Julie Dela Cruz
Julie Dela Cruz, PhD, is a science communicator and educator currently working as a Medical Science Liaison at Eli Lilly. She holds dual PhDs in Psychology and Neuroscience and studied dopamine pathways involved in motivation, learning, and memory. After completing a postdoc studying hippocampal circuitry, she transitioned to industry and worked as a Global Medical Communications Manager for Facial Aesthetics and Medical Dermatology at Allergan. As an MSL, she communicates to key opinion leader physicians emerging information in a particular therapeutic area.
Can you describe your academic and professional background? What path led you to pursue this field?
I have a PhD in psychology (neuropsychology) from the CUNY Graduate Center, and a PhD in Neuroscience from Maastricht University. I really enjoyed how fascinating the brain is. I was also a postdoc at UC Irvine in the department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and most recently, a publication manager of facial aesthetics at Allergan (now Abbvie).
How did you find this particular position, and what was the hiring process like? Is there a typical structure for this in your field?
I am now a Medical Science Liaison of medical dermatology at Eli Lilly. The hiring process consisted of a phone screening with the hiring manager and a live interview at headquarters (before COVID). I feel like this is pretty standard in the pharma industry, maybe an additional HR screening before the call with the hiring manager.
Can you tell us about your current responsibilities? What is a typical day or week like in your role?
My job is to keep up to date with breakthroughs in my therapeutic area, so that I can keep the key opinion leader (KOL) physicians up to date as well. My typical week (I started in the "field" after the lockdown) is team meetings on Monday, virtual doctor visits on Tues, Weds, Thurs and admin day on Friday.
What do you enjoy about your current job and work environment?
I like that it is home-based (even before COVID) and that I set my own schedule. It is also very autonomous. And even though it is autonomous, my team is very close and we support each other with any issues or celebrations each of us have along the way.
What are some of the challenging aspects of your job? Is there anything you wish you had known about your job or industry before joining?
It is hard to get in front of doctors sometimes, especially if you haven't met them yet. You have to work at the relationship.
Do you have any professional plans for the future? What are some future career paths that could open up for someone in your position, 5-10 years down the road?
I have several paths I could explore. I could climb up the MSL ladder and become a senior MSL and maybe even director of MSLs. Or I could go in-house and become a medical director in medical affairs and work on the strategy of medical affairs. Lastly, I could maybe move laterally to be a clinical scientist.
What’s changing in your industry? Are there any future trends we should be aware of?
Because of COVID, the way we are interacting with our KOLs are changing. I think in the post-COVID world, we could have a hybrid model of visiting KOLs- part virtual and part in-person.
What activities, internships, or organizations would you recommend someone get involved with to help them break into this field?
Do anything that sets you apart from others. Make sure you have in your resume something that stands out that makes it look like you aren't only interested in staying in academia. If possible, try to get any experience in industry. There are also postdocs one can do in industry that would help someone break into the field.
Is it common for people in your field to have a scientific/academic background (i.e. have PhDs)? Can you think of any advantages or disadvantages someone with a PhD might experience while pursuing or working in your field?
Yes, it is common to have a PhD and be an MSL. One disadvantage in some companies, is that if you want to be a medical director, some companies only accept those with MDs. But there are many companies where you can be a medical director and have a PhD, you just have to find those companies.
Do you have any final words of advice for those navigating these career questions? Is there anything you would have done differently given what you know now?
Network, network, network. Best way to find a job is to get internal referrals. But also use your emotional intelligence when asking someone for those internal referrals. Remember to add value to all conversations that you have, especially informational interviews. When I first graduated with my PhD, I only applied for jobs online, because nobody taught me to network. I wish I knew that back then, would have saved me a year of a postdoc.
