Alumnus Explains How Pharmacists Can Make a Significant Impact Working Remotely

“It’s something I didn’t realize was ever possible – that I could impact so many people while working from home,” said Erik Everton, PharmD, RPh.

As an associate principal scientist in oncology at Merck, a research-driven biopharmaceutical company, Dr. Everton works with clinicians from hospitals across the world to develop and assess new treatment regimens. The process starts with an idea about how to improve the quality of life for a certain group of cancer patients. Dr. Everton and his team establish procedures for a clinical trial, the hospitals run the trials and then the data goes back to Merck for assessment. He is part of a team that works with the FDA to determine if the treatment protocol is scientifically acceptable and being studied in the correct patient populations. Once a study is complete, a final report is created that summarizes the conduct of the study and, if the results show a clinically meaningful benefit to patients, may be submitted to health authorities to obtain an FDA-approved indication, “which can improve patients’ lives almost immediately,” explained Dr. Everton.

“It really brings me back to my pharmacy school roots because I participated in journal clubs where we highly scrutinized clinical trials that influence treatment regimens within the guidelines for patient care,” recalled Dr. Everton. “Having that background is helpful for me in my current role – it helps me to critically evaluate our clinical trials, so we can avoid any identified bias and make the best improvements for patients.”

Dr. Everton was part of the MCW School of Pharmacy’s inaugural class, completing his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2020. The school is connected via skywalk to Froedtert Hospital, a Level I trauma center, which allowed Dr. Everton to engage in research with practicing clinicians in the emergency department.

His favorite pharmacy school memory is the research project he worked on in collaboration with Ryan Feldman, PharmD, BCPS, DABAT, assistant professor at the MCW School of Pharmacy and emergency medicine pharmacist at Froedtert. They investigated the abuse of loperamide, a peripherally acting opioid, in the over-the-counter setting. He surveyed pharmacists across the country, asking whether they were aware that people were abusing loperamide. The study found that a significant number of pharmacists were unaware – and few felt they had the capacity to act if they identified abuse happening.

Then-student Everton and Dr. Feldman submitted the study to the North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology for an international conference taking place in Nashville. Out of hundreds of submissions, their study was selected as one of 14 platform presentations.

Looking back on his decision to attend the MCW School of Pharmacy, the partnership between MCW and Froedtert wasn’t the determining factor – it was the three-year accelerated curriculum. “However, once I was at the school, it became apparent that [the partnership with Froedtert] was a significant advantage because of the access to clinicians who are already doing the work and research – plus the complex patient scenarios that you might not experience at smaller hospitals,” explained Dr. Everton.

In addition to the research experience he gained at MCW, clinical rotations made him aware of patient scenarios, hospital logistics and medications. When interviewing for opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, he was surprised to find that the clinical knowledge he gained during pharmacy school was one of his biggest assets.

"The fact that I can leverage those pharmacy skills into other roles has continued to be important for me,” explained Dr. Everton. “If I just had a generic PhD or general master’s degree, I might not have had that background working directly with clinicians in the hospital setting. That experience was essential to my overall success, and without it I don’t think I would be where I am now.”

After pharmacy school, Dr. Everton completed a two-year pharmaceutical industry fellowship at Rutgers University. This gave him experience working on high-profile clinical trials that were going to be submitted for various indications. He said this specialized training gave him a competitive advantage when starting his career.

“Working in clinical development, being able to see the improvements we’ve made and new treatments we’ve brought to patients is exciting for me,” said Dr. Everton. “There are so many diseases that leave people with a poor quality of life. Having an awareness that I’m part of the team that impacts them is rewarding.”