Information Sessions
Learn more about the opportunity to complete an MBA while you complete your Pharm.D.
The College of Business runs regular virtual general information sessions for the MBA program the dates can be found here.
Complete a Pharm.D. and MBA in 6 years with as few as 8 additional courses
After Pharm.D. courses and electives are considered, and eligible waivers are applied, you may be able to graduate with a Pharm.D. and an MBA with as few as 8 additional courses.
Thursday, October 12, 2023
2023 Panelists
Claire is a P4 student enrolled in the dual-degree PharmD and MBA program. She chose this program for its outstanding reputation and appreciated that she could still graduate in 6 years while earning both degrees, and recently finished all of her MBA classes this past summer! She is also a part of Alpha Zeta Omega, PPA, PLS, IPhO, and AMCP. Outside of the College of Pharmacy, she participates in Best Buddies and Unified Basketball. She worked at an independent compounding pharmacy for the past 3 years as well as the college of pharmacy’s IT department, and currently works at Butler Hospital. Claire has finished her general medicine rotation and is currently at her community experience. She will be graduating in May 2024. Emma is a dual-degree P3 PharmD and MBA candidate at the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society, Rho Chi Honor Society, Lambda Kappa Sigma Pharmacy Fraternity, Student National Pharmaceutical Association, and she is a P1 Peer Mentor in the College of Pharmacy. She is also employed as a pharmacy intern at CVS Pharmacy and Milford Regional Medical Center. She elected to pursue the MBA program to enhance her understanding of the business aspects of pharmacy. She enjoys the program’s flexibility and the MBA electives available to students based on their interests. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a residency, and she is looking forward to learning more about industry positions on her APPEs to explore unique opportunities in pharmacy. Julia is a URI alumni, who graduated from the Pharm.D. and MBA programs in May of 2022. Following graduation, she completed a PGY-1 managed care residency program with CVS Specialty Innovation, and went on to accept a position on the team in July of this year. Julia works on digital product innovation, combining aspects of her knowledge of the specialty patient care journey with internal and external business concepts. Personally, Julia’s passions include her family, soccer, and traveling. Timothy (TJ) is a 2022 graduate of the dual PharmD/MBA Program at the University of Rhode Island. During his time as a student, TJ balanced part-time roles as a pharmacy intern at an independent pharmacy and a patient account coordinator at an independent physician’s office. He holds membership in the Rho Chi Honor Society and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. Currently, TJ works as a commercial analytics/forecasting consultant at Trinity Life Sciences, a Boston-based consulting firm. Since joining, he has worked on projects across key business units including forecasting, EVAP, promotional analytics, and strategic advisory. He specializes in model and forecast development, market access strategy, promotional field team planning, along with healthcare data structuring. TJ decided to pursue the dual degree program to differentiate himself, to expand his skillset, and to build upon his personal interests in business. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, surfing, and learning about data science.
Claire Burbridge (2024)
Emma Van Reysen (2025)
Julia Rossi (2022)
TJ Dobson (2022)
Prior Recorded Information Sessions
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Are you interested in learning more about the opportunity to complete an MBA while you complete your Pharm.D. at URI? This is the place to start exploring to find out how you can make a Pharm.D./MBA part of your URI plan from Day 1!
Meet our Panel
Coordinator, MBA Programs, University of Rhode Island, College of Business 401.874.4241 Claire Burbridge is a P3 student enrolled in the dual-degree PharmD and MBA program. She chose this program for its outstanding reputation and appreciated that she could still graduate in 6 years while earning both degrees. She is also a part of Alpha Zeta Omega, PPA, PLS, IPhO, and AMCP. Outside of the college of pharmacy, she participates in Best Buddies and Unified Basketball. Claire currently works at an independent compounding pharmacy, for the college of pharmacy’s IT department, and is a field manager for a youth field hockey program locally in RI. David is a current P4 student enrolled in the pharmD/MBA program. He has completed his course work for both programs and is scheduled to graduate with both degrees in May 2023. He has been working for Walgreens for two years and has completed and organized rotations that focus on business in the field of pharmacy. Dr Lesniak recently graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May with her PharmD/MBA. In July, she began a postdoctoral fellowship with Takeda in US Medical and Field Medical, in conjunction with Purdue University. As a student, she was involved in several professional pharmacy organizations, including Lambda Kappa Sigma, Phi Lambda Sigma, the Rho Chi Honor Society, and the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association. Dr Lesniak elected to pursue the dual degree program to develop a strong business acumen and management skills applicable to her desired career path in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr Gilbert graduated in 2017 from URI’s PharmD/MBA program. Post-graduation, he joined the Rutgers fellowship program with Johnson & Johnson in an oncology commercial insights and strategy role. He spent several years with JNJ analyzing the market access realm and providing direction for commercial launches, line extensions, and loss of exclusivity strategies. Dr Gilbert then worked for a biotech company, TG Therapeutics, focused on commercializing oncology and multiple sclerosis products through the lens of market access marketing. Currently, Dr Gilbert works for Merck in a strategy role to ensure patient access to pharmaceuticals by working with insurance companies and healthcare systems to develop and implement novel cancer screening programs, value-based contracts, and collaborative agreements. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and exploring Philadelphia’s culinary scene. 
Lisa Lancellotta, MBA
Email: mba@uri.edu
Claire Burbridge, PharmD/MBA Candidate, Class of 2024
David Young, PharmD/MBA Candidate, Class of 2023
Krysia Lesniak, Pharm.D. / MBA ’22
Todd Gilbert, Pharm.D./MBA ‘17
Wednesday, October 20th, 2021
In this information session we had the opportunity to hear details about the program from the MBA Coordinator, hear perspectives from a Pharm.D. / MBA alumni and students currently in the program, and ask questions during the session.
Panel Members
Ariana Houle is a 2016 PharmD/MBA graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Upon graduation, she accepted a position as the Pharmacy Professional Services Fellow with CVS Health. She has stayed with CVS Health working in various roles, most recently the Retail Immunization team driving COVID-19 and other vaccine operations and strategy. After earning a dual Pharm.D./MBA degree at URI in 2014, Anthony pursued a career in the pharmaceutical industry holding positions with Cubist, Merck and Stealth Biotherapeutics. For the past two years, Anthony transitioned from the pharmaceutical industry to a career as an investor at the Morningside group, a life science venture capital firm that invests in new and innovative biopharmaceutical and medical device technologies. Krysia Lesniak is a sixth year PharmD and MBA candidate at the University of Rhode Island. She is a pharmacy intern in the ambulatory care setting at Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corporation, as well as in community pharmacy at CVS Health. Krysia elected to pursue the dual degree program to develop a strong business acumen and management skills applicable to a career in the pharmaceutical industry. She holds membership in a variety of pharmacy organizations, including the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, Lambda Kappa Sigma, Phi Lambda Sigma, Rho Chi Honor Society, and the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association, through which she took on many leadership roles. She has held a lead role in the Pfizer Pneumococcal Vaccine project, promoting education on adult vaccine recommendations, and will present this in the spring as her Honors Project. Timothy Dobson is a dual PharmD/MBA candidate at the University of Rhode Island, planning to graduate in Spring 2022. He holds membership in the Rho Chi Honor Society and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. Timothy decided to pursue the dual degree program to build upon his personal interests in business and learn about its integration into the healthcare system. Timothy works as a part-time pharmacy intern at an independent pharmacy in Westerly, Rhode Island. Upon graduation, he hopes to move into the pharmaceutical industry or biotechnology investments. Erika Rohdin is a P3 Pharm.D. student from Westerly, RI. She is currently working at an independent pharmacy andr realized she wanted to get my PharmD/MBA when
Ariana Houle, Pharm.D. / MBA ’16
Anthony Aiudi, Pharm.D. / MBA ’14
Krysia Lesniak, Pharm.D. / MBA Candidate, Class of 2022
Timothy Dobson, Pharm.D. / MBA Candidate, Class of 2022
Erika Rohdin, Pharm.D. / MBA Candidate, Class of 2023
I did an internship at RI Primary Care, an ambulatory care site. Once she graduates she want to work for an insurance company or a site like RI primary care.