Deanna H. Graduate Profile
Deanna H. has alway found herself a part of the animal health industry.
"While I went to high school, I worked at a pet store," she said. "I also volunteered at many animal rescues in the area, such as those for primates, big cats, dolphins and other marine life, and horses."
After moving to the Kansas City area, she began working at Bayer Animal Health, which was recently acquired by Elanco Animal Health. She worked as a quality control chemist in the Chemistry Lab testing raw materials for 3.5 years. She later transitioned to the R&D Clinical Development team where she works as a monitor to help run clinical studies for U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, products, such as parasiticides for companion animals.
She and her husband recently moved back to Florida, where they live on a 5.5 acre farm with their two dogs, two horses and eight chicks.
She is in the M.S. in Veterinary Biomedical Science program and also is completing the Professional Interdisciplinary Sciences Graduate Certificate, having recently finished the Animal Health Regulatory Affairs Graduate Certificate.
What is your undergraduate degree in?
Integrative Animal Biology
Why did you decide to pursue the Animal Health Regulatory Affairs Graduate Certificate?
I started taking some of the regulatory affairs classes as part of the VBS program. When the certificate program was rolled out, it just made sense to complete it. The classes were interesting and directly applied to my job.
How did you hear about the certificate program?
When the program became official, Dr. Paige Adams let me know about it.
How familiar were you with animal health regulatory affairs field prior to enrolling in this program? Given what you've learned in the program, how familiar/comfortable do you feel in the field now?
Before I joined the program I had very little regulatory affairs experience. This program has made it easy to differentiate between the major regulatory agencies and their methodologies and requirements. I feel very familiar and comfortable with this field now and I feel confident that I would excel in any job surrounding the regulatory field.
How has the certificate contributed to your career?
When I started the VBS program, I was working on a bench in a chemistry lab. Starting the program and having just a couple regulatory affairs classes under my belt helped me get a job in Clinical Development where I help run clinical studies for new products. The remainder of the program has helped me every day. I can critically review protocols with regulatory requirements in mind, and I can better communicate with my regulatory affairs colleagues.