Fueled by generous philanthropic support and insights from industry partners, the University of Delaware launched a new master’s program in biopharmaceutical sciences in June. 

AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. contributed leadership support to lay the foundation for the program and will provide the first cohort of students with funding, extended internships and mentorship. In addition to the philanthropic gifts which will help create equity and access for students of underrepresented groups, executives from the companies helped shape the vision and program experience. Their input and expertise ensure students are gaining valuable knowledge and experiences that will enable them to contribute more quickly and meaningfully once they join the industry workforce after graduation.

“The University of Delaware prides itself on our innovative partnerships and impactful collaborations, and this new program demonstrates the value of industry and academia coming together for our students, faculty, staff and the community beyond,” said UD President Dennis Assanis. “I’m truly grateful to our partners who have provided expertise and leadership support to help launch this innovative new program.”

The master’s program

The biopharmaceutical sciences master’s program, which focuses on the field of complex medicines made from living cells or organisms, includes traditional class and lab work, but will also feature unique opportunities with industry partners including case study presentations, guest speakers, mentoring and a 15-month internship.

“This timely, innovative program offers a unique academic and experiential learning opportunity for students across the University,” said College of Engineering Dean Levi Thompson. “Our holistic approach provides students with experiences relevant to the biopharmaceutical industry, enabling them to make a difference now while preparing for successful careers after graduation.”

The team which designed the intensive program included UD faculty and industry representatives and is aligned with University programs such as the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL).  

“As we at UD continue to increase our engagement with companies in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry, they are sharing the skills and experiences they wish new employees had, but aren’t being taught in traditional undergraduate and graduate programs,” said Kelvin Lee, Director of NIIMBL and Gore Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “So, we developed a program to specifically teach some of these skills. Students will gain a better understanding of how the biopharma industry works in developing, discovering and manufacturing of medicines, the business operations effect on the research side and issues that arise being a highly regulated industry. The knowledge will not only make the students more attractive to potential employers, but will move them along faster in successful careers and impactful discoveries.”

In addition to more in-class experiences with industry partners, the most unique requirement is the internship that will last the full 15 months of the master’s program. 

“When students are in the classroom, they don’t always think about the real-world context for problem solving, but industry partners will give the students the opportunity to solve problems with financial and regulatory considerations as well as the hands-on experience during the extended internship,” said Millie Sullivan, Alvin B. and Julie O. Stiles Professor and Associate Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “The internships will be a unique way to apply conceptual learnings from the classroom while the students work part-time with a biopharma company and simultaneously take classes part time. The 15-month internship was actually suggested by the industry because they really wanted the students to be able to take on real roles, on real teams working on real problems.”

The support from the industry partners — AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. — enabled the launch of the program and created greater access for students. The funding, multidisciplinary approach and partnerships with other programs at UD all contribute to one of the primary goals of the support and program composition: increasing opportunities and accessibility for students from underrepresented groups.

“It was really important as we developed the program at UD to be as inclusive as possible from the perspective of the students and companies and to effectively serve students who come from traditionally underserved populations” said Lee. “This industry has pretty high salaries relative to almost all other business sectors, and students who can learn more about the field and see the industry perspective as part of their education will be well-positioned for success. So, we wanted to make sure we could open the door to more opportunities and greater success for diverse students.”

Leadership partners

The supporting companies share common goals including creating a stronger, more well prepared workforce, creating opportunities for underrepresented students that will create a more diverse pipeline for the industry and, ultimately, ensuring patients receive lifesaving medicines and treatments faster. 

As the program launches this June, the company supporters and partners will be hosting the first cohort of five students for the 15-month internships, exposing the participants to many facets of the industry.

“It’s not often that we are part of establishing a program like this,” said Michael Thien, senior vice president at Merck and member of UD’s Biopharmaceutical Innovation Advisory Board. “This has given us the opportunity to provide a lot of input as to the relevant experiences and knowledge we are looking for in the students  as we bring them on board after graduation. We can ensure that we are teaching these students not only about where the biopharma industry is now, but where it’s going. One of the areas that will be really helpful for the students to learn about is data science: how to address ‘big data’ questions and analyze very large streams of data. Since the biotech revolution in the late 80s, changes were largely incremental. But now we’re seeing the industry take a huge step forward and students need to be ready to take on this new world that includes machine learning and artificial intelligence for data processing. They are digital natives that grew up in a digital world, but they will need to make sure they understand the fundamentals of data analytics and know what to do with it.”

Gail Wasserman, senior vice president of biopharmaceutical development, research and development at AstraZeneca and member of UD’s Biopharmaceutical Innovation Advisory Board, said AstraZeneca’s support is part of “paying it forward” to academia and being a part of making change in the industry while providing underrepresented students new opportunities in the field.

“From an aspirational standpoint, there is a real desire to be able to train for the future and education is at the core of it — you can’t do new things if you don’t learn how to do them,” Wasserman said. “When we train scientists of the future, including those coming out of this master’s program, they will be able to contribute sooner, and more directly. And the program’s diversity and equity are very much in line with our culture as a company. In this field you don’t need to look far to see a lack of diversity, so this is providing an opportunity. No matter how you cut diversity — age, gender, cultural background, academic pathway — some of the best teams who come together are some of the most diverse because there is a wonderful mix of ideas and thinking.”

David Elkins, who graduated from UD in 1991, is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bristol Myers Squibb and member of UD’s Biopharmaceutical Innovation Advisory Board. He agreed with Thien and Wasserman regarding the need to train diverse students on new equipment and processes in the industry. He added that they will also experience the result of their efforts: helping patients.

“In science and innovation, speed is of the essence, because our patients are dealing with life-threatening illnesses,” Elkins said. “We often say, ‘patients are waiting,’ because they are waiting for a medicine or treatment to help them in their fight against these serious diseases. It’s such a rewarding experience to know a product you had a hand in developing and manufacturing had a positive impact on someone’s life. I believe this program will help ignite the students’ passion to serve others and help accelerate their development to have a meaningful impact in healthcare innovation. I hope they walk away from this program and a Bristol Myers Squibb internship with a passion for serving others and a spirit of collaboration.”

The company supporters agree UD is well poised to launch this innovative biopharmaceutical sciences master’s program because of the faculty expertise, the campus’ central location, the infrastructure and the industry relationships being established through the Biopharmaceutical Advisory Board and key initiatives such as NIIMBL.

“A critical mass of people need to be interested in students coming out of a new program like this to make it worthwhile for students and for the University,” Thien said. “The University acted smartly: UD didn’t just say, ‘We’ll build it and see if they come.’ Instead, the UD team went to those they are building this program for — industries — and asked what we’re looking for to build a strong workforce pipeline. We in industry have a lot of faith in the program because of what UD has already been able to do through NIIMBL. Industry has been heavily involved in NIIMBL, and we have already benefited from training modules and research, so this program is being done by the same people. We don’t look at this as a start of a relationship with UD because we have been working with them and recruiting from the University for years. So, we see this as a continuation, and a deepening, of what has been a great relationship to date.”

For more information about how you can help shape biopharmaceutical sciences at UD, contact Dana Raftas at draftas@udel.edu.

First group of master’s students

The first five students who will participate in the inaugural biopharmaceutical sciences master’s program received their undergraduate degrees in chemical and biomolecular engineering in 2021 and now are moving on to the transformational program with the hope of earning their master’s degree in 2022.