Misheel: What would you say to a young woman considering a career in science?
Ms. Trifillis: Do as much as possible in terms of finding the areas that interest you and combine different fields. From my experience, I started in biology, and then I combined the science aspect with business and found that I could do so much more. It made work more interesting by allowing me to view things at a higher level. Then I broadened my career and became involved in medical affairs, working cross-functionally across the company. I work with the research and clinical teams, the marketing and market access teams, colleagues in law and compliance, patient engagement and corporate communications, quality and regulatory affairs and right across the whole company, which makes for a much richer experience. And I love learning, so the more I continue to learn, the happier I am.
Misheel: You talked about colleagues in the legal department. How do you interact with them?
Ms. Trifillis: Part of the work that we do in medical affairs is engaging with key opinion leaders, the people who are experts in their field. So as part of that, you need to have a contract with them, so you need to make sure that you can talk openly and exchange ideas by establishing the legal terms for working together. Also, from the legal side, a major aspect of a company’s work is to safeguard its assets through patents. Part of my responsibilities is to set the strategy for our publications. During the process of publishing our research and clinical data, I work closely with our patent lawyers to ensure that we have patent protection before we disclose any of our data. In tandem with the legal team, I also work closely with the compliance team. Whenever we share information externally, whether it's our data or other information, we want to make sure that we are within the boundaries of what the company is allowed to talk about in terms of compliance rules. For example, if we have received approval to market a product in Europe but not in the US, then we are only allowed to talk about that product and its potential benefits in the EU countries where we have approval to market it, but not in the US. If the company doesn't have the authorization to market/sell, then it isn’t allowed to talk about the drug. So, there are considerations from both a legal and a compliance perspective.
Misheel: You mentioned that one of your teachers in high school peaked your interest in biology and genetics. Can you tell our readers about that experience?
Ms. Trifillis: I went to high school in Cyprus, and there, once you’re around 14-years-old, you need to make a decision about your future. You have to decide if you want to study science, or economics, or humanities, or follow a technical career instead of pursuing higher education. I had a teacher in high school who taught me both biology and chemistry. He loved his work and was so excited about teaching these two subjects. He conveyed this enthusiasm to his students, so that’s when I decided that I definitely wanted to study biology. I wanted to study microbiology for my bachelor’s degree, but Wellesley College didn’t have that specific major at the time, so I decided instead to study biochemistry, but they didn’t have that major either, so I then opted to do a double major in biology and chemistry.
Misheel: What was your biggest challenge getting into science as a young adult?
Ms. Trifillis: I always knew that I wanted to go to college, but I never thought beyond college. I certainly didn't think about doing graduate work or getting a PhD It wasn't until my advisor in college asked if I had considered doing graduate studies. In my case back then, and for people that don’t have a background or family who went to college, the concept of graduate school can be very foreign. In my family, I was the first one to graduate from a four-year college. So it was a revelation for me when my advisor suggested I should consider graduate school. That was the exposure and push that I needed to continue my pursuit of the sciences. My plan was to go to Penn get my PhD and then go back to Cyprus to work there. But life often changes your plans. At Penn I met my now-husband, so I ended up getting married and starting my career in the US. I can’t say that I faced a lot of challenges. Once I had the exposure, it was easy to follow the path. The challenge really is being disciplined and dedicated to devoting huge amounts of time and effort to do the actual work. Getting a PhD is not easy. Knowing that hard work is required for you to succeed was really instilled in me by my parents and also by my experiences while I pursued my PhD. Hard work and commitment were part of my upbringing. My dad worked for the Bank of Cyprus. It was, I think, his second or third job out of high school, and he spent his entire career working there, for about 40 years. He worked long hours, and he was very committed to his work. I saw that as a child, so he was an example for me to do the same.
Misheel: Bouncing off that, who were some of the most influential women in your life?
Ms. Trifillis: It's interesting that you ask this question. I have to admit that there haven't been a lot of women mentors in my life. Most of the influential people in my life have been men but there were a few women too. One woman who was influential in my career was a colleague and friend at PTC. She was on the marketing team and I was just starting my career in medical affairs. This colleague was somebody who believed in me from the start. She saw value in the medical advice that I was giving her, and that made me feel confident in entering this new field of work. It gave me the boost to keep going. So she was very influential in jump starting my medical affairs career. Another woman who, more recently, has had an impact in my nonprofit career is the president and founder of the Association of Greek American Professional Women (AGAPW), Dr. Olga Alexakos. She is a tremendous force within the organization; she not only founded AGAPW but she has single-handedly built and led the organization for nine years now. As a current member of the board of directors of AGAPW, I'm very much inspired by her and what she has done to continue the mission of AGAPW. Olga has been a great mentor and has facilitated my interactions with the Greek-American community.
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