UTHSC APPE Description
This unique rotation will provide pharmacy students with a deep-dive experience into academic pharmaceutical development at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. UTRF interacts daily with faculty at the UTHSC College of Pharmacy and the UTHSC College of Medicine, whose faculty are actively engaged in drug discovery and development.
UTRF assists with all facets of drug development in academia. The drug development process includes providing opportunities for technical development, offering regulatory information internally and through consultants, and securing intellectual property for discoveries through patents, copyrights and trademarks. The process may also include seeking funding opportunities for research, creating start-up companies to commercialize discoveries, and working with the pharmaceutical industry to develop partnerships that will advance projects into clinical development.
Students on this rotation will learn the process behind drug discovery and approval. They will learn about how new drugs are designed, developed, repurposed and reformulated at UTHSC; how those drugs are legally protected through intellectual property development; and what regulatory milestones need to be completed for FDA approval, including Investigational New Drug applications and New Drug Applications under 21 U.S.C. 355(b)(1) and (b)(2).
Students will also assist with technology transfer at UTRF. This experience includes commercial and patentability evaluations of intellectual property, invention triage, marketing technologies to outside investors, licensing technologies to the pharmaceutical industry, and evaluating business concerns for starting pharmaceutical companies.
Preferred qualifications:
- Currently enrolled in an ACPE accredited College of Pharmacy.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills for technical and scientific topics.
- Excellent critical thinking skills with the ability to self-educate and adapt to various areas of technology.
- The ability to research highly complex, technical topics, discern distinctive aspects of emerging technology from existing technologies and communicate findings in a helpful manner.
To connect with UTRF about being part of their APPE program, please email jparrett@tennessee.edu.