Anyen Fon, PharmD ’22, MS ’22, took the unconventional route to becoming a clinical scientist, but she is well-equipped and determined to create her career path.
Fon, who began a two-year AstraZeneca-University of Maryland Early Clinical Development Fellowship in July working on cancer drug trials, has long known she wanted to work in scientific research studies. Her interest began after an internship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Instead of pursuing a PhD or MD, she chose pharmacy school knowing it could also lead her back to research.
“After the internship, I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Fon said. “That led me to pursue pharmacy school, but I didn’t go to pharmacy school to work in the community or hospital setting. The challenge was finding ways that I could merge research and pharmacy.”