Susan Flavin, Careers After CON

CON alumna Susan K. Flavin, PhD, RN is a Director, Clinical Scientist, within the Immunology Pediatric Development Team at Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson and Johnson). Every day, she and her team strive to develop treatments to improve the lives of children worldwide.

She recently shared what she loves most about her career and how MUSC’s College of Nursing helped her grow as a researcher and nurse scientist.

What’s your typical day like?

I am a member of the Pediatric Development Team, situated within the Immunology Therapeutic Area at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, one of the Johnson and Johnson family of companies. Our team is comprised of physicians, nurse scientists, and clinicians with a vision to enable children across the globe to access safe and effective treatments from Janssen Immunology at the same time as adults. Our overarching mission is to drive a strategic approach to pediatric development through early planning and implementation of programs, to accelerate pediatric development by innovative strategies, to shape the external environment and provide consistent global interactions with Health Authorities, and to create efficiencies by leveraging expertise.

In years past, pediatric commitments within drug development were often thought of as “secondary,” and few possessed the skill set that is necessary to develop these programs. Our team is focused not only on development of these programs, but also developing our own internal expertise. My days are never the same; one may consist of planning a future clinical trial, working with my colleagues from biostatistics, data management, clinical operations, pharmacology and the like. Another day may consist of clinical data review, interspersed with authoring clinical contributions for various regulatory documents. In our group, we assume responsibility for one or more studies, in addition to collaborating on others. Cross-functional collaboration is a high priority within my group, and I am fortunate to work with other like-minded individuals.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Along with my colleagues, we have the opportunity to impact thousands of patients’ and families lives. As a nurse, I still visualize (in my mind) the faces of the patients and families behind those subject numbers. It is humbling to know that we can impact others’ quality of life and health by what we do on a daily basis.

Fun Fact about where you work:

We have an almost 2 mile walking trail around the perimeter of my campus. As an avid runner, I’ve gone in early to work. Depending on the season, it can be analogous to “Animal Kingdom.” It’s also a lovely way to take a midday break from work.

How did CON’s Ph.D. in Nursing Science Program prepare you for this role?

I was in a very similar role when I enrolled in the PhD program at the CON. I wasn’t aspiring to have a different role; I wanted to be better at what I did. I had a wonderful manager at the time, Dr. Elliot Barnathan, who encouraged me and supported my aspirations as a mentor and friend. I had a working knowledge of statistics when I enrolled in the program; I was able to further refine that skill set and contribute even more broadly within my teams at Janssen.

How did CON help you grow as a researcher and nurse scientist?

I have a passion for rare diseases and patient advocacy. At the time that I enrolled, we had done some studies in various rare diseases at Janssen. Under the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Susan Newman, I was able to expand on much of my quantitative experience and execute a mixed-methods study in two rare disease populations, enrolling subjects from all over the world, and conduct much of that research in a virtual manner. Although I had done similar work at my job, I had not done so academically. At the time, it was relatively innovative; we are doing that more frequently at my workplace now, and I still reflect on my experiences during my dissertation and bring that to the table. Conducting my dissertation was truly one of the highlights of both my personal and professional life.

—Susan K. Flavin