Trailblazing MUSC-Skinceuticals industry fellow hits the ground running

We’ve all seen the groove.

A basketball player shoots and turns around to celebrate before the ball even reaches the basket. A golfer raises the putter in triumph with the putt halfway to the hole. The baseball player drops the bat to watch the homer.

When you’re in the groove, you just know. And Ndidi Chiedu is in the groove.

As of July 1, she began serving as the inaugural fellow in the innovative partnership program between SkinCeuticals, a part of L’Oreal USA’s Active Cosmetics Division, and the MUSC College of Pharmacy.

“When I first saw the position, I did some research on the company and on MUSC and I thought ‘This is perfect,’ ” said Chiedu, who graduated from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) in 2022. “Then once I started interviewing, I knew in my heart that this was the one.”

There were several rounds of interviews and an invited presentation, but soon everyone knew what she had already known in her heart – she was the ideal person for the position.

As a postdoctoral fellow, she’ll work with preceptors at both MUSC (alumna Shelby Kolo ’19, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy and outcome sciences) and at SkinCeuticals (alumna Lyndsay Zotian ’11, senior director medical relations). She’ll spend July at MUSC, doing a Drug Information rotation, before settling in at SkinCeuticals’ Charleston location.

Pharmacy first called to Chiedu at an early age. When she was 15, a favorite aunt’s kidneys failed and Chiedu became her medication aide, giving her medications before and after dialysis. She started college doing prepharmacy and then, during a dabble with medical school, transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio. She graduated from there with a degree in biology in 2016.

During the next year, she ran into an old friend who convinced her to go back to school, this time at the UHCOP. The friend became a mentor and during her P4 year, when she was unsure of what her future held, he suggested looking into fellowships. As if on cue, up popped the announcement about the MUSC/SkinCeuticals new position.

During the coming year, Chiedu will learn a lot about skin products and dermatological conditions, go to industry conferences like the Science of Skincare Summit or American Society for Dermatologic Surgery meetings, build a foundational background, and work in the field of medical science liaison.

“I’m really excited to get started,” Chiedu said. “It’s devastating to leave my family, of course, but the cost opportunity was too high. It’s just the perfect fit. Being the first to walk this path does come with a little anxiety, but it just makes me feel like I’m in a thriller.”