Second-year fellows

Tamara Brisibe, PharmD

Pharmacy School: Purdue University College of Pharmacy 
From: Atlanta, GA 
The Xcenda Fellowship Program has provided me with unique and valuable experiences within scientific consulting. Xcenda offers a supportive and welcoming environment, where fellows are not only valued but also embraced as essential members of the team. Throughout my time here, I have been exposed to a myriad of projects spanning multiple therapeutic areas and catering to both US and global markets. My experience in the Evidence Generation & Value Communications team has given me the opportunity to enhance my medical writing skills, interact with a wide array of healthcare stakeholders, and foster a deeper understanding of both scientific communications and market access dynamics.

Joanna Ng, PharmD, MPH

Pharmacy School: University of Kentucky
From: Louisville, KY 
My experience at Xcenda has given me a more in-depth perspective into the world of pharmaceutical consulting. Everyone I have had the opportunity to work with so far on the Evidence Generation & Value Communications and Digital Solutions teams has been a great mentor and has helped develop my technical writing skills to best convey the value and effectiveness of a medical product. One of the best parts of the Xcenda Fellowship Program is the ability to work cross functionally and meet members on other teams. My time at Xcenda so far has been rewarding, and I know the skills and relationships I have cultivated here during my time with the Fellowship Program have helped me grow as an individual and professional.

Joseph M. Washington, PharmD, MPH

Pharmacy School: University of Florida College of Public Health & Health Professions
From: Putnam Hall, Florida
Xcenda’s postdoctoral Fellowship Program provides fellows with a wide variety of experiences and educational support, along with mentorship and growth opportunities from industry leaders. Fellows will finish the program with 2 years of hands-on project experience and a highly respected master’s degree tailored to their interests. The Fellowship Program does an excellent job of providing opportunities to develop marketable skills and grow both personally and professionally. Xcenda fellows are well-positioned to take on future leadership roles in a variety of different industries.

Zade Hikmat, PharmD

Pharmacy School: University of Southern California School of Pharmacy
From: Los Angeles, CA
The Fellowship Program offers fellows a comprehensive understanding of various work types and the opportunity to collaborate with diverse teams within the organization. During my time, I was fortunate to work with Value & Access Strategy, Market Access Commercialization, and Digital Solutions teams. The program is structured such that leaders provide consistent guidance and support throughout the 2-year period, ensuring that fellows achieve their goals and make the most of their training. Additionally, Xcenda supports fellows as they complete their Master’s degree program, which a valuable educational supplement to our hands-on experiences. 

Kyle Noonan, PharmD

Pharmacy School: Mercer University College of Pharmacy
From: Rochester Hills, MI
Xcenda offers a welcoming environment where you’re encouraged to gain hands-on experience from day 1 onward, so the skills learned through my direct contributions have been very fulfilling. Further, you are surrounded by experts in market access, health economics and outcomes research, and commercial strategy that offer 1-on-1 guidance throughout your development. You’ll also receive a master’s degree from the University of Florida that helps fill in any gaps not already learned on the job. Fellows can expect a well-rounded experience that serves as a launch pad for career excellence in market access.

Nicole Piaskowski, PharmD, MBA

Pharmacy School:  Medical University of South Carolina 
From: Charleston, SC
The Xcenda Fellowship Program allows fellows to pursue and prioritize their interests across a diverse set of project types and therapeutic areas, in addition to strengthening the key soft skills that are needed to lead client engagements. Fellows have strong visibility throughout the organization and a network of mentors, including senior leadership, who help to further facilitate our growth and success. During the first year of the fellowship, I supported projects across the organization.

First-year fellows

Sarah Downen, PharmD, MS

Pharmacy School: The University of Oklahoma
From: Oklahoma City, OK
The Xcenda Fellowship Program uniquely prepares its fellows for a successful career in pharmaceutical consulting. From the moment an aspiring applicant becomes a fellow, they are able to serve on a variety of cross-functional teams, covering a variety of service lines, projects, and work types within the broader Xcenda/AmerisourceBergen group. Fellows are able to fine-tune their clinical expertise gained in pharmacy school and apply it to crucial client-focused health outcomes and market access projects. Any missing theoretical gaps are filled with a comprehensive, internal on-boarding educational series and classwork towards a Master of Science degree from the University of Florida. Xcenda further supports its fellows by facilitating engagement, networking, and visibility through individualized mentorship and leadership development. The open-door policy allows fellows to connect with key stakeholders within the ever-growing organization. As a first-year fellow, I look forward to supporting the FormularyDecisions platform, contributing to a variety of new business development projects, and providing content for client engagement deliverables.

Darlena Le, PharmD

Pharmacy School: University of Arizona
From: Chandler, AZ
The Xcenda Fellowship Program has allowed me, even early on, to participate in a variety of work types and collaborate with team members with different backgrounds and expertise. The leadership at Xcenda makes an active effort to ensure fellows receive training that will strengthen our foundational knowledge in health outcomes and market access. I greatly value how the program provides a strong support network of mentors and the opportunity to pursue projects based on my areas of interest to help with my professional growth. As a first-year fellow, I will be supporting projects as a content developer and helping with research around cell and gene therapy.

Nicole Szydlowski, PharmD

Pharmacy School: University of Illinois Chicago
From: Chicago, IL
Xcenda’s Fellowship Program enables fellows to engage in a broad variety of industry experiences ranging across therapeutic areas, disease states, and clients. The program builds qualities that are crucial for the success of emerging industry professionals, such as versatility, network development, and project management. As a part of the program, Medical Communications fellows complete a master’s degree and an AMWA certification, which strengthen fellows’ medical writing skills and their ability to effectively communicate value. As a first-year fellow, I contribute to writing projects such as abstracts, manuscripts, and dossiers.

Nick Howard, PharmD

Pharmacy School: Purdue University
From: Indianapolis, IN
From day one, Xcenda provides the opportunity for you to engage in a plethora of project opportunities in many different work types spanning across health outcomes and market access. The leadership team is focused on providing a catered experience that allows each of the fellows to explore their interests across the broad range of consulting services that Xcenda provides. We can take advantage of scheduling time to meet with many past fellows who are now leaders at the company to help develop our professional network within Xcenda and AmerisourceBergen. In addition to being integral members of the team by developing content, engaging with payers, and attending client meetings, first-year fellows also support research projects to be presented at professional conferences. As a first-year fellow, I will have the opportunity to assist in research gauging payer perceptions on changes to pharmacy benefit design with the Inflation Reduction Act.

Katie Necas, PharmD, MBA 

Pharmacy School: University of Washington School of Pharmacy 
From: San Jose, CA
The Xcenda Fellowship Program offers a breadth of experiences and flexibility to work on different types of projects, therapeutic areas, and teams of interest. The leadership team and work culture at Xcenda are extremely supportive of your personal and professional development. These are the reasons I pursued this fellowship, and I am grateful to experience them. As a first-year fellow, I am supporting research on the impact of the Medicare Part D redesign on health plans.

Leanna Baker, PharmD

Pharmacy School: University of Georgia 
From: Woodbine, GA
At Xcenda, the leadership team places tremendous value on providing fellows with high-quality training, offering personalized 1-on-1 networking opportunities with senior executives, and tailoring experiences to prioritize individual interests. From the moment I joined Xcenda as a first-year fellow, I was impressed by the team’s inclusive approach and willingness to give us ownership over our schedules and work assignments. Their emphasis on integrating us into the team from day 1 made me feel like an integral part of the organization. Being a part of AmerisourceBergen, Xcenda fellows have the opportunity to gain exposure to various service lines and work types throughout the greater organization. This provides a unique and valuable experience for professional development.

Long Nguyen, PharmD

Pharmacy School: Keck Graduate Institute 
From: Los Angeles, CA
The Xcenda Fellowship Program has provided me the opportunity to work across many different projects and therapeutic areas. Since the beginning, Xcenda’s leadership has incorporated trust and value into all their fellows. Even though Xcenda is such a huge organization that spans across a plethora of programs, it has not been difficult to reach out to any team member for guidance or mentorship. As a first-year fellow, this has been integral part of the success and development of my professional career. To help strengthen their Medical Communications fellows’ skillsets, we are enrolled in the University of Florida master’s program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy and the American Medical Writer’s Association certificate program.