Jennifer Desai, BS Major: Public Health – General Track, Class of 2015 Position: Clinical Data Scientist – Global Data Manager Agency: Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson Here is what Jennifer has to say about what she has been doing since graduating from WPUNJ: “At William Paterson University, my major was in Public Health with a special interest in research, while also exploring coursework in my minor of Business Administration. My academic work has strengthened my research skills so much that it allowed me to obtain a clinical research internship at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Emergency Trauma Department. I was able to collect data and screen patients on studies that involved tobacco cessation, breast and cervical cancer, and colon cancer. Through my internship, I was able to further my understanding of the importance of the growth and development of health research studies.” “The research courses I have taken at William Paterson introduced me to health research with an emphasis on population-based research methodologies. I developed the critical skills needed to search the literature to develop a research study of 100 subjects on the health topic of sleep and its effects on college students. After constructing a literature review, I was introduced to advanced concepts in population-based health research. I learned how to develop an IRB (Institutional Review Board) form, an informed consent form, a questionnaire, a codebook, a data analysis plan, and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) data output reports. Ultimately, I developed the crucial skills needed to plan, conduct, analyze, and present a health research study.” “Furthermore, being a part of the Honors College at William Paterson University pushed me to do the best I can in my coursework. Ultimately, my hard work, dedication, and perseverance towards my education allowed me to be able to graduate at the top of my class as Summa Cum Laude and an entire year earlier than expected while being the Valedictorian of my major. Additionally, being a part of the Public Health Club on campus gave me the experience and confidence to work in a dynamic, fast-paced organization where learning quickly and patiently working with a team are instrumental to success.” “My undergraduate experience led me to obtain a job after graduation as a Phase I Clinical Trial Session Assistant at Memorial Sloan and Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. As a Phase I Clinical Trial Assistant, I worked with research protocol patients to ultimately schedule and coordinate all appropriate tests, procedures, visits, treatments and consultations in accordance with their clinical trial protocol.” “My experience obtained from Memorial Sloan and Kettering Cancer Center ultimately brought me to my current position as a Clinical Data Scientist - Global Data Manager at Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson. Working in the Integrated Data Analytics & Reporting department, I work on Oncology and Neuroscience clinical trials. In this position, I align and confirm data management expectations for my assigned clinical trials. This is accomplished by establishing conventions and quality expectations for clinical dataset content and structure, by performing trial level oversight controls, by reviewing clinical data management documents ensuring appropriate quality, scientific content, organization, clarity, accuracy, format and consistency, and by partnering with the clinical team including the Study Responsible Physician and Study Responsible Scientist to assure we are collecting accurate data.”
