Four thumbs up for SweDeliver summer internship at AstraZeneca

SweDeliver, the national competence center in drug delivery, continues to unite the world of pharmacy: In the summer of 2023, yet another group of future pharmaceutical experts got the chance to do an internship at the center's industrial partners. One of them was Tilde Hagelin, pharmacy student at Uppsala University, who took the train to Mölndal and AstraZeneca.

“I was aware that SweDeliver offers the opportunity to do a summer internship, and as soon as I saw the ad I knew that it was perfect for me. I have a great interest in pharmaceutical development and aim for a future PhD Student position in the field. So to, already during my undergraduate studies, be able to participate in research at an industry giant like AstraZeneca is of course very valuable,” says Tilde Hagelin.

AstraZeneca is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with a long-standing commitment to SweDeliver. At the facility in Mölndal, one of AstraZeneca's three strategic science centres, operations are focused on cardiovascular/metabolic and respiratory diseases, strongly underpinned by drug delivery R&D.

“I wanted to be at a company that conducts innovative research in modern environments, which made AstraZeneca an obvious choice. On site in the laboratory, I ran a project with a focus on particle characterization of excipients, which will form the basis of a new database. My work also included programming in Python to manage the information my work generated, so I really brought many and important skills back to Uppsala,” states Tilde Hagelin.

Also at AstraZeneca, the experience of a SweDeliver's summer internship is exclusively positive. The company is currently strengthening its procedures for identification, use and re-use of data in order to enable future digital approaches – and Tilde Hagelin's input is described as an equally valuable and appreciated contribution in taking the process yet another step forward.

“We are extremely satisfied with Tilde's work. The results she achieved are highly relevant to our future development projects and in creating a better foundation for our digital approach. The fact that we also had the opportunity to introduce Tilde to basic coding for data processing in Python added extra value for both us and her,” says Frederik Dörr, Senior Scientist at AstraZeneca.

In Uppsala, Tilde Hagelin recently started her ninth semester at the Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy. Before graduating, a degree project and practical tuition await - but she has already gained important insights into how researchers work at one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.

“As a summer intern at SweDeliver, I was able to put my theoretical knowledge into practice while learning plenty about both research methodology and data analysis. Today, I am even more motivated to pursue a PhD with the aim of a career in research – and I really want to encourage everyone considering a future in the pharmaceutical industry to apply for an internship the next time opportunity knocks.”

FACTS

• SweDeliver is a national competence center in drug delivery.
• With Uppsala University's Faculty of Pharmacy as the academic hub and 16 industrial partners, SweDeliver conducts research on parenteral, oral and pulmonary administration.
• SweDeliver’s investment in summer internships is one of several strategic initiatives to strengthen student involvement in the research conducted within SweDeliver, thus expanding the center’s recruitment platform for new PhD students.
• ​The initiative is also an effective way to contribute to increased contact surfaces and mobility between academia and industry.

LEARN MORE

• SweDeliver online
• AstraZeneca Gbg online
• SweDeliver's research and activities
• SweDeliver's industrial partners
• SweDeliver's summer internships adding value to all parties

CONTACT

Christel Bergström, Professor
Center Director, SweDeliver
Christel.Bergstrom@farmaci.uu.se

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Private, AstraZeneca, Mikael Wallerstedt