This summer LifeSci Communications welcomed four interns to its team. Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our interns were able to successfully navigate and experience the internship program virtually. As the program comes to a close, we asked each intern to share some takeaways from their experience at LifeSci.
Sophia Ribner, University of Michigan Class of 2023
I learned so much valuable and important information working as an intern at LifeSci Communications that will benefit me in the future. As a rising sophomore in college, this was my first internship experience and introduction to the corporate world. At first, I was intimidated by the intense work environment and determination of the employees. Right away, I was assigned tasks and projects that involved learning how to use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as different programs and interfaces such as Cision, Meltwater and Canva. It took me a little while to adjust to the speed at which things were done at LifeSci, but after a week or two, I started to get the hang of everything. Even though everything was remote, I still feel as though I gained experience being part of a team. Since I had never had an internship before, I really did not know what to expect, but the LifeSci Communications team was by my side every day answering my questions and guiding me through the program.
One of the main projects I worked on was monitoring social media and the news for client mentions. To stay on top of this, I generated media monitoring and coverage reports that linked to the specific mentions of the client. In addition, I was assigned projects where I had to develop content for social media posts. Through these projects I was able to learn about different types of media outlets and coverage, in addition to best practices for social media channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Overall, I enjoyed being part of the LifeSci Communications team as it made me feel like I was part of a community that fostered productivity and personal growth.
Princess Sutherland, MPH Global Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
My favorite part of this internship was how much exposure I gained with life science and medical technology companies working across different disease spaces. I had the opportunity to learn about new drugs and therapeutics from clients with pipelines focused on gene therapy, immuno-oncology, precision medicine and rare diseases. I enjoyed utilizing my global health background to understand how I could advance clients’ agendas and improve their overall approach to different situations from a public health perspective.
I also enjoyed brainstorming on how clients could address the inequities within their specific disease spaces, especially regarding patient advocacy and disease awareness. For example, I worked with a dermatological cancer company who I thought could benefit from raising awareness among physicians on the disparities of skin cancer as individuals with darker skin are more likely to be misdiagnosed or diagnosed at a later stage with skin cancer. Another client was a breast cancer company, and I enjoyed thinking about various approaches they could take in regard to their new drug and how to reduce disparity gaps within this space since Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer versus White women. Black women are also diagnosed with breast cancer at a lower rate. Overall, I think it is important for these companies to take serious steps in terms of patient advocacy and disease awareness to stand out from competitors and make a positive impact not only within their disease space, but the entire life science and medical technology ecosystem as a whole.
Peter Yarem, Susquehanna University Class of 2021
Speaking the Language:
One of the main questions I asked myself before starting this remote internship was – how am I going to learn medical terminology on the fly, without being in an office setting? As a marketing major, I am definitely at a disadvantage when it comes to being familiar with terms from the biotech industry. Due to the constraints of being virtual and unable to turn to the person next to me to ask what something meant, I had to figure things out on my own. When dialing into calls, I would listen extremely carefully. When there were terms used that I did not understand, I would jot them down in my notes. From there, I would research the terms while still listening to the conversation. This allowed me to not get lost on calls and develop a full understanding of the conversations at hand. The virtual internship benefitted me in this way and forced me to pick up the ‘language’ quicker. In a normal office setting, I would not be able to simultaneously research key words, rather I would have to look them up afterwards. It was a great aid to be able to research terms on the fly so that I was always engaged in the conversations.
Learning Through the Current Environment:
Online internships during this time come with some major learning advantages. The biggest learning from my internship with LifeSci was how relevant my work was within the current environment we are living in. Being able to work with clients who were developing breakthrough technologies to directly help combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic gave me an incredible vantage point to see the strides being made in the biotech industry. I was able to learn through listening on calls, combing over press releases and by doing my own research of the companies. Being in the biotech and pharma world right now provided me with an up close and personal look that I otherwise most likely would never have received. Working on accounts conducting research related to the pandemic helped to give me a greater perspective on why these companies do what they do and why their work is so vastly important to society.
Toni Watterson, Sarah Lawrence College Class of 2022
As a theater major, I hadn’t anticipated working as a communications intern when I first started sending out my resume last summer. However, I believe that working in communications these past two summers has improved my acting, and vice versa. I was hesitant at first when I interviewed with LifeSci, as I had never worked in a corporate setting and wasn’t familiar with biotech or corporate communications. As my time progressed, I began discovering ways in which my acting training fed into my ability to correspond with journalists, bloggers and clients. For example, when an actress delivers her lines, it is imperative that the listeners believe her character and what she is saying, even if the actress is unfamiliar with the character’s knowledge. When I had the opportunity to call journalists with story pitches that featured scientific content I was less confident explaining, I treated my notes as if they were lines for a character who was a top scientist with years of knowledge to help them. I was then able to channel the confidence that character would hold in my own voice. On the flip side, I’ve found that working in communications has improved my improvisational skills as I often have to think on the fly. This has happened often during internal meetings and when speaking with clients. Improv is all about presenting yourself in a controlled way in an unpredictable or unfamiliar situation. As my time at LifeSci progressed, I found myself improving my ability to think fast and deliver correct answers with concise explanations to questions I wasn’t always 100% confident in. I was also able to contribute thoughtfully to discussions that, three months ago, I would’ve felt lost in.
Needless to say, this experience felt different than last summer when I had the privilege to intern at LifeSci in person. Working in such a dynamic, lively office surrounded by my mentors and fellow interns was a vastly different experience than travelling from my bed to my couch every morning and sitting alone in my house for eight hours a day. Although, there were pros to my virtual experience. I was able to mainly focus on my work as opposed to socializing with other interns and colleagues. I also found that in some cases, communications with my supervisor, mentors and other coworkers felt easier. In other ways, communication has been more difficult. I’m a visual learner and pick up on things faster when I can see them demonstrated in front of me. With Slack being the predominant method of communication, the majority of the instructions I received were solely text-based and did not include visual examples. Additionally, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the social component; everyone I worked with last summer was very kind and personable. Over both internships I enjoyed making friends and connections I wouldn’t have normally made as an acting major.
The LifeSci Communications team would like to thank Sophia, Princess, Peter and Toni for their continued flexibility, meaningful insight and hard work. We appreciate all of your help and could not be happier with all that you have accomplished this summer. For more information on our internship programs, please reach out to our Associate Director Sara Zelkovic at sara@lifescicomms.com
Graphic created by: Autumn Von Plinsky
