Since its inception, the MSL program has attracted many students interested in medicine and health. These students come to the program to develop a legal/regulatory lens that helps them better understand healthcare systems, research, and delivery. They come from a variety of settings, including research, regulatory, administration, insurance, and clinical trials; the program also attracts established doctors and nurses and folks interested in attending medical school. It stands to reason that the MSL program has evolved to fill a gap in the knowledge of health professionals: health is a quintessential area where law, business, and technology collide to create and resolve a spate of intersectional issues – patient privacy and big data, business combinations involving large health systems, regulatory approval for vaccines and medical devices, risk management and liability, informed consent and end-of-life issues, telehealth, the use of AI and robotics, healthcare costs and mandates, IP rights in pharma and devices, access to health care – the list goes on.

The MSL program offers 8-10 classes each year that focus specifically on health and medical issues; some of our current classes include Health Care Law & Regulation (State & Federal); Health Informatics: Practical Data Applications; Integration of Science & Clinical Care; Medical Devices: Regulation & Compliance; Applied AI in HealthTech; Health Law; Law & Health Policy in the COVID-19 Crisis; and Health & Human Rights.

We estimate that 20-25% of MSL graduates are working in health-related fields, including as doctors and nurses, in healthcare consulting, insurance positions, pharma, regulatory, legal operations positions at healthcare startups, and many others. Please see below for some profiles of MSL alumni currently working in medicine and health-related fields.

 

Elizabeth Sosic (MSL ’20)

Elizabeth Sosic was part of the first cohort of graduates from the MSL Online format. When she entered the program, Elizabeth was managing and supervising various projects and clinical activities at the Cleveland Clinic (in Cleveland). Recently, Elizabeth was promoted and she has relocated to the Cleveland Clinic’s South Florida medical center where she is managing a major research program in the Lerner Research Institute’s Amy and David Krohn Family Orthopaedic Outcomes Center.

 

 

Justin Sperry (MSL ’21)

Justin Sperry graduated from the MSL online format this past May. He has worked at Pfizer for more than a decade and was Senior Director of Analytical R&D at Pfizer while attending the MSL program. Justin was part of the effort to develop and distribute Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. As a student, Justin led a Law School faculty workshop (along with Professors Dan Rodriguez and Bernie Black) focused on pandemic data and legal controversies connected with COVID-19 – he was the first MSL student and one of the only law students ever to be invited to give a faculty workshop. After graduating from the program, Justin was promoted at Pfizer to Vice President – Technology and Innovation for Biotherapeutics and Vaccines. In this position, Justin focuses on innovation funding, external due diligence, and IP strategy.

 

Keerti Tadimeti (MSL ’20)

Keerti Tadimeti graduated from the full-time residential program in 2020 after studying Global Disease Biology as an undergraduate. Directly out of the MSL, she took a position consulting on compliance matters for Trusted Health. (Two of Keerti’s classmates, Radhika Raturi and Andrea Solis, also work at Trusted Health.) Keerti is focused on a career in regulatory compliance; this past year, she enrolled in University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Science of Regulatory Affairs. Last month, Keerti joined a global healthcare company, Organon, as a Regulatory Affairs Scientist.

 

MSL Graduates who are new doctors!

The MSL program has become a home for aspiring healthcare providers. The first four MSL alumni to graduate from medical school have just begun their residency programs. Congratulations to these four alumni on their placements.

• Emily Berthiaume (MSL ’16) – Residency: Thomas Jefferson University, Orthopaedic Surgery
• Megan Kang (MSL ’17) – Residency: OhioHealth, Internal Medicine
• Manfred Kubler (MSL ’17) – Residency: Mayo Clinic, Internal Medicine
• John Walton (MSL ’17) – Residency: Northwestern University, Family and Sports Medicine