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ISPE holds several conferences each year to keep students, industry leaders, and other Members up to date on the newest technologies and best practices. This year, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of ISPE was able to fund five ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ students to attend the conference on Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing in Huntington Beach, California. From left to right: Kiersten Johnson, Alissa Mastronardi, Huy Tran, Cora Bradley, Mikayla Olin

For the three days of the conference, the students learned about cGMP (current good manufacturing processes), FDA regulations of biopharmaceutical processes, and emerging technologies and products coming out of the industry. For Alissa Mastronardi, the most memorable part of the conference was the session about cancer vaccinations. Developed by Genentec, a process that compares the genomic sequencing of healthy and cancerous tissue is leading to mRNA-based personalized cancer vaccinations. Between sessions, attendees were encouraged to explore the exhibit hall where more than 40 pharmaceutical companies were tabling. This was a great opportunity for networking! By focusing on getting to know people personally before professionally, Huy Tran was able to establish lasting connections. He thought the best part of this event was the casual environment that allowed him to have in-depth conversations with people who have been in the biosciences industry for the majority of their careers about projects they have worked on, job motivation, and life in general. 

When the conference wrapped up each day, the students were able to explore the area. This included walks along the beach (which was right across the street from the hotel!), a local farmer's market near the pier, live concerts downtown, and dinner with the Vice President of AstraZeneca.  The pictures below show some of the activities from the conference, but if you'd like to learn more, visit the . 

 I’ll say this about any event but its about who you know not what you know... The more connections you make, the more opportunities you will have to learn and pursue different career paths. ...but what you know doesn’t hurt. Keep a modest, open mind. There is so much to learn that you can apply to many aspects of future conversations, interviews, or real world experiences. Certain lectures such as vaccines for personalized cancer care were stunning, inspiring, and worth sharing (or pursuing!), which shows the importance of seeking out similar events to this one.

-Cora Bradley

It was amazing to have the opportunity to talk to and be around the industry professionals in a relatively casual setting. They talked openly about their lives and experiences which reminded me that they are just regular people in the world. In particular, it was neat to sit down at a table and not even realize that you were sitting next to the CEO of a large pharma company- someone that you normally wouldn’t even get to associate with if you worked at the company.

-Kiersten Johnson