At a young age, Brandon Dang, PharmD ‘22, saw the positive impact that pharmacists can have on patients. This early exposure sparked his interest in a career where he could directly influence health outcomes.
When it came time to choose a pharmacy school, several factors led Brandon to enroll at PCOM School of Pharmacy. The school’s proximity to his family and work was an important consideration, but what truly stood out were the students and faculty. During an open house, Brandon observed the camaraderie among students and the supportive interactions between professors and pharmacy students. This supportive environment convinced him to enroll.
According to Dang, PCOM’s Doctor of Pharmacy program provided an opportunity to take a deep dive into various therapeutic areas. He also appreciated the PharmD program’s emphasis on understanding the needs of patients and healthcare providers in different settings. Learning about non-traditional pharmacist career opportunities where he could apply his classroom learnings was an added benefit, he explained.
This variety of experiences at PCOM School of Pharmacy strengthened his clinical knowledge and piqued his interest in roles beyond the traditional pharmacy setting.
Today, Dang works as the Manager of Market Research and Integrated Analytics on the Immunology Portfolio Solutions team at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicines. In this role, he uses his pharmacy education to understand patient, healthcare provider, and payer perspectives. He conducts market research and evaluates product performance, focusing on better understanding customer needs.
"I thoroughly enjoy leveraging my clinical knowledge and experiences gained through pharmacy school and applying it in a more commercial, business-focused environment with a goal to further improve patients' lives," he said.
Dang credits PCOM School of Pharmacy for helping him prepare for his current role by providing education in various therapeutic areas, sparking his interest in commercial pharmacy skills through multiple courses, and helping him understand the needs of different stakeholders in various pharmacy environments.
Dang encourages prospective pharmacy students to keep an open mind about their interests and career options. He advises students to identify their ultimate career goals early on and work backward to determine which skills and experiences they need to develop along the way. This strategic approach can help students build a strong foundation for success in any area of pharmacy.
He also encourages students not to shy away from non-traditional roles like those in the pharmaceutical industry. Dang explained, “While the skills and experiences leveraged in day-to-day operations may be very different than what a traditional pharmacist works through, those diverse ways of thinking help to form incredible teams that all work together with the same, if not similar, goals of putting patients first.”
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