Jeremy Welton

Master of Epidemiology

I decided to do the Master of Epidemiology course as an opportunity to extend my development related to my current job. I also wanted to build my competency in clinical research skills including clinical trial design, statistical analysis, and pharmacoeconomic studies.

What appealed to me about the course was the subjects, which matched my needs almost perfectly. The strong focus on epidemiology and statistics was aligned with my development needs to allow me to lead the design and execution of clinical research within my role. The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health has an outstanding reputation for its Master of Public Health program and there are globally recognised leaders in epidemiological research working at the school. This was something I considered when looking at the different types of courses available. In addition, the course being part-time allowed me to continue in my full-time employment at the same time as studying.

The course content was designed in a way that was highly engaging. There was a good mix of didactic lecturing mixed together with more interactive tutorials.

The most exciting and useful parts of the course were the opportunities to apply the knowledge we learned in the projects throughout each subject and the research project/s. The Epidemiology and Economic Evaluation 1 subjects (which focused on critical appraisal of clinical papers, writing a clinical protocol and creating a study design for an economic evaluation study) were also really enjoyable.

The main skills that I developed were the competency to design clinical research and pharmacoeconomic studies, understanding the process to design and seek approval of clinical research projects, and how to analyse datasets using statistical programming.

I work at UCB Australia, a pharmaceutical company. My role is the Medical Head of the Neurology Business Unit.

In my role, I manage a small team of scientific liaisons, and our team is involved in a diverse range of activities. These include clinical trials of investigational medicines, and engaging healthcare practitioners in discussions relating to new medicines that are being investigated and submitted to regulatory authorities for listing as an approved medicine in Australia. My team also works on conducting research on our products, and other research related to our medicines to support the improved understanding of their real-word effectiveness.

I am inspired by the opportunity to help people who live with chronic diseases, by bringing new medicines to Australia, and conducting research on these medicines to understand where the medicine can be of most benefit. Through my time in my current role, I have interacted with many patients and physicians and have come to understand the impact on quality of life that living with chronic disease can cause on the person with the condition and the people who care for them.

Learning and development is a continual journey throughout your professional career. In order to be a valuable asset in your career, you should be looking for opportunities to extend yourself into new competencies and skillsets.

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