About MSL Institute
Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Institute is an independent advisory aimed to advance the role of field-based medical science liaisons in healthcare.
Medical Science Liaison Institute was founded to encourage dialog about MSL Best Practices in healthcare. Medical Science Liaison Institute's mission is to increase awareness of the MSL profession, advocate for current MSL professionals, and help healthcare organizations deploy this role ethically and effectively.
The Name Medical Science Liaison Professionals Trust™
From inception, MSL Institute has focused on activities and initiatives that help the MSL profession evolve.
MSL Institute has become a trusted platform for catalyzing the confidential sharing of MSL best practices among industry executives who often compete in the same therapeutic areas.
This enables executive peer-to-peer learning in an ethical environment that preserves the sanctity of proprietary company information.
For companies with MSL programs, MSL Institute is a rich resource of knowledge and insight, with over 150 MSL-specific articles, reports, survey data, and multimedia presentations.
Medical Science Liaison Institute on MSLs
- Medical science liaisons offer pharmaceutical companies unique scientific and business value propositions.
- Medical science liaisons generate tangible and intangible returns in healthcare and for their organizations.
- Medical science liaison professionals exemplify integrity and fair-balance in scientific exchange in healthcare.
The Institute's Current MSL Initiatives
This is a selection of MSL Institute's initiatives aimed to increase knowledge and application within the MSL profession.
- MSL Metrics Resources (2004-Present)
- MSL Recruiting Resources (2007-Present)
- MSL Certification Readiness (2004-Present)
- MSL Compliance e-Learning (2010)
- KOL-MSL Perception Survey (2010)
- New Hire MSL Training Survey (2010)
- MSL Careers Services (2004-Present)
- MSL Job Satisfaction Survey (2009 | BUY)
- MSL Quarterly (2003-Present)
- MSL Salary Surveys (2006, 2007, 2009)
MSL Institute Founder
Dr. Jane Chin's passion for educating about the MSL role goes back to 2001, when she began writing about medical science liaisons, and when the MSL profession was shrouded in mystery within healthcare.
Dr. Chin launched Medical Science Liaison Quarterly in 2003 while working as an oncology MSL with a global pharmaceutical company, to support her MSL colleagues in the industry, as well as increase awareness of the MSL role. In 2004, Dr. Chin created the Medical Science Liaison Institute and committed her full time effort to advocate for the MSL profession, with a specific emphasis on the ethical use and evolution of the MSL role.
Dr. Chin is widely recognized for her thought leadership, high degree of integrity, and authentic concern for the best interests of MSLs and their leadership. For her contribution to the support and evolution of the MSL Profession, Dr. Chin was nominated by PharmaVoice as one of Life Science Industry's Most Inspiring 100 People in 2006.
Dr. Chin holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Doctorate in Biochemistry from University of Buffalo at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. She holds a Professional Certification in Competitive Intelligence from the Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence.
Download LinkedIn Profile - Jane Chin, Ph.D.
View LinkedIn Profile PDF with Select Recommendations
Additional testimonials may be found here.
Select Publications by Jane Chin, Ph.D.
Book Practical Leadership for Biopharmaceutical Executives March 2011 Practical Leadership for Biopharmaceutical Executives (Published by BioHealthcare Publishing Oxford Ltd). [AMAZON]
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Spotting the Leader Within" Life Science Leader magazine Volume 2 Number 5, May 2010.
Book July 2009 All MSLs Started with No MSL Experience: The Guide to Becoming a Medical Science Liaison by Chin, J (Published by MSL Institute). www.mslcareers.com
Quoted in Wall Street Journal's Drug Firms' Medical Staffs Say What Salespeople Can't June 26, 2009.
Quoted in Managing Relationships with Industry: A Physician’s Compliance Manual (Paperback) by Steven C. Schachter et al, Academic Press June 2008. [AMAZON]
Peer Review Dumovic, P. and Chin, J. "Medical science liaisons: A look to the future." Journal of Medical Marketing; Jun 2008, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p193-197.
Book Chapter Chin, J. and Armon, B. "Off-Label Communications: A Guide to Sales and Marketing Compliance" Published by FDLI, 2008.
Peer Review Chin, J. "Measuring performance of field-medical programmes: Medical science liaison metrics consensus" Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, Volume 13, Number 3, May 2007.
(Panel Interview) "Coaching v. Mentoring" by Monica Horvath, AWIS Magazine (Vol 36 No 2, 2007), Spring 2007.
(Panel Interview) "Emerging Trends in Specialty Pharma Growth" by Jean Male, Specialty Pharma magazine (Vol 2 No 3, 2006), May/June 2006.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Relationship, Risk, and Reinvention: Lessons from Field-based Medical Programmes." Journal of the British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians, January 2006.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Can We Bridge the Clinical-Sales Divide?" Pharmaceutical Representative, May 2005 (Part 1) and June 2005 (Part 2).
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "MSLs: Off-label promotion." Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine, January 2005.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "MSLs: Show the value." Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine, December 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Pharmaceutical brand building through science: Medical science liaison is playing a bigger role in brand development." Pharmaceutical Business Strategies, September/October 2004.
Trade/Industry "PharmFree Day: Let's dialogue." (Opinion) Medical Meetings Magazine, September/October 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J and D'Costa, A. "Training newly hired industry-naive medical science liaisons." Drug Information Association (DIA) Forum, July 2004.
Peer Review Chin, J. "Biotech's special forces: field-based medical science liaisons." Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, June 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J and Gilad, B. "Canaries in the coalmine: MSLs are well positioned to signal early opportunities and risks." Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine, May 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Why liaisons lead to success in clinical trials." Good Clinical Practice Journal, January 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "Medical science liaison training beyond box of books (BOB)." Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers (SPBT) Focus magazine, Winter 2004.
Trade/Industry Chin, J. "From sales to science: becoming a field-based scientific liaison." Pharmaceutical Representative Magazine, July 2003.
Trade/Industry "Breaking their silence: medical science liaisons stand up for their integrity." (Interview) Medical Meetings Magazine, March/April 2004.
Trade/Industry "The medical affairs-marketing connection: the growing importance of MSLs." (Interview) PharmaVoice, April 2004.
Additional Testimonials
Certain individual/company names are withheld by request
"Your commitment to the medical liaison profession is evident by the quality of your training program and I thank you for going the extra mile to help each MSL individually, as well as providing ongoing resources through your website and newsletter. It is extremely important that we had someone who had done the job herself to direct the training. It was very clear through our interviews with other vendors that your program was the best, most focused and truly customized for the medical liaison profession." Senior Marketing Manager, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"Jane's expertise and business acumen have been valuable in shaping our content and direction. Our MSL team worked with Jane to gain sound problem solving skills and tactics critical to MSLs' day-to-day responsibilities." Joy Morrell, Vice President, The Therapeutics Institute, inVentiv.
"Jane, you are so accurate with your training of MSLs by repeatedly drawing a clear and distinctive line between sales and MSLs. It's hard for even the seasoned industry savvy person to feel comfortable in the new role of an MSL. I'm so glad {our company} thought of you when they started this MSL department. Thanks for all you've done for us." Medical Science Liaison, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"If the MSL institute and our efforts can enhance the value of the MSL, we will have succeeded. Jane Chin has already done more in this area than anyone alive." Former MSL Manager, Specialty Pharmaceutical Company.
"Jane Chin truly understands the critical issues in MSL programs and has an uncanny ability to tap into the pulse of MSLs in the trenches." Senior Medical Director, Pharmaceutical Company.
"Jane Chin is a truly philanthropic entrepreneur. When beginning my search for information on MSLs her website provided me with invaluable resources. The most important gift of her website is rapid education about the language MSLs speak- a must for breaking into the position. Thank you, Jane! You are a wonderful and dedicated person." Vishwanath Ramachandran, Medical Science Liaison, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"Jane Chin is THE key opinion leader of Medical Science Liaisons." Erin Albert, CEO, Pharm LLC.
"Dr. Chin is the foremost voice for the integrity of the medical science liaison role and much of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole." Senior Medical Science Liaison, Specialty Pharmaceutical Company .
"Jane asks the questions we're all thinking about but dare not ask. She elicits the highest level of interaction of any workshops I've seen." MSL Manager, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"Dr. Chin has done more for the MSL profession than anyone in the country. And she's a great industry representative as well." George Hradecky, Editor, Pharmaceutical Representative Magazine.
"The pharmaceutical industry, while small, can be overwhelming at times. Communicating and having relationships with top notch professionals such as your self is crucial in this business. Thanks again for your time, enthusiasm and professionalism." Medical Science Liaison, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"While Director of Information Services at Fuld & Company, I was immediately impressed by Dr. Chin's initiative, commitment to the MSL profession and her command of the pharmaceutical industry. Her insights in these areas have provided me a deeper understanding that has informed my own work. Dr. Chin demonstrated her keen analytical abilities and incisive capacity for problem solving, while fostering collaboration among team members of various disciplines, skills, and temperaments. She performs to her own sense of excellence while drawing out the strengths of others. She brings to her efforts the clarity of vision, as well as the knowledge, strategy, and discipline to execute that vision." Cynthia Cheng Correia, Principal, Knowledge inForm.
"Jane, you remain the "voice" of many MSLs and MSL managers that face the issues of compliance, business deliverables, metrics... each day in our roles. Your articles, your work through MSL Quarterly and your commitment to the MSL role is a great testimony to you and a great resource to all of us." Director, Scientific Affairs, Global Pharmaceutical Company.
"Jane: You're the best friend a medical science liaison could have." Medical Science Liaison Manager, Biotechnology Company.
"With integrity and courage, Jane has broken the silence surrounding the role of MSLs. She is a major force for change in the pharma industry." Tamar Hosansky, Editor, Medical Meetings Magazine.
"There is no one more knowledgeable and skilled in the MSL profession as Jane Chin and the MSL Institute. Jane has been an invaluable resource for the work I and my company do in the pharmaceutical industry." Elio Evangelista, Senior Analyst, Cutting Edge Information, Inc.
"Jane impressed us immensely with her focus on fashioning constructive solutions to a variety of issues. ... One of us was recently asked in a telephone marketing survey to evaluate medical science liaisons from major pharmaceutical companies. Jane's performance invariably defined the 'gold standard' against which all her counterparts were measured." Ronald E. Law, PhD, JD, (formerly) UCLA.
"Dr. Chin's vast knowledge of the Industry and the important role that MSLs must now play affords her a view of the "big picture" that few can see. Those who recognize this and heed her message can survive the onslaught of regulatory scrutiny and emerge triumphant." Kimberly Goldin, Executive Director, International Society for Medical Publication Professionals.