![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Jensen-Vault-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/a>Once he started in the School of Pharmacy, he became especially interested in drug development and he was confident that an MBA would give him the career flexibility he desired. Adding to that, he spent three summers doing internships at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), the global biopharmaceutical company, at its former location in Wallingford, Conn.\u00a0 It was at BMS where he met Vladimir (Vlad) Coric, M.D., who is now CEO of Biohaven, and a mentor to Jensen.<\/p>\n
At the time they met, Coric was Group Director of Global Clinical Research and he and Jensen interacted occasionally and discussed drug development and career opportunities in the biopharmaceutical industry. Maybe it was the UConn connection that caused the two to click — Coric (\u201992 CLAS) had been an Honors Scholar in Physiology and Nerobiology as an undergraduate \u2013 but it soon became apparent that Jensen had found his niche.<\/p>\n
Coric left BMS to lead a small biotech company, Biohaven, in New Haven, Conn., and acted as Jensen\u2019s preceptor for his first APPE rotation during his P4 year at the startup company.\u00a0 Following graduation, Jensen participated in a Pharm.D. industry fellowship at Alexion, a global pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing treatments for rare diseases. That, in turn, was followed by a job offer from Coric.<\/p>\n
In his position as Director of Medical Affairs, Jensen is charged with communicating and publishing data related to the treatments being developed at Biohaven that target neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, such as migraine, ALS, Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and spinocerebellar ataxia.<\/p>\n
He publishes data from the company\u2019s clinical trials for the health care community, physicians, patients, and investors; develops journal articles and abstracts, and communicates with the medical community about Biohaven\u2019s novel therapies. He also attends meetings specific to the disorders Biohaven is interested in, and engages in scientific discussions with healthcare providers who treat patients with these diseases.<\/p>\n
However, as if playing an important role at an innovative pharmaceutical company wasn\u2019t enough, Jensen opted to increase his duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew how important the preceptors I\u2019d had when I was a student had been, as well as the value of the internships I participated in, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to pay some of my experience forward by offering to help current pharmacy students,\u201d Jensen says.\u00a0 Biohaven leadership agreed and were thrilled to have more UConn students on board. Starting with Akosa, who he hired as a summer intern in 2018, he added two P4 students on APPE rotations last fall.<\/p>\n
One was Brendan Clark \u201919 (Pharm.D.) who said, \u201cChris was an excellent mentor and made this rotation a great experience for me. This rotation has certainly influenced my career goals. Although I do not yet have a definite plan for post-graduation, I am continuing to work with Biohaven on a project that I started during my rotation.\u201d\u00a0 And, as an added nod towards Jensen\u2019s skills, he added, \u201cIn my opinion, future students would be lucky to have this rotation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yangzhou Li \u201919 (Pharm.D.) was appreciative of the collegiality at Biohaven, and she spoke of the positive atmosphere where employees are encouraged to \u2018leave their titles at the door\u2019 when they enter the offices located on Church Street in the Elm City.<\/p>\n
She describes the atmosphere at Biohaven as encouraging and collaborative and adds that Jensen is a great industry preceptor. \u201cHe is a detail oriented person, and also very good at project management. He was willing to share his thoughts, experiences, and information (with me). Additionally, he encouraged me to reach out to other people in the company to learn more about their roles and projects and gain opportunities to get involved in other projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, she adds, \u201cChris is a hardworking, ambitious professional who projects a humble confidence. He is a great role model that I would recommend to other pharmacy students.\u201d<\/p>\n
With accolades such as these, it might seem natural for Jensen to rest on his laurels just a bit. But, that isn\u2019t his nature and if he has his way he\u2019ll be precepting students for many years to come. \u201cSharing my story and helping students is definitely rewarding. I\u2019m really passionate about my career and I can\u2019t think of anything better than sharing my experiences with others,\u201d he says with a smile.<\/p>\n
Other Preceptor Profiles \u00a0and News:<\/strong><\/p>\n Preceptors Honored for Contributions to Student Learning<\/a><\/p>\n