8 minute read
ALUMNI PROFILE
Michelle Cho
Realizing Her Industry Goals
BY RANDOLPH FILLMORE
After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1994, and with a desire to work in health care and to help patients live better lives, Michelle Cho, PharmD ’06, started her career at a pharmacy in her home state of Maryland.
After a few years, she sought to have a greater impact and be at the forefront of science.
“I wanted to immerse myself in a specialty therapeutic area with a large unmet need, where the science of the disease was not well understood and pharmaceutical products would have a significant impact on patient lives,” Cho says.
At the time, that area was HIV. Cho wanted to be part of the quest to save lives.
“I wanted to know all the research programs, nuances, and insights about the science of HIV and to be a conduit to communicate so clinicians could have the most up-to-date science to best manage their HIV patients,” says Cho.
In 2002, with a vision of working in industry, she enrolled in the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) to pursue her PharmD. She spent several years commuting up and down I-95 for her classes, which she fit between her job at the pharmacy and caring for her family.
While pursuing her PharmD, Cho worked in GlaxoSmithKline’s HIV division, training with scientists who were making medication discoveries. In 2007, a year after graduating from UMSOP, she made a career move.
“I discovered that Janssen, the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, was developing a protease inhibitor, which was to be effective against resistant strains of HIV, along with additional innovations in pharmaceutical products for patients,” she recalls.
Still at Janssen today, Cho has been fortunate to be given the opportunity to navigate her career within the company through a variety of roles.
“Currently, I work in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, a rare disease, and am at the forefront of developing research projects and publications beyond the randomized controlled clinical trial, which is an evolution of evidence generation with real-world data,” she says.
She often reflects on her career path.
“I’m forever grateful to the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy for giving me a world-class education,” says Cho.
She also credits her mentors, Robert Kerr, PharmD, professor emeritus, and former faculty member Deborah Sturpe, PharmD, MA, BCPS, for understanding her industryoriented goals and for their encouragement.
“They were both clear on what my goals were and gave me the clinical content I needed to pursue a career in industry,” recalls Cho.
This year she was promoted to senior director of medical affairs in Janssen Pulmonary Hypertension. “I drive innovations in the U.S. research strategy to publish needed data in this rare disease,” says Cho.
Her promotion comes after many years leading Janssen teams responsible for gathering evidence to support company products as well as launching new products. Previously she served as Pulmonary Hypertension director of medical affairs and as Janssen’s national director involved in real-world value and real-world evidence, as well as being involved in health economics and outcomes research.
As her career goals are being realized, she also is giving back to both of her alma maters, to the pharmacy profession, and to students as a mentor.
Cho loves to spend time with her husband Kevin and their three daughters Grace, Kate, and Julia at home, on the pool deck, and at their favorite vacation destinations. The girls, all serious swimmers, have competed in swim meets around the country and traveling to them has been a family affair. b
A Message from Alumni Affairs
— Fred Rogers
These past two years have been difficult for many of us, with the pandemic affecting everyone. Our School of Pharmacy community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and preceptors have served on the front lines at hospitals, clinics, and community pharmacies providing important Greer Griffith lifesaving services as well as in the background conducting groundbreaking research and making sure loved ones are cared for and safe. We are grateful to each of you for all that you have done to continue to strengthen our School of Pharmacy community. Thank you.
While the ongoing pandemic has stretched us thin and exposed weaknesses, it also has taught us a bit more about ourselves — what we really value, what we find important, what motivates us. I hope that we all continue to grow and invest our energy in things that bring us joy and fulfillment.
The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs is always looking for ways to grow and improve our outreach to alumni. In the spirit of growth, I invite you to provide us with feedback on the services that we offer or could offer as well as how we can best engage with you.
We want to cultivate a community that nurtures the growth of our alumni and deepens connections and understanding of the wonderful work that occurs at the School of Pharmacy. As alumni, you are our best advocates and supporters. Your engagement energizes us. In late summer, we will email you a short survey to collect your feedback on School initiatives. To ensure we have your email address, please scan the QR code on this page, which will take you to the contact update page on our website, or visit www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/alumni/resources/contact-information/.
As always, if there is anything that I can help with, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Warm wishes,
Greer Griffith, MS Executive Director Office of Development and Alumni Affairs 410-706-5893 ggriffith@rx.umaryland.edu
Alumni Association Executive Committee 2022-2023
Jennifer Miller-Wolf, PharmD ’20 President
Catherine Cooke, MS ’18 President-elect
Daniel Mansour, PharmD ’06 Past president Carla Cobbs, PharmD ’12 Secretary Andrew Lee, PharmD ’20 Treasurer Members at Large Remy Alvarez, MS ’21 James Bresette, PharmD ’97 Michelle Cho, PharmD ’06 Jasmine Ebron, PharmD ’16 Brian Ennis, PharmD ’20 Amy Howard, PharmD ’17 Gwendolyn Lee, MS ’22 HongZhuo Lin, PharmD ’18 Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner,
PharmD ’83 Chioma Simon-Ebughu,
PharmD ’20 Scott Steiner, MS ’22 Tricia Wideman, MS ’22
Graduation 2022
For the first time in three years, the School of Pharmacy was thrilled to host in-person graduation festivities in May for the members of the Class of 2022. With eight of the School’s 10 academic programs graduating students, we had lots to celebrate, including the keynote address by Anthony Fauci, MD, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) convocation ceremony.
CLASS OF 2022 HAPPY HOUR
May 17 at Nick's Fish House
MS IN MEDICAL CANNABIS SCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS
May 18 at the Universities at Shady Grove
MS AND PHD IN PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
May 19 in Pharmacy Hall
MS IN REGULATORY SCIENCES
May 19 in Pharmacy Hall
DOCTOR OF PHARMACY CONVOCATION
May 20 at the Hilton Baltimore
UMB COMMENCEMENT
May 19 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
May 19 in the President’s Boardroom
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