Devon Scardamaglia, BTech ’16 (Biotechnology)

How does a rare disease, a new treatment or a patient advocacy group build public recognition?

The answer – or at least part of it – is to tell compelling stories, says Devon Scardamaglia.

A 2015 graduate of the Bachelor of Technology’s biotechnology stream, Scardamaglia is program manager at Atlas Content Studio – a Toronto-based company specializing in digital disease awareness programs.

“I work closely with many Canadian patient organizations and pharmaceutical companies to develop and roll out these programs, focusing on real life stories of patients,” she says.

While surprised to find herself in a health and pharmaceutical marketing role, Scardamaglia says she loves the opportunity to put both her biotech and business skills to use.

“From physicians to patients, I’ve met some really inspiring people,” she adds. “It’s incredible to hear some of their stories.”

She adds that its gratifying to know that her work can make a difference in people’s lives by empowering them and helping them see they are not alone.

Scardamaglia says that the BTech program’s integrated co-op opportunities helped prepare her for the world of work after graduation.

She also worked with two other students on a capstone project focused on the mechanism study of magnetic nanoparticles with breast cancer cells.

The research was accepted for presentation at the 2016 World Biomaterials Congress in Montreal and their abstract was published: https://www.frontiersin.org/10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.01.02466/event_abstract.

The students had a poster and shared their findings with those who were interested, Scardamaglia said.

Her advice to today’s students is to make time for personal growth by joining clubs and teams and pursuing hobbies.

“There’s so much more to learning than just textbooks and exams,” she says.

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