those of the professional and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of their employer.
What was so intriguing about contract research as you transitioned from academia and how has your role been rewarding for you?
My favourite part of academia was clinical research. I loved working on studies from start to finish - from participant visits to the final report. I also saw contract research as a way to gain more experience in the pharma realm.
For me, contract research was a midpoint between academia and pharma because we help pharma companies run their clinical trials while incorporating lots of research and knowledge into these companies too.
The most satisfying thing has been how I’ve learned about team dynamics in the workplace. I also enjoy being able to coordinate recommendations of clinical experts for my clients.
I loved when they’re thrilled with the recommendations because they believe they’re getting the best resources to make the project the best it can be.
In addition, I appreciate that my role is critical for maintaining a level of transparency in clinical science.
Tell us about your current role
My role is to efficiently coordinate between committee members, statistical/data management teams, and trial sponsors to ensure their DMC/DSMB (data monitoring committees/data and safety monitoring boards) are conducted smoothly and successfully.
Tell us how your current role is different from grad school
and how it’s the same
A big reward for me is when I hear how enthusiastic clients are when they are provided with clinical insights and recommendations from the field experts contracted for their DMC/DSMBs discover these rosters. The clients know that they’re getting the best possible clinical insight for their trials.
"
"
It’s similar in that I’ll often find myself doing literature searches and there’s definitely the same importance of finding information required in an effective manner. Another similarity between my job and grad school is the ability to take complex subjects and huge amounts of information and simplify them down to their key facts.
Additionally, it is critical to be a meticulous writer and editor in this line of work, because documents are constantly being revised. Lastly, I’ve found that grad school is typically a more creative space, but my role still has a little bit of room for creativity, specifically how I present data in meetings.
What other advice can you give graduate students who would like to pursue careers in this industry?
I actually applied to a different position in the company but the hiring manager didn’t see me as a fit for that particular role. However, the hiring manager thought that I would be a great fit in another department of the company where they really needed help.
In effect, the company created a new position for me that didn’t previously exist because they saw how my skills could fill a need. In addition, whatever you can do to develop a connection and stand out to anyone you interact with is huge.
For example, there was a member of the hiring committee that also completed her PhD in the same department as me. Having that unique connection really helped me develop a rapport during the interview and played a big role in me getting hired.
Where do you see yourself heading and how does your current role influence that?
In the future, I could see myself taking on more of a managerial role where I would be taking on more responsibility. I like the type of work I’m doing because every day presents a new challenge.
Even though I’ve only been in industry for a short time, I’ve really honed my craft as a writer. I’ve found that my writing is much more cohesive and I’ve gotten really good at finding words to make each and every sentence as impactful as it can be.
In addition, I’ve also learned a lot about the subtleties of communication like how small adjustments can make a big difference in the tone of a document.
S2BN