After working in the biotechnology field for several years, Madeleine Prangley, a Master of Science in Pharmacology (MSP) student in the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, is using her time in the program to formally advance her knowledge of pharmacology and gain more self-assurance in her professional life.
Prangley earned her bachelor’s degree in biology (with a minor in geology) from Oberlin College, where she researched paleontology and evolutionary biology. Following graduation, she worked with the invertebrate paleontology collections at Yale University’s Peabody Museum. Despite this alignment with the research she had done in college, she realized that this role was not the right fit for her.
“I found out that the field was not easy to break into, and I couldn’t find what I thought I was looking for in that path,” she shared. “I decided that I should try something new.”
Prangley began searching for research positions that incorporated the knowledge from her past work with fruit flies (drosophila), which she had studied as a student at Oberlin.
“I ended up working at a small start-up using drosophila, C. elegans (roundworm), yeast, and cell models of rare genetic diseases to screen repurposing libraries,” said Prangley. “I fell in love with the drug discovery process and moved on to work in an early drug discovery program at Genentech. Now, I’ve been here for five years!”
As a Genentech scientist, Prangley has learned a lot and values the experience that working at the San Francisco-based biotechnology company has given her. However, she sought a more formal education in pharmacology and turned to the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences’ MSP program.
“I decided to pursue the MSP program because I focused my undergraduate studies in paleontology and evolutionary biology, and while that has given me a decent foundation for scientific research, I needed to learn more about the pharmacology field and get the background that I never had. I’ve done a lot of my own research to try and learn more about the field I work in, but you can only read so many papers!” she said.
The MSP program has given Prangley the education she was seeking and allowed her to maintain her role at Genentech: “The online structure has given me the flexibility I need while working a full-time job and keeping my work-life-school balance. I have found the professors to be more than accommodating when something comes up. They understand that we are all adults with lives and jobs, and they work very closely with us. It has certainly been a lot of work, but it is absolutely worth it!”
Prangley expressed gratitude for the difference she is seeing in her career since becoming an MSP student and how her connections with other students in the program have enriched her life.
“Ultimately, what I wanted was a better understanding of the pharmaceutical process, and through this program and the people I’ve met, I have definitely gotten that!” she said. “The things I have learned in this program were immediately helpful to me at work. My colleagues have been incredibly supportive and have noticed a difference in my understanding of the projects I work on. I feel more confident in my work.”
