Page 1 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER, · PDF filetheir chapter presidents in September ......
Transcript of Page 1 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER, · PDF filetheir chapter presidents in September ......
environment, relocation to a new place and com-
muting long distances.
Overall
Most of the students reported an over-
all positive experience from an internship. The
commonly cited benefits included acquisition of
additional research skills as well as preparation
for a career in a setting similar to that of the in-
ternship.
Below are some tidbits of advice that
summer 2010 interns would give to students
considering an internship in 2011:
In their own words
“Avoid trading in future gains for current satis-faction. Internships vary not only in their fields, but also in their compensation. But the depth of work and the quality of the internship is not de-termined by how much you are getting paid. The position that may further your career, help you network and teach you more may not be the best paid one or the one in a prime location”.
“Spending three months working may result in a career altering experience. An open mind is abso-lutely necessary when choosing the right intern-ship.”
“An applicant should understand the job respon-sibilities and assess if they are matching his/her own research interests.”
“Make sure you find a company that conducts research in your area of interest. You want the time you put into the internship to be as benefi-cial to you as to the company.”
In September 2010, a thirteen-item
internship experience questionnaire created by
the Student Network Newsletter Committee was
sent out to ISPOR student members through
their chapter presidents in September 2010.
Thirty chapter presidents were urged to identify
members who had recently participated in an
internships. Thirteen students from nine chap-
ters completed the questionnaire. Eight were
either in the third or fourth year of a doctoral
program at the time of their internship. Seven
respondents reported having interned at a phar-
maceutical company, while some interned at
consulting firms, federal agencies (i.e.
FDA/CDER) and research institutes (i.e.
Schepens Eye Research Institute). Seven respon-
dents spent three months at their respective
internship sites.
Pharma
Members reported interning at phar-
maceutical companies such as Abbott, Amgen,
Genentech, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Takeda.
Students learned of the internship opportunities
through faculty referrals, the ISPOR website, and
postings on LinkedIn. During these internships
students were involved in projects in the areas
such as: economic evaluations (common exam-
ples included cost effectiveness, cost utility, and
budget impact analyses), pricing and reim-
bursement, extensive literature reviews and
large database analyses.
Challenges
Among most challenging aspects of
their summer internships students reported the
following: impetus for time management, adjust-
ment to an industrial (versus academic) work
ISPOR STUDENTS’ SUMMER 2010 INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE TO STUDENTS CONSIDERING INTERNSHIP IN
SUMMER 2011 By: Natasha Shcherbakova, Newsletter Committee 2010-11
Special Points of Interest
T-shirt Competition
Travel Grant Application
ISPOR Student Chapter
Grant
Research Competition
Ice Breaker Reception
Student Network Exhibit
ISPOR Student Forum
ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK
Inside this Issue
Summer Internships 1
Univ. of Arizona 1
Univ. of Huston 2
West Virginia University 3
Purdue University 3
St. John’s University 4
Events at Baltimore 5
The Newsletter Quiz 6
ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER, MARCH ISSUE, 2011 Page 1
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA -
ISPOR STUDENT CHAPTER By: Alex Mutebi, Chapter President
UA-ISPOR members participated in Tucson
Memory Walk not only to raise awareness about
Alzheimer’s disease but to also raise funds to-
wards Alzheimer’s research. UA-ISPOR mem-
bers usually take part in this event.
UH-ISPOR organized its first ever Halloween party
on October 29, 2011. The gracious presence of all faculty and
staff members along with students dressed up in Halloween
Costumes made it a great success. The students also took the
opportunity to recognize their professors for their contribu-
tion in every aspect of the graduate program in Pharmacy
Administration. On November 5, 2011, the students also got
together for a potluck dinner to celebrate Diwali, an Indian
festival popularly known as the festival of lights.
On December 9, 2010, UH-ISPOR hosted a guest
presentation by Dr. Vijay N. Joish, Deputy Director at Bayer
HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Joish’s topic of presentation
was “Understanding Outcomes Research: Industry’s Perspec-
tive”, where he talked about the career opportunities for
pharmacy graduates in pharmaceutical industry, particularly
in the field of Health Economics and Outcomes Research
(HEOR). Food was also served in the seminar, and this was
sponsored by the ISPOR Student Activity Grant.
In the spring 2011, the chapter had two seminars.
The first seminar was a presentation on “Nonresponse and
Nonrespondents in Survey Research” by Dr. Christiane Spitz-
mueller, PhD, Professor, Department of Psychology, Univer-
sity of Houston. For second seminar on Feb 3, 2011, the
chapter hosted Charles Douglas, a PhD candidate from the
University of Florida, Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes
and Policy. Charles presented his dissertation titled ‘Towards
an operational definition of Pharmacy Clinical Competency”,
validating a national clinical performance instrument for assessing
students’ clinical performance.
In the midst of academic activities, UH-ISPOR is gearing up
for its upcoming socials in the middle of the spring semester, which
will once again bring all the students, faculty and staff together for a
gala time ahead.
Page 2 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER—MARCH 2011
THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON ISPOR STUDENT CHAPTER (UH-ISPOR) By: Abhishek Chitins, Chapter President,
Satabdi Chatterjee and Hemal Mehta, Chapter Members
Pictured from left to right: Mo Yang, Abhishek Chitnis, Satabdi Chatterjee,
I-Hsuan Wu, Dr. Hua Chen, Sandhya Mehta, Hemal Mehta , Sneha Sura.
Ten ISPOR Student Travel Grants will be provided on a competitive
basis to student attendees for the 16th Annual International Meet-
ing. Each grantee is awarded COMPLIMENTARY REGISTRATION
AND SHORT COURSES. The grant will also fund round trip coach
class travel, hotel, meals, and conveyance up to $1300 USD for at-
tendance to the Annual Meeting. The applicant is required to pay
for these items upfront and the grant funds will be reimbursed
after the event per the ISPOR Travel and Reimbursement Policy.
Pre-established criteria will be used to review all the applications.
To review the grading criteria and/or submit your application for
the upcoming 16th Annual International Meeting, please visit
http://www.ispor.org/student/Travel/grantApp.asp before:
March 25, 2011
STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATIONS
March 25, 2011—Travel Grant Application Dead-
line
April 5, 2011—Early Registration Deadline for
meeting and Short Courses
May 22, 2011—6.30 pm—7.30 pm : Research
Competition
May 22, 2011—7.30 pm— 8.30 pm: Ice breaker
event
May 23, 2011—ISPOR Student Forum
May 23—25, 2011—Student Network Exhibits
SAVE THE DATE…!!!
Page 3 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER—MARCH 2011
PURDUE UNIVERSITY ISPOR CHAPTER
By: Xiaoqin Yang, Chapter President, & Lori Ward, Chapter member
Purdue University-ISPOR student chapter has continued with the
chapter’s journal club which meets every other Monday afternoon. This year’s
journal club is attended by eight graduate students focusing on factor analysis.
This year’s goal is to reinforce participant understanding in psychometric the-
ory and enhance empirical research experience in factor analysis.
Reading materials and application guides for the series are
“Psychometric Theory” by Jum C. Nunnally and “A Step-by-Step Approach to
Using the SAS System for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling” by
Larry Hatcher. With individual preparation based on assigned reading prior to
the journal club meeting, participants come together to have a stimulating dis-
cussion led by a different participant each time. The club has received a lot of
positive feedback, examples include; ‘…We are basically teaching ourselves and
others in the group. It is useful to get insight from my colleagues' various ex-
periences and knowledge…..’from Marwa Noureldin. ‘It is a very enriching
experience, as it involves students working together to understand scientific
literature.’ from Jigar Rajpura. “The journal club has provided a relaxing and
interactive environment to discuss factor analysis at our own pace….” from
Lori Ward.
Special thanks to the chapter advisor, Dr. Matthew Murawski for his guidance!
Left to right: Lori Ward , Xiaoqin Yang, Jigar Ra-jpura, Engels Obi, Aleda Chen, Jyothi Menon, Neeraj Iyer and Marwa Noureldin
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY (WVU) ISPOR STUDENT CHAPTER By: Tricia Lee Wilkins, Chapter President
Bartlett House Christmas Drive
In December 2010, WVU-ISPOR donated much needed items to the
Bartlett House Christmas Drive. The Bartlett House addresses the needs of the homeless community by providing them with emergency shelter, food, and medical referrals for various treatments. They also provide one-to-one com-prehensive case management to break the cycle of homelessness. Together, WVU-ISPOR donated $300 in goods and necessities for those in need. WVU-ISPOR looks forward to continuing the support of humanitarian efforts in our community.
Sundale Nursing Home Secret Valentines
On February 14, 2011, WVU-ISPOR participated in a Secret Valentines Project for Nursing Home Residents at the Sundale Nursing home. Students purchased valentines cards and gifts for assigned residents and visited with them on Valentine’s Day. The gifts were very heartily accepted by the elderly residents some of whom said that our act made them feel really special and even asked to come visit them whenever we have time. WVU-ISPOR plans to continue doing this type of warm gestures.
Journal Club Goes on Tour
Our monthly journal club series provides a casual environment to learn share and discuss emerging topics in health outcomes research. Febru-ary’s meeting was held at Saffron, a locally owned Indian restaurant instead of the usual location, Panera Bread. We plan to continue taking our Journal club on tour as we experience different cuisines from around Morgantown. While at Saffron, Rini Vohra presented on a Cost-Effectiveness study that evaluated indi-vidualized Alzheimer’s treatments in the UK. Yun Wang presented a global update on cervical cancer vaccination treatment strategies.
Pictured from Left to right: Row1: Tricia Lee Wilkins(President), Elvonna Atkins (Treasurer), Ami Vyas (Vice President), Sandipan Bhattacharjee, Row 2: Traci LeMas-ters (Secretary), Dr.Lucy Pan (Faculty Advisor), Mayank Ajmera, Row 3: Rini Vohra and Yun Wang
Page 4 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER—MARCH 2011
ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY ISPOR STUDENT CHAPTER
By: Unnati Majethia, Chapter President
REACHING OUT TO THE NEEDY! Friday’s at the
Soup kitchen, (With Bread and Life)
On February 25, 2011, six members at STJ ISPOR chap-
ter volunteered for ‘Bread and Life’, a service to bring
and serve food to the needy. In addition to providing
meals throughout the week, ‘Bread and Life’ also helps
the needy with getting proper documents for legal iden-
tification like birth certificates, social security cards and
other forms of ID cards. The student members specifi-
cally participated in the “Friday’s at the Soup Kitchen”
program.
At the facility, in Brooklyn, New York, the students were
divided into two groups. Group one helped make sand-
wiches, serve soup and cookies to people who came in
for a meal. The other group was in the pantry packing
groceries for individuals and families. Overall, STJ ISPOR
members reported the experience as rewarding; “it feels great to be able to help people who actually need it,” by
Manav Kapoor. And Swapnil Tiwari added that “sparing a couple of hours to help feed someone is probably the easiest thing one can do that still fills the heart with sat-isfaction.”
STJ ISPOR Research Competition Prep.
STJ ISPOR chapter realized that performing well in the
ISPOR student research competition is not only helpful
in gaining additional knowledge, but can also earn mem-
bers and their universities international recognition. As a
preparatory move, the chapter started a bi-monthly re-
search competition. The final round will determine
which students will represent STJ ISPOR in the 2011
ISPOR competition. Thus far, the signs are good as one
first year student, Smeet Gala commented; “I still haven’t even taken the course on Pharmacoeconomics, but I already know so much about it.” Spe-
cial thanks to the faculty advisor Dr. Wenchen Wu and the Dean of the
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, Dr. Robert Mangione
for their support.
Samosa Fundraiser
On February 16, 2011, the STJ ISPOR chapter organized a fund-
raiser to help generate additional monies for the chapter’s activi-
ties. The culture of the members and the graduate program was
the inspiration behind the decision to have a “Samosa Sale.”A
Samosa is a spicy, fried South Asian snack stuffed with potatoes
and peas. Needless to say, the event was a success with no inven-
tory left by the end of the day.
Pictured from left to Right: Unnati Majethia , Smeet Gala, Anshul Shah, Dr. Wenchen Wu (Faculty Advisor), Manav Kapoor, Swapnil Tiwari, Dharam Ajmera, Abhishek Sahu, Pranav Gokhle, Birju Shah, Tarun Bhagnani, Pooja Jain and Chetan Kulkarni
ISPOR Student Chapter Activity grants are available to
all student chapters. Please do take advantage of this
opportunity to organize an educational or service
event and promote ISPOR at your university. Request
amounts may vary between $100 and $400. Please pro-
vide a description of the planned activity in the appli-
cation form. Applications may be emailed to Jennifer
Casillas at [email protected]. If you have not received
an application, please contact Student Network Chair
Urvi Desai at [email protected]
ISPOR STUDENT CHAPTER GRANTS
Page 5 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER—MARCH 2011
EVENTS AT BALTIMORE
STUDENT NETWORK EXHIBIT
While you are visiting the Exhibit Hall, please stop by the stu-dent table to interact with others in the Student Network! At the table you can also pick up information to start your own student chapter in case your school does not have one al-ready. Representatives of the Student Network will be at the exhibit to give you more information on the exciting and re-warding aspects of having a student chapter at your school. We shall also be available to receive suggestions and answer questions about the Network and/or its activities as well as the student events at the meeting! When: May 23, 2011 8:00am – 8:00pm May 24, 2011 8:00am – 7:30pm May 25, 2011 8:00am – 3:00pm Where: Please refer to Conference Brochure for meeting room details
ISPOR STUDENT FORUM
In 2010, the United States government passed legisla-
tion to implement the largest reform in the history of its
healthcare system, through the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act of 2010, while facing the worst eco-
nomic times since the Great Depression of 1930. What
impact would this situation have on a graduate’s career
development? Which area has the potential for the
greatest increase in job opportunities? What additional
skills might employers be looking for? All this, and more
will be discussed by a panel of experts from the acade-
mia, industry and consulting at the ISPOR Student Fo-
rum!
Theme: Career options in the wake of health-care reform and recession
Speakers: Dr. Chris L Pashos PhD, Vice President, United Bio-
Source Corporation, Lexington, MA, Former ISPOR President
Dr. C. Daniel Mullins PhD, Professor, Pharma-coeconomics and Associate Director of Center on Drugs and Public Policy, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Co-Editor-in-Chief: Value In Health
Dr. Jens Grueger PhD, Vice President and Head of Global Market Access, Primary Care Business Unit, Pfizer, NYC, Former ISPOR Director
When: Monday, May 23, 2011- 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Where: Please refer to Conference Brochure for meeting
room details
RESEARCH COMPETITION
The research competition is the most exciting student event of the meeting! This friendly competition gives students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned to date. Three cash prizes are awarded at the competition: first prize receives $750, second place $500, and the third team gets $250. The prize money can be used by the student chapters for educational or travel events in the coming year! Please participate in the competition as a team of 3 to 4 members and prepare for the quiz from the ISPOR Book of Terms (if your chapter does not have the book, please contact Urvi Desai at [email protected] to request one). The official invitations and rules and instructions for participating in the Research Competition will be sent out before March 15, 2011. When: Sunday, May 22, 2011- 6:00pm – 7:30pm Where: Please refer to Conference Brochure for meeting room details
ICE BREAKER RECEPTION In addition to an hour full of refreshments after a long day of short courses and other activities, the Ice– breaker reception (right after the research competition) provides an excellent opportunity to interact with other students and faculty on a personal level at the Meeting. Please join us directly after the Research Competition for food, games, and free t-shirt at the Reception! When: Sunday, May 22, 2011– 7.30 pm—8.30 pm Where: Please refer to Conference Brochure for meeting room details
Page 6 ISPOR STUDENT NETWORK NEWSLETTER—MARCH 2011
THE NEWSLETTER QUIZ Find the words for the questions below. Find those words in this grid to complete the quiz. Please
send in the completed scanned quizzes to Unnati Majethia—([email protected]). The
first chapter to submit all correct answers will be recognized on the cover page of the next issue of
the ISPOR newsletter and also will be eligible for a $100.00 chapter activity grant.
O I R A D S A O P N C K E T O F
O I T A R S D D O M I N A N C E T H R E I F D A I S E C M P T Y
A Q N C U I C N K C B R E O W N
P M E U E J X R R O S S E R O F S O T V C N E O V R T H E L A Z
R B B O O T S T R A P P I N G Y
O W E K N C Q O I U L Q A G O D
N F N O C X U J R U M I P S O U Z A E L O E A O H I T R D E H V
Y D F O R G R A Q U N I C I K B
J X I O D I E O O N W G S O T R U M T P A U H H O V E P Q A L Y
R A Z G N C C I W F O X O R E D T L Y D T E C R O R J P B T L A
H E G O A Q K B N U M S E H Z Y
1. A violent, dangerous cyclone also used to
analyze the impact of uncertainty on an eco-
nomic analysis (7)
2. This three letter word is abbreviation for a
corporate entity that specializes in facilitat-
ing the conduct of clinical research on behalf
of, and on contractual basis with corporate
and governmental sponsors (3)
3. This Index is a two dimensional classifica-
tion system of health states. The first four
letters of this six letter word also make the
name of a famous character of the sitcom
“FRIENDS” (6)
4. Simple, Extended and Efficient frontier are
three types of this (9)
5. On December 9,2010, this chapter hosted a
guest presentation that was sponsored by
ISPOR Student Activity Grant. (2-5) (Answer
in one of the articles of the March Newslet-
ter)
6. This quadrilateral with all equal sides and
angles is also used to represent the decision
node of a decision tree (6)
7. A method to approximate accuracy of a
statistical estimate. In business this word
also means to start business without any
external help/capital (13)
8. Parents and teachers teach little kids to be
_______ to everyone. This four letter word is
also an abbreviation for a quasi governmen-
tal organization that attempts to provide
patients, health professionals and public in
England and Whales with authoritative, ro-
bust and reliable guidance on current medi-
cal best practice (4)
9. Repetition of sounds resulting from reflec-
tion of sound waves, also an economic model
used extensively for teaching medical profes-
sionals about designing and reviewing out-
comes research studies (4)
10. A measure of effect size describing the
strength of association or non independence
between two binary data values. It is used as
a descriptive statistic and plays an important
role in logistic regression (4-5)
11. If a patient is consistent, accurate and follows a recommended medical regimen, he/
she is said to be___________________ (10)
12. This eight letter word describes how well a measurement tool or economic evalua-
tion allows us to infer something about the true nature and value of the object or sys-
tem being considered (8)
13. A method of displaying cost effectiveness results. Monetary and health are its two
types (3-7)
14. This four letter abbreviation is often used in Cost Utility Analysis is a measure of
disease burden (4)
15. A technique in Time-to-event models to account for incomplete information in a
primary research study (9)
Unnati Majethia (St. John’s University), Alex Mutebi (University of
Arizona), Natasha Shcherbakova (Univ. of Texas at Austin), Alex
Tungol (University of Michigan), Tricia Lee Wilkins (West Virginia
University), Urvi Desai (Virginia Commonwealth University),
Zeba Khan, PhD (ISPOR Student Network Advisor)
Please contact Tricia Lee Wilkins at [email protected] for
June 2011 ISPOR Student Network Newsletter
NEWSLETTER EDITORS