Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 2/1/2021 12:00:00 AM
Yana Vorontsova, PharmD, Fellow, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana
Dr. Vorontsova received her PharmD degree in May of 2019. She has been involved in various research projects throughout, and even prior to, her time in pharmacy school. Her projects ranged from drug discovery and drug formulations to secondary data analysis and socio‐behavioral pharmacy. At the time, she was not planning to continue in a career as a researcher, but it has been a big part of her professional development. During her training, she has been aware of many different avenues that pharmacists can pursue beyond the traditional hospital or retail settings. She is grateful to all the primary investigators that she has had the chance to work with—especially to Mutasem Rawas‐Qalaji, PhD. She has been working in Dr. Rawas‐Qalaji’s laboratory all through pharmacy school, researching the sublingual epinephrine for treatment for anaphylactic reaction. She believes that experience has prepared her well for her current role as a T‐32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Indiana University School of Medicine. In her current role, her research mentor is Sara K. Quinney, PharmD, PhD, who has played the biggest role in her professional and personal development. She points to her as a role model as a PharmD and a woman in science. Dr. Vorontsova also points to her mentor in her MBA program, Susan Ford Collins, as guiding her through personal development, and imparting an ability to get through difficulties and roadblocks.
Dr. Vorontsova received her MBA in Business Analytics and Business Intelligence. She took on that course of study because she wanted to have a career where she could combine the fields of data science and pharmacy. When she was in pharmacy she was asked to come up with an innovative or business idea in the field of pharmacy. She decided to use data analytics to predict patients at a high risk of opioid addiction. In her current fellowship, she is currently working with the Regenstrief Institute utilizing tools like machine learning and natural language processing to develop a tool that predicts patients at higher risk of opioid use disorder. In this project, she has reached out to Modeling and Simulation Groups and learned more about that computational aspect of pharmacology. She was fascinated and wanted to learn just a little bit more, but shortly found herself fully immersed in this field, which she is very grateful for.
When she began her fellowship, Dr. Vorontsova was introduced to ASCPT. She was told that it was the most important professional society for them and the whole department attends the Annual Meeting. She promptly joined and has been happy about it ever since. She explains: “When so many seasoned clinical pharmacologists tell you what is best for you, you don’t want to question them. I know they are right.”
The ASCPT tab is always open on Dr. Vorontsova’s computer. She attributes her membership with access to amazing resources and high‐quality scientific publications, webinars, and the career center. She also looks forward to networking at the Annual Meeting, whether it is collaborating, building relationships, gaining new ideas, or establishing job prospects. She also points to ASCPT as being one of the biggest motivators, especially in these difficult times. The recognition that ASCPT offers, especially to trainees and early career members, is very important and empowering.
Dr. Vorontsova has been a member of ASCPT since 2019.
