Indiana University Student Puts Biotechnology and Business Skills to the Test at His Roche Internship

Fuhang Mou, Kelley Life Sciences Associate and Roche Diagnostics Corporation Intern

 

This summer, Fuhang Mou is putting his knowledge of the healthcare industry to the test as a marketing intern at Roche Diagnostics USA in Indianapolis. He works with the marketing team in Roche’s Tissue Diagnostics business unit as well as with other teams in various business units for his cross-functional internship project.

Fuhang is having fun showcasing his creative, communication and strategic skill sets at Roche as he develops cross-functional strategies and implement solutions to improve Roche’s customer experience. He has found fulfillment in leveraging business to advance healthcare.

Roche Tissue Diagnostics is the global leader in solutions for anatomical pathology labs to diagnose cancer. They develop innovative pathology lab instruments, tissue-based clinical assays and software solutions that empower anatomical pathologists worldwide.

Mou has been pleasantly surprised by the casual culture and social nature of the organization:

“Roche allows for a dynamic flow of information and easy collaboration. The open workplace enables me to interact with different people each day. I like attending personal and professional development workshops, because I get to network with people all cross the company. Everybody is very friendly and open. The company has a strong focus on employee development and has lots of resources for that.”

Fuhang Mou initially was pursuing an undergraduate degree in biology to be on a pre-medical track, so a few years ago he would never have expected to be sitting in his current marketing position. Somewhere between exploring numerous career options and gaining experience in student organizations, Mou discovered an interest in the intersection between technology, business and healthcare. That’s when Mou decided to shift to biotechnology, pursuing the program offered through Indiana University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

A Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Biotechnology attracted Fuhang because it is designed to give students a strong background in the sciences to succeed in a pharmaceutical or biotechnological career. In partnership with the Indiana University (IU) Kelley School of Business, the B.A. curriculum offers life sciences-related business classes to help students obtain knowledge and skills necessary for marketing, sales and finance areas of biotechnology.

To beef up his business acumen, Fuhang chose to double minor in marketing at the Kelley School of Business and healthcare policy and management through the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. While at Kelley, Fuhang learned about the Certificate in the Business of Life Sciences offered through the Center for the Business of Life Sciences (CBLS).

Even with all these courses, Mou decided to apply for the certificate. He got accepted into the certificate program as a student associate and took his first business of life sciences course called Global Events and Trends Impacting the Life Sciences Industry during his junior year. Mou shared what this course meant to him:

“The [business of life sciences] course exposed me to the industry through the lens of various players in life sciences. I learned a lot about the language used in the industry as well as how those different players work together. It was also a great way to network and learn from so many companies. Through the course, I met other students with similar interests and working with them was great fun.”

The “players” Mou refers to are industry executives and subject-matter experts that come to guest speak on a weekly basis to share their perspective on different topics related to the life sciences industry ranging from digital health to government regulations.

Mou’s curiosity motivated him to attend the Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference events held by the Center for the Business of Life Sciences. He was determined to take advantage of as many resources as he could through IU to prepare him for his career.

“The most memorable conference that I attended last year was the Healthcare Industry in Pain Management and Addressing the Opioid Crisis. It was a really informative experience because pain management and the opioid crisis was not something that I knew a lot about previously. Learning about how the opioid crisis impacts Indiana and the rest the of country as well as about ongoing research and innovations was extremely enlightening.”

Fuhang credits these structured courses and the networking opportunities he received with professionals during these conferences to help him to gain a better understanding about the industry prior to his internship. He also conducted personal research of healthcare trends, companies and processes using online resources such as FiercePharma and FierceBiotech.

It’s no surprise that Fuhang felt even more prepared for his Roche internship after his student team won their business of life sciences course case competition, a semester-long group-consulting project. The project was a real business challenge presented by Cook Medical, the largest privately-held medical device company in the world. This hands-on learning experience allowed teams to develop a go-to-market strategy for a US product launch of a new vascular access product and allowed Mou to get experience to jumpstart his summer at Roche.

Winners of Spring 2019 Undergraduate Life Sciences Course Project: Austin Vermillion, Amee Sangani, Morgan Cary and Fuhang Mou

This fall, Fuhang will be back on campus for his senior year. He will be continuing his exploration of the industry through the CBLS. He is interested in digital health, companion diagnostics and pricing for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. As far as advice to other students, Mou says,

“Don’t be afraid to jump in and start learning. The life sciences industry has so many moving parts. Understanding how the many moving parts work together is so beneficial. Network with professionals in the industry to get a strong starting point for exploring the industry.”

After graduation in May 2020, Fuhang would like to continue working for a large biotechnology or pharmaceutical company and be part of cross-functional teams to gain more exposure and skills across different business units. He is excited for what lies ahead thanks to the jumpstart and experiences he has gained here at Indiana University.