Working as a data scientist in pharmaceuticals isn’t necessarily the career path Craig Meyer envisioned when he was a visual art major on a pre-med track at the University of Minnesota. But after considering the clinician route, Meyer found public health was a more effective way to achieve his ultimate goal of helping people live healthier lives.
“The potential impact you could make at the population level seemed much more rewarding to me,” Meyer says. At the time, data science was an emerging field, and Meyer grew fascinated by the possibilities of insights that could be gained by analyzing broad-based data. It also connected with his ability to embrace abstract concepts, a skill he fostered as an artist.
Meyer holds three degrees from SPH–a doctorate in epidemiology (’16), a master’s in biostatistics (’13) and an additional master’s in public health with a concentration in environmental health science (’10). Today, he applies this expertise to support the development of new medications for Johnson & Johnson, where he is a Senior Principal Scientist in Data Sciences and Digital Health, Real World Evidence, primarily focused on oncology.
Meyer spent his time at SPH exploring varied pathways in public health: He engaged in HIV behavioral prevention research, clinical and translational research in cardiology, research focused on nutrition and health, and statistical methods for occupational epidemiology. In addition, Meyer had internships in global outcomes research at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and in infectious disease epidemiology at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Through rich opportunities, networking, and the support and expertise of SPH faculty, Meyer honed his professional adaptability and created diverse career opportunities. “I think the school has a large breadth of research areas you can explore. The faculty is so diverse that you can really find just about anything to work on that interests you. That’s a remarkable resource,” Meyer says. “My training helped me be comfortable with learning while I was trying new things.”
Meyer’s arts background also contributed to his willingness to try new things. Whether it was creating ceramic sculptures or studying classical flute during college, or his current focus on painting, he finds that his creativity and experimentation bring joy to his life and enhance his work. “The arts foster creativity, which is critical for innovation,” he says. “This translates to problem solving, shaping questions to be answered by synthesizing information from multiple sources, visualizing data, or developing new analytical methods.”
Meyer has applied these skills throughout his career. After completing his doctorate, he took a job at the University of California, San Francisco, as a principal biostatistician in the Department of Medicine, based at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. That was Meyer’s entrée to work with big, real-world data sets related to health services research—“a really cool first opportunity,” he says.
Next, Meyer moved to the pharmaceutical industry, working at Genentech in health economics and outcomes research. He showed the value of medications using real-world data from health records, insurance claims, past clinical trials, and economic models. His work helped clinicians, healthcare systems, and national healthcare payers understand a medication’s effectiveness for patients and potential economic impact.
He has now been with Johnson & Johnson for three years, doing similar work but at an earlier point in the drug development cycle. Meyer creates the company’s real-world evidence strategy for clinical development teams, designs clinical studies, and oversees them. “I work with large, global, cross-functional teams that need data from the real world to support decision-making or for regulatory engagement,” he says. “Ultimately, we deliver that to our teams and bring medicine to patients as fast as we can.”
Meyer continues to complement his career with pursuits like hiking and running (completing the San Francisco Marathon several times), playing the flute, painting, and serving on the SPH Alumni Board. He enjoys giving back to a place that was meaningful to him and helping maintain a robust network for alumni. It’s important to Meyer to have a full and creative life outside of work to stay vibrant, ready to learn new things, and do all he can to help others stay healthy.
