
{"id":4120,"date":"2023-03-03T07:11:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T07:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-from-experimental-scientist-to-medical-science-liaison-in-the-pharmaceutical-industry-insu-chos-story\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:21:08","slug":"careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison","title":{"rendered":"Careers outside academia: From experimental scientist to medical science liaison in the pharmaceutical industry &#8211; InSu Cho&#8217;s story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><i>After a decade of pipettes, lab coats, and labs, InSu Cho, Ph.D., switched his career path from that of an experimental scientist to that of a medical science liaison (MSL) in the medical department of a pharmaceutical company. He currently serves as a Medical Lead for Rare Diseases and Neurological Diseases in Specialty Care at Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical company. He has written <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibric.org\/myboard\/list.php?Board=news&amp;PARA3=105\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">a series of articles<\/a> in Korean for Biological Research Information Center\u2014a scientific community for researchers\u2014on the life of a Ph.D. student, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.naver.com\/neurocism\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">blogs<\/a> about career pivots and career tips for the bio\/pharma\/healthcare industry.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The interview responses were originally provided in Korean and have been translated into English.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Dr. Cho, it\u2019s a pleasure to chat with you! Medical science liaison is a role that many people are still unfamiliar with, so I\u2019m looking forward to interviewing you.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color:#4472c4\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\">First, can you tell us a little bit about your academic and non-academic journey up to this point and your career outside of academia? I\u2019m interested in knowing what inspired you to change careers.<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">After completing my Ph.D. course, I started my career as a medical science liaison (MSL) at a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company in Korea, worked my way up through the clinical departments at various companies, and am currently the Medical Lead of a team specializing in rare diseases and neurological diseases in Specialty Care at Sanofi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">A medical science liaison is a member of the medical affairs team of a pharmaceutical company and performs a variety of tasks, which includes planning and running clinical trials for the introduction and successful market launch of new therapeutics, collaborating with leading researchers and clinicians, identifying issues in the clinical field for unmet medical needs, and providing medical and scientific advice on corporate strategic decisions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In my bachelor\u2019s course, I majored in biotechnology, and in graduate school, I conducted research focusing on cell\/gene therapy development for diabetes and neurological diseases. After about 9 years of laboratory research experience, including post-doctoral work, I switched my career track, and in July 2023, I will have 9 years of experience in the medical affairs team of a pharmaceutical company, which is equivalent to 9 years of experience as an experimental researcher. Now I\u2019m a researcher who doesn\u2019t hold a pipette.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">After having completed my Ph.D., published several papers, and conducted post-doc research, I remember wondering what else I could do for the next 10 years based on my long lab life, and how I could grow in different ways. I explored options beyond academia and asked myself if I wanted to continue working in a wet lab, whether in academia or industry.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">During my postdoc period, I found myself looking back at my post-Ph.D. work and thinking about what I could tangibly show in terms of personal \u201cgrowth.\u201d Papers, lab notes, more figures and tables than last year, and raw data that I was hoping would be utilized at some point. Did these indicate growth? For me, these may have been accomplishments (albeit modest ones), but they didn\u2019t feel like growth anymore, because \u201caccomplishments\u201d are not equivalent to \u201cgrowth.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Each year, I found myself getting better at my experiments and doing more of them, but the nature of my work didn\u2019t change much, and the accumulation of research experience no longer felt like an \u201caccomplishment.\u201d The world outside of school, the lab, and the dynamics of the biopharma industry were too diverse for me to keep digging deeper and deeper into a single field. I realize that everyone is different, but spending the rest of my life pursuing the same direction was not for me.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">For a few years, I felt that while toiling away and hanging in there was what made my degree worth it\u2014and this was talked about like a virtue\u2014I was going to be swept along this path for the next 10 years if I didn\u2019t do something about it now. At a junction like this, if you don\u2019t decide and choose where you want to go, you\u2019re just going to be swept along on the same path. So, I decided that I wanted to move away from being an experimental researcher and take on a more expansive role. Nowadays, it\u2019s called career pivoting, and I didn\u2019t know that phrase, but I started exploring different career paths in order to make a career pivot that would allow me to utilize the experience and skills I had gained over the years, but to do my part in a completely different field.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color:#4472c4\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\">You made a radical decision to pivot into a new career, and I\u2019m sure it wasn\u2019t an easy one. What were some of the challenges you faced, and what were some of the things that helped you along the way?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I didn\u2019t set out to pivot and become an MSL. At the time, there was very limited information about MSLs. This role was more well-established overseas, but in Korea, medical teams are usually staffed by doctors or pharmacists, and it was rare to see a Ph.D. being hired in this position.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">When I decided to leave the lab, I thought, \u201cNow that I\u2019m not doing experiments, what can I do?\u201d For almost a year, I collected information on various careers, cold-called people who were actually working in the field (introduced myself, shared my background and questions, and asked for job descriptions and possibilities), went to job firms (headhunters), maximized my interview opportunities, and actively studied and prepared. Nowadays, I think there is a lot of information about the non-academic fields that Ph.D.s can get into, and a lot of examples have accumulated, so it\u2019s not hard to identify and prepare for a job, but that wasn\u2019t the case 10 years ago, so meeting people who actually work in the field was the best way to get practical information and a big help for me.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I had two guiding questions: What work could I do that did not involve conducting experiments?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">How could I leverage my expertise (not necessarily my major, but something based on the broad field of biology and on the technical experience I had)?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">The deep analytical thinking skills and experience in managing organized work (experiments, studies, projects, etc.) that I developed in my Ph.D. program would be a differentiating asset in the field.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I chose these two questions because while I sought a completely different career, this was not because I was giving up on my academic career, which was going well, but because I wanted to explore new ways to build on my expertise and use my skills. This is essentially identifying and scaling up what are called \u201ctransferable skills,\u201d and I met a lot of people with these transferable skills who were at the forefront of work outside academia.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Some of the people who were willing to give me advice when I didn\u2019t even know them later moved to the company where I was working, and I met them again as my manager by chance. Another person I interacted with is still doing a great job in the venture capitalist industry. The fields where I was given the opportunity to interview for jobs were really diverse, such as venture capital screening, science journalism, research planning for domestic companies, local recruitment for global laboratory-equipment companies, global business development teams for domestic companies, and medical science liaison in medical affairs for global pharmaceutical companies in Korea.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I received offers from three of these fields at the same time. I was fascinated by the vision of my current mentor, whom I met through a cold call, and eventually started my non-academic career as a Medical Science Liaison.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color:#4472c4\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\">I love the mention of transferable skills outside of academia. How can master\u2019s and doctoral students and researchers in academia get the opportunity to explore these roles or gain a better understanding of what these involve?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In recent times, organizations that offer such roles (medical affairs) have grown in size dramatically, and there is even an active society for MSLs in Korea (KSPM, Korea Society of Pharmaceutical Medicine). First, it is worth noting the global trend of medical affairs. In 2014, MSLs were ranked among the most promising occupations in Korea, along with regulatory \u00a0affairs specialists, in a study analyzing major health industry occupations and selecting promising occupations. In 2019, McKinsey &amp; Company, a global consulting firm produced a report titled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/industries\/life-sciences\/our-insights\/a-vision-for-medical-affairs-in-2025\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\"><i>A Vision for Medical Affairs in 2025<\/i><\/a>, which predicted that that medical affairs would grow to become the third strategic pillar organization in pharmaceutical companies, along with R&amp;D and commercial (sales and marketing) departments. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">MSLs around the world, and even the <a href=\"https:\/\/themsls.org\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">MSL Society<\/a>, which has a large membership of people working in medical affairs at pharmaceutical companies, provide a wealth of information and education to help you understand the role of an MSL. In 2018, Cheeky Scientist, a Ph.D. career platform, <a href=\"https:\/\/cheekyscientist.com\/top-5-biocareers-for-life-science-phds\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">ranked<\/a> MSL second in the top 5 careers for biology majors, and in 2015, Nature <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/2015\/09\/23\/finding-job-satisfaction-as-a-medical-science-liaison\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">published<\/a> a detailed article on MSL career plans, preparation, and job satisfaction for Ph.D.s, highlighting the future prospects for biology graduates who enter the MSL field.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In addition, MSLs are part of the medical organizations of most global pharmaceutical companies, and medical organizations are independent organizations that are as large as R&amp;D organizations. Therefore, there are many opportunities to enter this field worldwide.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color:#4472c4\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\">Thank you for listing all these different directions. Lastly, based on your experience, what would you say are some of the most important things for a master\u2019s\/Ph.D. student or a researcher at any career stage to consider when exploring careers outside of academia?<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\" style=\"\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">When exploring different non-academic career paths, it\u2019s important to have a detailed understanding of your strengths and professional competencies, and be able to articulate how they can contribute to the field or organization you hope to be part of. I\u2019d also like to point out that your expertise or competencies don\u2019t just lie in the area of research you conducted during your Ph.D.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0185023\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">An interesting 2017 paper<\/a> on careers after Ph.D. presented an evidence-based evaluation of transferable skills and job satisfaction for science Ph.D.s. Transferable skills are, simply put, skills that can be applied in a variety of fields or contexts, and it is important to hone these skills during your Ph.D. program so that they can be transferred to non-research careers as well as R&amp;D careers. It is also a prerequisite for the aforementioned career pivoting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">The paper is particularly relevant to life science majors, as Ph.D.s from these disciplines formed the largest proportion of participants in the survey (61%). The paper surveyed 8,099 Ph.D. holders pursuing research and non-research careers and analyzed in great detail which transferable skills they developed during their degrees, how important each skill is in academia and industry, and how they differ from each other.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">To life science majors (at the M.Sc. or Ph.D. level) who are considering a non-research career, I would advise thinking about the transferable skills they\u2019ve developed, whether they\u2019re leaving academia voluntarily or not. Make sure you\u2019re building on the different experiences and knowledge you\u2019ve gained over the course of your degree and that you\u2019re not just looking for an escape since a career outside of academia may not be for everyone.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Here\u2019s a list of some transferable skills you typically gain during your course:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Discipline-specific knowledge <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to integrate, gather, and interpret information<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to analyze data <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Oral and written communication skills <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to make decisions and solve problems<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to learn quickly <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to manage a project <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Creativity\/innovative thinking<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to set a vision and goals <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Time management <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to work on a team<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to work with people outside the organization <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Ability to manage others <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Career planning and awareness skills<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Specifically for MSLs, you can refer to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pm360online.com\/the-top-10-msl-msl-manager-competencies\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">The Top 10 MSL &amp; MSL Manager Competencies<\/a>, a 2017 study by PM360, a consulting firm in the healthcare industry (<i>n<\/i> = 211, 35 countries). This study found that academic expertise topped the list of competencies required for MSL jobs, followed by the ability to communicate with key researchers, identify unmet medical needs, provide insights, form partnerships, tell scientific stories, and have a business mindset.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">While the number one competency for becoming an MSL is expertise in the field, I would like to emphasize that expertise does not necessarily equate with a specific degree; you could be a postgraduate or a Ph.D., a pharmacist or a medical doctor. As a bio-MSL, it would be nice to have a degree in the field of study that you will be working in, but in the real world, it is usually not necessary, and it does not matter which degree you have as long as you are a quick learner and have the ability to synthesize and follow the literature in your area of focus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Finally, I don\u2019t recommend getting a Ph.D. just to become an MSL; MSL is just one of the positions you can choose after getting a Ph.D. To elaborate, it\u2019s okay for a fresh undergrad biology major to start a multi-year master\u2019s and Ph.D. course with the sole intention of becoming an MSL, but I would advise against it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">What does a Ph.D. mean? A lot of people say that it means \u201cbecoming an independent researcher.\u201d I think that\u2019s a very narrow answer because very few people stay in academia and become independent researchers. Instead, I would define the true meaning of a Ph.D. as a foundation that allows scalability in terms of career growth. Therefore, it is advisable to start a Ph.D. program with the vision of having a wide range of possibilities open and to develop your strengths, to experiment and research effectively, and to acquire transferable skills, so that by the time you successfully complete your degree, you have the \u201cskills\u201d to consider MSL as a career option.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Before you ask yourself, \u201cDo I need a degree to become an MSL or have an alternative career outside academia?,\u201d you should have a clear reason why you want to choose such a path (not as an escape or an experiment). If you are clear about what you want to get out of it, you will be able to drive your career, grow, and survive in a meaningful role in the ecosystem, and you can also be a good leader and grow your team. So, I would suggest that you be willing to accept the long training period of a Ph.D., hone both your academic expertise and transferable skills, and ask yourself how you can demonstrate your value and capabilities to the organization in the future.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>Additional notes<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In 2019, ARX Research, a consulting firm specializing in healthcare, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/how-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">surveyed<\/a> the educational backgrounds of MSLs in the United States (USA) working in medical affairs, and found that 21.22% had an M.D.; 27.15%, a Ph.D.; 20.65%, a Pharm.D.; and 14.72%, a master\u2019s degree.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 8pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:107%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In 2020, the Journal of MSL, published by the Global MSL Society, conducted a large-scale survey of MSLs worldwide, excluding the USA. This survey was called <a href=\"https:\/\/themsljournal.com\/article\/who-are-medical-science-liaisons\/\" style=\"color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline\">Who Are Medical Science Liaisons?<\/a> and found that 41% were Ph.D.s; 27%, pharmacists (Pharm.D.), and 8%, physicians (M.D.\/MBSS).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a decade of pipettes, lab coats, and labs, InSu Cho, Ph.D., switched his career path from that of an experimental scientist to that of a medical science liaison (MSL) in the medical department of a pharmaceutical company. He currently serves as a Medical Lead for Rare Diseases and Neurological Diseases in Specialty Care at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1713,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2370],"tags":[2760,2568,592,2483],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[2863],"class_list":["post-4120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-advice-for-researchers","tag-career-advancement","tag-career-advice-for-researchers","tag-phd-career-choices","tag-researcher-career","series-careers-outside-academia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Careers outside academia: From experimental scientist to medical science liaison in the pharmaceutical industry - InSu Cho&#039;s story | Editage Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is a conversation with Dr.\u00a0InSu Cho about his journey from being a PhD to becoming a\u00a0medical science liaison (MSL) in the medical department of a pharmaceutical company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Careers outside academia: From experimental scientist to medical science liaison in the pharmaceutical industry - InSu Cho&#039;s story | Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is a conversation with Dr.\u00a0InSu Cho about his journey from being a PhD to becoming a\u00a0medical science liaison (MSL) in the medical department of a pharmaceutical company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Editage Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Editage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-03T07:11:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T06:21:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/InSu-Cho_Thumbnail.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"656\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"336\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juhyun Lee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Editage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Juhyun Lee\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/careers-outside-academia-how-insu-cho-left-a-wet-lab-to-become-a-medical-science-liaison\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Juhyun Lee\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/#\/schema\/person\/2cf28e6d0468abf89a11b99e8c70e96c\"},\"headline\":\"Careers outside academia: From experimental scientist to medical science liaison in the pharmaceutical industry &#8211; 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