Name: Samantha Santangelo (she/her)
PhD: Molecular Biology, King's College London, 2002
What was your main area of research?
Human white blood cells called naive T cells develop into either Th1 cells or Th2 cells, which have different immune system functions. I studied the chromatin structure (how the DNA is 'packaged') and epigenetics (DNA methylation patterns) around the IL-4 and IL-13 genes in naive and Th1 cells (in which those genes are switched off) and Th2 cells (in which those genes are switched on). In naive and Th1 cells, the DNA around IL-4 and IL-13 was more tightly packaged and more densely methylated. In the Th2 cells, areas of 'open' DNA and demethylation corresponded with places at which proteins already known to activate these genes could 'land' to turn them on.
What is your current job?
I am a Freelance Medical Writer for Santangelo Consulting (own sole proprietorship) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Using the data from clinical trials of newly developed drugs, I write manuscripts on behalf of the investigators for publication in peer-reviewed medical journals. I also use these data to write abstracts, posters, and slides for presentation at international medical congresses. Other tasks include writing review articles about a particular therapy area, or training materials for pharmaceutical personnel about how a new drug works in a particular disease state, to give them the necessary background to sell it to healthcare providers.
I love the variety: I work in many different disease and drug areas, on different types of projects (slides, manuscripts, abstracts), and as part of numerous different teams.
I love the freedom: As long as I meet my clients' deadlines, I can travel whenever I like, work from wherever I like, and take leave whenever I like. I can start my day at 7am or 10am, and end at 5pm or 9pm, as long as I am online when they can reasonably expect me to be available.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
I moved to a new country due to my husband's work and wanted to continue being a research scientist, but there were too many challenges because of childcare issues. I started working at a healthcare communications agency as a medical writer, but the office hours were not compatible with childcare centers available to me. After a few months, my boss suggested that I resign and set up a sole proprietorship as a freelance medical writer, and he hired me back as a freelancer the following week. After working full-time but remotely for that company for about 3 years, I obtained their permission to work for other companies, and I have been freelancing ever since then. I still work for that original company on certain projects!
Undergraduate BSc (Honors) in microbiology, biochemistry and virology ➡️ medical writer for healthcare communications agency for 1 year but realized doctors weren't taking me seriously ➡️ PhD graduate ➡️ post-doctoral fellow in cancer research ➡️ medical writer for healthcare communications agency ➡️ freelance medical writer
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia? Was this a difficult decision or one you felt came easily?
I moved to Singapore from London and the laboratory work ethic and hours were not compatible with being a parent to a 1-year-old whose father was always traveling. So I transitioned to medical writing. It was a very difficult choice and part of me will always wish I could have remained in academic research. However, I have come to realize that it's not that difficult to be an entrepreneur if you can find a way to package your talents and skills to meet an unmet need.
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
A PhD will help you get taken more seriously as a medical writer (because medical doctors do not like taking writing advice from people with anything less), and these days it is pretty much a requirement for this job.
This was never my problem, but some people can't wait to leave the laboratory behind. If that is the case, it is better to seek the type of work that will make you happy! If you want to be a medical writer, it helps to be interested in medicine.
If you can get through a PhD, you can pretty much achieve anything you set your mind to. The fact that you have achieved a PhD already shows that you are a completer-finisher, have stamina, are an expert in a particular field, and are able to find and process large amounts of published information and repackage it for your university's publication/thesis requirements. These are valuable skills in any job. Remind your interviewer of this. Think of ways to 'sell' the qualities you had to draw on to get through your PhD. Make sure your CV or resume is well laid out and absolutely free of any grammatical errors and spelling inconsistencies. I would not recommend trying to start out as a freelancer until you have at least 2-3 years' experience as a medical writer at a healthcare communications agency or pharmaceutical company. Here you will learn what you need to know before striking out on your own.
Get your name on as many research papers or grants as possible, while doing your PhD. Make sure you get involved in the actual writing of these documents. To build up a 'starter' portfolio, consider writing a blog, or working on your college newspaper or departmental newsletter, or find an NGO in your area of interest and help them with their writing needs. Read the Elements of Style by E. B. White and William Strunk Jr. and try to use the advice as much as possible in your writing. Make sure you are completely familiar with using Microsoft Office, especially Word and PowerPoint (and Excel if possible). Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator (or at least how to work with and manipulate Adobe pdfs) is a bonus.
If you, or anyone in your family or friend circle, or even your parent's friend circle, is working in the job you want to do, ask them if they know anyone you could send your resume/CV to. Examine the LinkedIn profiles of people who have the job you want to do, to see the steps they took, and the types of people they are connected with.
Resources: LinkedIn; follow people on LinkedIn like Brian Bass, Crystal Herron and Lori De Milto; join the American Medical Writer’s Association (AMWA) and International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) and use their resources; read the Elements of Style by E. B. White and William Strunk Jr.