(Left to Right) Dr. Michael Markowitz (UCB), Dr. Shruti Raja, and Dr. Robert Dupuis (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy)

An important part of the drug development continuum is ensuring trained specialists are engaged through discovery, development, and delivery. Neurotherapeutics, or treatment of disorders of the nervous system, is a research area with a limited number of highly trained neurologists working in drug development. To help fill this gap, the UCB-UNC-Duke Neurology Clinical Development Fellowship program was developed for board certified neurologists seeking further training in neurology drug development.

 The Fellowship is an industry-academic partnership program offering an innovative combination of academic and pharmaceutical industry training to prepare fellows to launch careers in neurology drug development. Fellows are exposed to the core areas of pharmaceutical medicine, including clinical development, regulatory sciences, medical affairs, and patient safety. Upon completion, fellows will have the knowledge and skills to serve in academic or pharmaceutical industry neurotherapeutic projects.

“The combination of top notch academic training, clinical expertise in neurology and practical experience in an industry setting has led to our fellows pursuing successful careers in neurology drug development, ultimately helping UCB to deliver high value to patients,” said UCB’s Head, Physician Faculty, Michael Markowitz, MD, MBA, MSPH.

To date, three fellows have graduated from the program: Jeffrey Guptill, MD, MA, MHS, Nada El-Husseini, MD, and Shruti Raja, MD, MHS.

“The UCB-UNC-Duke Neurology Clinical Development Fellowship program is a unique program that provides an opportunity to learn and integrate oneself into the drug development process. Through this program, I have gained valuable skills in clinical research and early to mid-phase drug development, including clinical trials. The fellowship has provided the experience necessary to continue such industry-academic partnerships and increased my understanding of the complexity and challenges of drug development from multiple perspectives,” shared Dr. Raja.

For more information about the UCB-UNC-Duke Neurology Clinical Development Fellowship program, please visit the website. And, if you’re a neurologist interested in participating in the program, email a letter of interest, along with a copy of your CV, to:

Michael Markowitz, MD, MBA, MSPH
Head, Physician Faculty, Global Clinical Development and Medical Affairs
Michael.Markowitz@ucb.com