Senior Advisor Amplifies the Patient Voice

Name: Ekin Secinti (she/her)

PhD: Clinical Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2022

What was your main area of research?

My PhD research was focused on psychological impacts of advanced stage cancer for patients and their family caregivers. My research included examining acceptance of cancer and social support as potential ways to improve patient and caregiver mental health. I also conducted research on psychological interventions to reduce depression, anxiety, and distress among people with advanced stage cancer.

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Advisor for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am a patient-focused endpoints and measurement scientist within the Health Economics and Outcomes group of a large pharmaceutical company.

In very simple terms, I work with medical, clinical, and regulatory scientists and patients to: 1) identify the concepts that matter most to patients, 2) select clinical outcome measures that accurately measure this concept, 3) work with cross-functional partners and include these measures in clinical trials, and 4) generate measurement/psychometric properties evidence of the measures included in the clinicals to support that they are fit-for-purpose within their context of use and understand clinically meaningful change in their scoring.

My work amplifies patient voice in clinical trials by measuring what matters and making sure that the statistical significance is also clinically meaningful. I regularly conduct targeted/systematic literature reviews, qualitative and quantitative studies, and publish findings.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I really value getting to amplify the patient voice in a clinical trial design.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

In terms of soft skills - effective communication and critical/analytical thinking are key skills for every aspect of my role.

In terms of more technical skills - understanding research methodology, reviewing the literature, psychometrics, and statistics are important for my current position.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

A PhD is intended to help build your critical/analytical thinking, to question and learn. In the clinical psychology program, I had a lot of clinical training and completed supervised therapy hours with patients, learning to effectively communicate. For the technical skills, courses on psychometrics and statistics were helpful.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

My PhD supervisor had a personal connection with someone at Eli Lilly and Company and asked me to do an informational interview with them.

PhD graduate ➡️ Advisor at Lilly ➡️ Senior Advisor at Lilly

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

• Learn about measurement science, psychometrics, statistics, and qualitative research methods.

• Improve your communication skills

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I was an international student and quickly realized there were limited options for me in academia. I saw how burned out my PhD supervisors were in trying to get grants and juggle teaching and clinical responsibilities. Personally it was quite easy to realize I would not be fulfilling my values in academia.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

You are not alone! There are many paths outside of academia and a PhD will prepare you with critical/analytical thinking skills and the ability to self-learn which are more important than any other course needed to showcase you can complete a job.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

I am a disabled woman from Turkey and my interest in clinical psychology has been rooted in my interest in helping people with health problems. I did not imagine working in a pharma company at any point during my PhD, but this has been a great fit.