Stephanie Shifka Ph.D., B.S.P.S ’15

Stephanie Shiffka graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2015 and went on to earn her Ph.D. in the same discipline at the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2021. Dr. Shiffka’s undergraduate research in Dr. Ruitang Deng’s lab ignited a passion for science and laboratory work. During her undergraduate research at URI, Stephanie learned valuable techniques while studying hepatic metabolism, a field she continued to study during her thesis work. Throughout her education, Stephanie authored and co-authored numerous publications and received several awards to support her research. Following the successful defense of her doctoral thesis, Stephanie accepted a Biologist position in Dr. David Schrump’s research laboratory at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, where she continues to support the lab’s goals of improving patient outcomes in rare forms of lung cancer.           

Stephanie is featured in one of the series of interviews we have been posted on our BSPS. careers page. In these interviews we explore the path graduates have taken after completing their B.S.P.S. degrees.

View Stephanie's video interview

Samina Akbar, B.S.P.S. ’18

Samina Akbar graduated from URI in Fall 2018. She currently works at Pfizer in Andover, MA as an Associate Scientist in the mass spectrometry group. This is a non-GMP group that characterizes a diverse set of proteins and submits data into IND and BLA filings. She is also completing my MS in Biotechnology at Northeastern University.

Samina is featured in one of the series of interviews we have been posted on our BSPS. careers page. In these interviews we explore the path graduates have taken after completing their B.S.P.S. degrees.

View Samina’s video interview

Christine Plant, B.S.P.S ’20

Christine Plant works as an Associate in Oncology Operations for Pfizer in Pearl River, NY. She is a member of the Drug Substance/Drug Substance Intermediate Team which is a step in the Oncology drug manufacturing process. Her team supports the manufacture of Mylotarg and Bespona, two of Pfizer’s many commercial products. She even had an opportunity to work for the Covid Operations Team to support Covid-19 Vaccine Manufacturing this past summer in Andover, Massachusetts.

Jennamarie Lopes, B.S.P.S. ’16

Since graduating Jennamarie Lopes has worked in Quality Assurance. Formerly at Rhodes Pharmaceuticals and now at Pfizer, she has had the opportunity to work in and learn about the many facets of the industry from a product’s start to finish. She has been fortunate to gain perspective from working in both small pharma and big pharma and looks forward to the many opportunities that await her in the industry.

Maddie Adams, B.S.P.S. ’18

Maddie Adams graduated from URI with a BSPS in 2018. After graduating, she started working as an Associate Scientist in a Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics lab at Enanta Pharmaceuticals in Watertown MA. After 6 months she moved into a study coordinator position where she was working with contract labs to manage outsourced studies. At the end of 2020 Maddie started a new position at Kymera Therapeutics, as the Preclinical Study Manager. Here she works to manage the preclinical studies that support many compounds in their robust pipeline, including Toxicology and DMPK studies. Since graduating, she has also obtained a Masters in Regulatory Affairs in Drugs, Biologics and Medical Devices from Northeastern University.