Tiffany Yarian had set her sights on a career in the pharmaceutical industry early on.
Growing up in nearby Glendale, she had long heard about the Trojan Family network and knew that many opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry were based in Southern California.
After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in biology, and with family living nearby, Yarian found USC Mann, known for its longstanding pharmaceutical industry partnerships, the logical choice.
“I specifically chose USC because I had heard about a lot of industry opportunities that USC offers, as well as the strong alumni and preceptor network,” Yarian says. “I really felt like the USC curriculum and the Trojan Family could help me achieve my goal to form strong connections and get a successful career in industry.”
During her first year at USC, Yarian quickly tapped into the school’s industry network, joining the USC Student Industry Association and the Industry Pharmacists Organization chapter (SIA-IPhO) as a student representative.
She landed a medical affairs internship at COEUS, a market access consulting firm, where she contributed to drug dossiers, analyzed pre-approval information, and helped present strategies to clients across therapeutic areas, including oncology. “It really allowed me to think outside the box,” she says.
She also began conducting ophthalmic drug discovery research with Hovik Gukasyan, associate professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, who had delivered an impactful lecture on the topic. She ultimately served two years as a graduate student researcher in his lab.
Yarian says it was a privilege to work with Gukasyan and be part of the team that presented its research at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting in Seattle in May 2024. “I learned so much,” she says.
Likewise, the COEUS opportunity turned into a three-year position as a medical affairs researcher and writer.
USC Mann’s four-year PharmD curriculum structure gave her the flexibility to pursue long-term industry roles alongside her coursework, something she says would have been more difficult in a more accelerated program.
“The four-year program is definitely an advantage for someone who wants to have a career in industry,” she says. “You have an extra summer, which is another good chance to have an internship. You also have more time to get involved in research.”
Extracurriculars were another area of growth. Taking on leadership opportunities within SIA-IPhO, Yarian served as director of communications and, the following year, as director of national engagement. She produced a chapter newsletter widely distributed to national partners and helped plan Building Bridges, one of the school’s largest industry networking events, in collaboration with USC’s Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter.
During her P4 year, Yarian also completed two Southern California-based industry advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs): an eye care clinical development APPE at AbbVie in Irvine, and an oncology medical communications APPE at Amgen in Thousand Oaks.
“Being able to make a difference, change treatment regimens, give recommendations to our preceptors—it really allowed me to see how much I had learned along the way,” Yarian says.
Yarian credits the course PHRD 508: Pharmacy Literature Analysis and Drug Information (taught by Rory Kim, associate professor of clinical pharmacy), as an important foundation of her pharmacy education.
“Dr. Kim’s literature class allowed me to really understand how to read articles and do presentations, as well as the important aspects of trying to interpret data,” she says. “It helped me a lot with thinking critically in industry settings.”
Each experience built on the last, culminating in a highly competitive oncology medical affairs fellowship with Amgen.
After graduation, Yarian plans to stay in Southern California and will begin the Chapman-Amgen Oncology Medical Affairs Fellowship, a two-year program. She will first head to Orange County oncology clinics for six months of clinical training and interprofessional experiences and spend the remaining time at Amgen in Thousand Oaks, participating in specific areas of medical affairs, such as scientific communications.
Yarian is excited about the hands-on, in-depth nature of the fellowship.
“It allows you to learn more about disease states and treatments in the clinical setting, fully hands-on, before you get immersed in the next year and a half with Amgen,” she says.
After the fellowship ends in 2028, Yarian intends to continue pursuing a career in medical affairs.
Her advice to future students: “Get involved as much as you can. Network as much as you can. Get to know people and take advantage of the USC curriculum: the electives, the research opportunities and the rotations. If you take advantage of the opportunities here and build relationships, you can really shape your own path.”