Pharm.D. Degree Lifts Career for this Weightlifter

Matt Jones knows this well.

A competitive weightlifter, the Duquesne University Online Pharm.D. graduate expanded his horizons through clinical rotations that have built a structure of career options for him.

“I wanted to have as diverse an experience as possible while pursuing my degree,” said Jones, who worked in School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Dr. Lauren O’Donnell’s research lab. “There are so many paths you can take with a Pharm.D. – industry, manufacturing, research, emergency room, long-term health, clinical. Duquesne prepared me well for my rotations.”

Those experiences included working for Glaxo Smith Kline to better understand how pharmacists work inside a company; a rotation with the oncology department at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City; and experience with a specialty pharmacy in North Carolina.

Exploring such paths hadn’t occurred to Jones until he met a member at his gym who happened to be a specialty pharmacist. Having already earned his bachelor’s degree, Jones decided to enroll in Duquesne’s Online Pharm.D. program in 2021.

“There were a lot of benefits to the online program,” he said. “If I struggled with a topic, I could review the lecture video. And because the online courses were small, I became closer with my other classmates who were very supportive.”

The program’s flexibility also provided time for Jones to participate in international weightlifting competitions. In January 2022, he competed in the British championships.

“I flew to the U.K. while watching lecture videos and studying for an exam,” Jones said. “I competed on a Sunday afternoon in Britain and took the test that night. I got an A on the exam. That was a great day.”

Now a pharmacy resident at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, Jones is especially grateful for his Duquesne lab experience, which increased his interest in studying infectious diseases.

“While I’ve always been interested in infectious diseases, my lab experience really opened my eyes that this is a career I want to pursue,” he said. “What’s special about Duquesne is the faculty – they really guided me through the process. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

While in the lab, Jones studied the effects of infectious diseases on brain myelination, which is a coating on cells that helps the brain to transmit signals and is crucial for higher-order cognitive functions. The experience increased his interest in becoming a clinical pharmacist.

“My dream career is to be a pharmacist specializing in infectious diseases with a role in research as well,” he said. “It would be great to work with doctors on complicated cases to ensure medicines are used correctly while also having a research role. Thanks to my Duquesne experience, I’m hoping to create my own career.”