Interview with Nivedita Bhadra
Nivedita Bhadra is a BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science with a Year in Professional Practice student, who undertook a placement at Pfizer as an Undergraduate Regulatory Strategist (Inflammation & Immunology, Global Product Development).
Tell us about your placement
Throughout my placement, I have been supporting multiple regulatory activities across various areas including clinical trials, marketing applications and variations across different geographies such as EU, UK and Emerging Markets. To achieve this, I am developing my knowledge and understanding of the relevant regulatory procedures and requirements set by the Health Agencies such as the EMA (European Medicines Agency). I have been trained on the required Pfizer Standard Operating Procedures which I received extensive training on in the first few months of joining the company.
All this needs to be taken into consideration under strict timelines when completing a task and working on a project as part of a team with other experienced regulatory strategists within Inflammation and Immunology (I&I).
I continue learning and developing through partnering with experienced regulatory strategists within the I&I team on different projects.
I am also working on a product discontinuation, which is interesting. Furthermore, I have led several Query responses and presented in important meetings, this helped to build my confidence and improve my presentation skills.
Outside of project work, I am an active member of the Pfizer UK Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group and have been supporting the team in raising awareness and distributing literature.
My team has had quite a few team lunches, dinners and team building activities. In fact, I was given the opportunity to organise one of these lunches too for the team. Honestly, I didn’t realise how much careful planning and thorough executions goes into these events until I had to organise one myself. One of the fun team building activities we did during my placement was building a tall Eiffel Tower using spaghetti and marshmallows – this was fun, and my group won 😊. These types of activities have helped me to build better connections with my colleagues.
This placement gave me the opportunity to further develop my communication, presentation, organization and team work skills. All of which are important in the corporate environment and academia, particularly in final year.
Have your experiences on your course or placement given you clarity over what you’d like to do in the future?
The modules in my course such as Human Physiology and Disease, Infection and Immunology as well as Pharmacology amongst a few have given me the background scientific knowledge. I was able to use this knowledge to understand different documents – Product information dossiers and Clinical trial protocols – to then compile cover letters, justifications and briefing documents for submission to different Agencies.
Yes, my placement made me realise I enjoy working in Global Regulatory Sciences. The job is interesting and challenging… no two days look the same. Sometimes things go as plan, other times there may be a setback or two. Surprisingly, I liked this uncertainty.
Ultimately, the placement at Pfizer made me come to the realisation that I would like to continue working in the Pharmaceutical Industry in the future.
How has the University supported your degree?
The Careers and Employability team helped me to improve my CV. I had a booked a session with them for interviews and assessment centres preparation, which was quite useful. They gave me tailored tips and advice which made me feel more confident.
The Natural Sciences Placements Team ran sessions to give students (including me) important information to plan for placements, for example information about timelines and what companies look for in students.
Top bit of advice for a student considering applying for your course?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be proactive and take ownership for your own learning and growth. Lastly, be yourself, make some good friends, and enjoy the course/journey… it will go by faster than you think.
Anything else you’d like to add?
When I initially started my Biomedical science degree, I planned on staying in research/lab. My end goal at that time was to do a PhD and work in academia. However, as the year progressed and second year hit, I realised I wanted to explore other non-lab roles; opportunities with a mixture of business and science. I became interested in the pharmaceutical industry and started actively looking at the different available options. This is how I stumbled upon the world of Global Regulatory Sciences (GRS) at Pfizer. I was given the opportunity to join the GRS team at Pfizer as an Undergraduate Regulatory Strategist within Inflammation and Immunology for one year- and I took it.