#Fisher2025: Pharmacy Graduate on a Mission to Develop Oncology Medication

For Feifei Jia, a recent graduate of the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, the pursuit of knowledge is only just beginning, as she continues her education as a member of the joint Rutgers University/Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program.

In the two-year Rutgers/Daiichi Sankyo Companion Diagnostic Fellowship, she will be embedded within the Global Oncology Research and Development Companion Diagnostics (CDx) Department, co-developing and validating assays in parallel with novel oncology drugs. She will help craft CDx development strategies, generate real-world evidence, and support regulatory submissions and launches—ensuring precision medicine tools identify the right patients, predict side-effect risks, and monitor treatment response.

A resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jia said Fisher’s innovative online pharmacy program gave her the opportunity to engage in hands-on practice in diverse clinical settings in her hometown. Through clinical rotations, she was able to hone her ability to adapt quickly to different pharmacy workflows and patient populations. Jia also credits standardized patient encounters as pivotal to her education.

“Counseling ‘patients’ on medication regimens, conducting medication histories, and practicing clinical reasoning in realistic scenarios bridged the gap between classroom pharmacotherapy and real-world patient care,” she explained.

In the future, Jai sees a career in the field of oncology.

“My Fisher education was transformative—I gained not only a deep grounding in pharmacology and patient care but also the confidence and leadership skills to advocate effectively for my patients and profession,” she said. “I envision myself leading companion diagnostic strategy within oncology, driving the integration of novel CDx tools into clinical practice to optimize patient outcomes, while mentoring fellows and collaborating across industry and academia to advance precision medicine.”