With the career change, Dr. Doyle gained a broader perspective on drug development and, as a physician working in clinical research and development, what it takes to plan and oversee clinical trials. “It’s completely different because you’re not directly involved with individual patient care. You’re looking at data on a trial and population level.”
Too often, the pharmaceutical industry is seen as being represented by an aggressive sales representative who visits medical doctors, says Dr. Doyle, who would like to dispel the notion that working for the pharmaceutical industry is “going to the dark side.”
Her work as an executive allows her to continue interactions with key opinion leaders that she knew in academia, and provides insight into cutting-edge science and a chance to collaborate with scientists who develop new compounds, medicines, and mechanisms of action. In her post at Janssen, Dr. Doyle oversees the company’s phase II and III global clinical research trials related to rheumatology. She still enjoys seeing patients as an adjunct professor at Pennsylvania State University and the opportunity to share her clinical trial experience with medical students and colleagues.
Careers in Nonprofit
John H. Klippel, MD, began volunteering for the Arthritis Foundation (AF) early in his career, and in 1999 joined the AF staff as medical director. In 2003 he was named president and CEO.
“The Arthritis Foundation has always been important in my life,” says Dr. Klippel. “I think with a background like mine in both rheumatology and research, it allows me to contribute in other ways to an organization that I care about.”
For Dr. Klippel, the risk of different challenges is what attracted him to executive leadership.
“I had to be willing to try something completely new,” notes Dr. Klippel, who says he gets energized by learning new things.
Dr. Klippel obtained his medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Conn., and a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and the University of California at San Diego. He previously served as Clinical Director of the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and authored arthritis-related publications and textbook chapters during his time at the National Institutes of Health.
In his current position, Dr. Klippel gains additional business and leadership skills through interactions with governing boards across the country, while working on his passion for helping people with a disease he spent years researching.
