December 1, 2021
The 2nd Annual Harold and Carol Kohn Distinguished Alumni Lecture was held Nov. 5, 2021, at the Carolina Inn as part of Pharmacy Alumni Weekend and featured Lisa D. Carlton, MS, Ph.D., graduate of the class of ‘95.
Carlton is the second recipient of the Harold and Carol Kohn Distinguished Alumni Lectureship. She is currently Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at REGENXBIO Inc., a biotechnology company focused on gene therapy product development.
Carlton has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs and medical/technical writing in the government/nonprofit sectors, with much of her career spent in the pharmaceutical/biotech industries. She completed her BS in Biochemistry at NC State University, and after graduate work in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (MS Medicinal Chemistry, Ph.D. Pharmaceutics), she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in the Laboratory of Immunogenetics.
During the alumni lecture, Carlton spoke to the crowd about the number of opportunities in the field of pharmacy and how to leverage community and mentorship to build a non-traditional pharmacy career.
She opened by saying, “At every decision point or crossroads in my career, there was a conversation with an important person and in hindsight, those were my mentors.”
Her lectured outlined non-traditional career pathways and how to transition from an individual contributor to a leadership role. It also highlighted the importance of mentorship in career trajectory and provided an overview of the field of gene therapy.
Harold and Carol Kohn established the Harold and Carol Kohn Distinguished Alumni Lectureship at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in March to honor the contributions of alumni, to recognize faculty and staff who have empowered alumni achievements, and to inspire current and future pharmacy students.
When the fund was established, Harold “Hal” Kohn, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the School said, “Carol and I want to use this lectureship to allow others to realize what is possible.”
Visit the School’s YouTube channel to view Carlton’s full lecture.