Describe a typical day/week in your current role?
Working as a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) involves working together alongside Clinical Consultants, Research Nurses and other Industry Leaders within the NHS/HSC. This may be at clinical sites such as St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin or Guys & St. Thomas in London. The flexibility of working with one of the largest pharmaceutical organisations in the world allows me to work and travel nationally or internationally, in order to drive effective clinical trials and ultimately move medicines from laboratories to the patients who need them.
No two weeks are ever the same for a CRA – one week could start off working from your home office whereas another could begin in Berlin or Rome at a study investigator meeting. Working in clinical research spanning multiple therapy areas including oncology, respiratory, cardiology and infectious diseases is an incredibly rewarding experience – knowing that your work ultimately improves and saves patients’ lives makes this job tremendously gratifying and like no other.
What key steps at Queen’s do you think helped develop you most - and impacted on your early career path?
Work placement year completed at MSD working as a split Clinical Trials Coordinator and Junior Clinical Research Associate role from 2016-17. Ability to extend my contract past my initial end-date allowed me to gain even further skills and experience, setting the groundwork to return as a CRA once graduating in 2018.
Emphasis on team & group work during course practical sessions and team sports such as rowing set the foundations for productive collaboration and leadership which could be applied in the workplace down the line. Additionally, group study sessions and tutorials organised by the school of biological sciences set out an effective opportunity to teach, work and share ideas with others – allowing me to efficiently lead by example while practicing effective time management skills and work ethics.
How would you advise your first year self to make the most of your time at Queen’s?
Do not doubt yourself and be confident in your decisions and knowledge. If unsure, then ask – if you don’t ask you don’t get! University has become a common part of education and doing something to stand-out is important – whether this be through volunteering, extracurricular activities, or work placements, it is important to have that one-line on your CV that makes you stand out from the crowd and gets you to where you want to be in life.
Philip Conlon
Clinical Research Associate, Merck (MSD)
BSc Biological Sciences with Professional Studies
