Turning setbacks into stepping stones.
By Linda C. Brown
Sixty years ago, when Alice Till, Ph.D., M.B.A., FAAPS, considered a career in pharmacy, she faced many hurdles. At the time, career options for women were housewife, secretary, bank teller, nurse, or teacher. College was not an expectation in Till’s family. When she told her family that she wanted to attend college, her father said, “That’s nice, how are you going to pay for it?” After jumping that hurdle, she told her female school counselor that she wanted to go into pharmacy. The counselor replied, “Pharmacy isn’t for women, how about physical therapy?” When Till repeated that she really wanted pharmacy, the counselor said she wanted nothing more to do with Till. As she continued her education, others continued to dissuade her. “In my third year of pharmacy school,” Till says, “I shared with a young professor that I wanted to go to graduate school. His response was, ‘Graduate school isn’t for women.’” After graduating from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science, Till went into retail pharmacy but soon learned that patients were uncomfortable having a woman fill their prescriptions. Undeterred, she started graduate school. As she was completing her master’s in pharmaceutics, Merck offered her a position in formulations development in the Pharmaceutical Research and Development (PR&D) Department. Finally, her career was beginning.
Soon after joining Merck, Till was asked to join a new group in PR&D, biopharmaceutics, which focused on the developing area of pharmacokinetics and how it could enhance drug development. As part of that group, Till had the opportunity to work with a consultant, a young professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy, who quickly became her mentor “for life” (close to 50 years now), AAPS founder Leslie Z. Benet, Ph.D., FAAPS. “I was on my way—flying by the seat of my pants at times—to a fantastic career beyond all I could have thought of or hoped for, and Dr. Benet was there every step of the way!” Till says.
That career included a total of 21 years at Merck (1969–1974, 1979–1995), where she participated in the debut of pharmacokinetics (“a golden educational opportunity,” she says) in the departments of PR&D and Drug Metabolism, later moving to the departments of Clinical Research Endocrine/Metabolic, and finally to International Marketing as a Director for Clinical Development Studies. Till left Merck in 1974 to earn her doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry in Dr. Benet’s lab at UCSF, which formalized the on-the-job education in pharmacokinetics she had received at Merck, and returned to Merck in 1979. She later moved to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association as vice president for scientific affairs and eventually became its president. After merging that association with another generic association, she moved to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America association as vice president science policy and technical affairs, retiring in 2014.
Volunteering with AAPS
In 2019, Till received the AAPS Distinguished Service Award. She joined the association as a charter member at its founding in 1986. She responded to a request to create the Clinical Sciences section and served on the AAPS Executive Council (EC) as chair-elect and chair of that section from 1990 to 1992. She moved on to serve on the Annual Meeting Program Committee and as a member-at-large on the EC, leading the taskforce that accomplished a major restructuring of the EC.
Till was also a founding member of the Product Quality Research Institute (PQRI). She encouraged the selection of AAPS as PQRI secretariat and worked with AAPS to develop the by-laws of that institute. Most recently, Till rejoined the EC as president-elect, president, and past president, serving as president in 2015. As president, she helped lead the AAPS leadership in developing and approving a comprehensive five-year strategic plan.
Till has also served other organizations in the pharmaceutical sciences field: She was on the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) and was a member of the taskforce to form the AAPS-AFPE alliance. She then served as a member of the governing board of that alliance. She also served on the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Commission on the Future of Graduate Education in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, the USP Board of Trustees, and the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “Though most of these ‘interim’ activities were not on behalf of AAPS,” Till says, “none of these opportunities to serve the pharmaceutical sciences would have arisen had I not been continually groomed and recognized through my active membership in AAPS.”
“I believe that not only has participation in AAPS, since its founding in 1986, strongly supported my career development and growth in the pharmaceutical sciences,” Till says, “but continued participation in AAPS six years postretirement has enabled me to pay forward to younger generations of members all that I received from AAPS and, at the same time, to personally continue to learn and to grow.”
“As someone who has now lived more than three quarters of a century,” Till says, “C.S. Lewis’ statement ‘You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream’ is inspirational and motivating for any aspect of my life. However, focusing on my professional background and my continuing association with AAPS, a modified version of that quote might be, ‘You are never too old to learn new science or to mentor others as they advance their careers in the pharmaceutical sciences,’ which I intend to do for as long as I am physically and mentally able.”
Looking to the Future
Till continues to be an active athlete. She participated in her first marathon at age 57 as a race walker. Twelve years later, after learning to swim, she completed a triathlon in Philadelphia at age 69. In the next five years, she hopes to complete the 50 Half Marathons in 50 States challenge she began several years ago. As a participant in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) program, her athletic events help raise funds for cutting-edge blood cancer research. At the 2018 PharmSci 360 meeting, her passion for AAPS and LLS collided. Stephan Grupp, Ph.D., director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program and director of Translational Research for the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and medical director of the Stem Cell Laboratory, spoke at one of the plenary sessions on The CAR-T Revolution: Opportunities and Challenges. Till explains, “Much of the work he presented was done in collaboration with Carl June, M.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, in whose work LLS invested more than $20 million! I’d like to think that I played a part in providing some of that funding through TNT.”
Team Leader
Till shares the axiom, “Life is a team ‘sport’! Teamwork is key to success in every area of life. It enables one to jump the hurdles, turn setbacks into stepping stones, and help others do the same.”
Her leadership philosophy relies on three essential personal principles:
- “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.”
– C.S. Lewis
- “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
– C.S. Lewis
- Team mentality. When things go well, the team gets the credit; when things do not go well, the leader assumes responsibility.
Adherence to these principles has always had a positive impact on Till’s career in the long run, though in the moment they may have appeared to cause a setback.
Her overall leadership philosophy aligns with The Democratic (Participative) Leadership Philosophy, which focuses on creating and maintaining good working relationships that are supportive and interactive. “Such a leader offers guidance to members while still being a part of the group he/she is leading,” Till says. “Followers are encouraged to participate and engage with the decision-making process, and their input is considered, resulting in a more motivated and creative group as a whole.”
The qualities Till finds in a good leader are ability to delegate, commitment, ability to inspire, good communication skills, creativity, positive attitude, courage, caring, optimism, self-control, strategic perspective, and decisiveness.
Attaining Success
Till credits informal and formal encouragement she received from men in the field “who quietly helped pave the way for me when mentoring women in the pharmaceutical sciences was unheard of—individuals who helped turn setbacks into stepping stones.”
What also stands out for Till is “having the fantastic opportunity to learn on the job and to help to develop in a small way the emerging field of pharmacokinetics."
To become successful in the pharmaceutical sciences, Till recommends having a “solid foundation in pharmaceutical science and continuous learning: always expanding one’s knowledge to gain new skills and expertise; building collaborative relationships with coworkers and strong pharmaceutical scientists outside one’s organization (e.g., through membership in appropriate scientific associations such as AAPS, participating in networking, career development, and scientific offerings); clear understanding of the end goal of any assignment, as well as the viewpoint of higher management on the path to achieving that goal.”
Till also recommends considering an M.B.A. to potentially open more management opportunities in the pharmaceutical sciences, especially in industry. After her doctorate, she pursued an M.B.A. in Industrial Relations & Organizational Behavior. A few years later, that degree opened the door to the opportunity to carry out clinical studies in the Department of International Marketing at Merck; an M.B.A. was required. Till says, “When I protested that the M.B.A. wasn’t in marketing, the hiring vice president said ‘I don’t care. I just needed that M.B.A. to hire you. We’ll teach you the marketing.’” The M.B.A. also opened the door to Till’s post-Merck career moves.
On looking back on her career, Till says, “The starting point of my career was truly a naïve shot in the dark! However, the ultimate pursuit of a successful career was most influenced by Dr. Benet.”
Lessons Learned
From personal experience and tips gleaned from others, Till shares the following food for thought that applies whatever career is being pursued:
- Setbacks are stepping stones to success. Conversely, a lack of setbacks may well stunt your growth; without a bit of struggle there is no progress. Till quotes a tip from Runner’s World (8/24/17): “When you realize the setback is the path, the game changes.”
- Treat all work associates—lab support, administrative staff, peers, management, cross-department colleagues, etc.—with respect and honesty, at all times.
- NO = New Opportunity. Be prepared: Identify your skills and what you do or don’t like to do.
- Success is not just measured by position, salary, etc., but by how it impacts all areas of your life.
- Think about your values and where you want to go in life.
- Think of work-life design or integration of passions—work and personal life—rather than “balance,” which sounds like right or wrong, or black or white.
- Do the job you love, working with people you get along with.
WATCH
Till’s AAPS Distinguished Service Award video and read more about her research.