Hannah Thomas takes on COP-SkinCeuticals fellowship

If it takes passion to persuade, Hannah Thomas is starting on the right foot.

The recently-minted Pharm.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center joins the MUSC College of Pharmacy on June 26, 2023 as the newest SkinCeuticals MSL Fellow.

But she’s not just a SkinCeuticals fellow; she’s also a customer. She was interested in medical grade skincare even before going to pharmacy school, and her personal exploration in the skincare arena eventually led her to start using SkinCeuticals Vitamin C serum. She loved the product and the experience informed her decision to pursue health care, pharmacy, and a medical science liaison (MSL) fellowship.

“Over the last five years skincare has become a passion of mine and this fellowship position is the perfect mesh of my favorite hobby and my profession,” she said. “It will allow me to improve my presentation and communication skills and form amazing relationships, all while being a part of a company that I already admire and believe in.”

Thomas earned a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Georgia in 2019, followed by a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences in 2021 and a Pharm.D. in 2023, both from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy (UTCOP). She has been awarded the University Scholar Diversity Scholarship from UTCOP and a HOPE Scholarship from the University of Georgia. She has also worked at two pharmacies as an intern – Belew Drugs in Knoxville, Tenn., and Kroger Pharmacy in Alcoa, Tenn.

“Hannah is entering the fellowship with an educational background in drug research and development in addition to her PharmD degree,” said Shelby Kolo, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy and outcome science at MUSC as well as co-preceptor for the fellow position. “Her passion for medical grade skincare and the pharmaceutical industry was evident during the interview process and I am excited to see what she accomplishes over the next year!”

As SkinCeuticals MSL fellow, she will have an opportunity to get an inside view of some of the science, people, and products that make up the $50 billion dermocosmetic industry.

The one-year postdoctoral fellowship is designed to prepare the fellow to become a highly marketable professional in the field of dermocosmetics, which is defined as scientifically developed skincare recommended by health care professionals and distributed in health care outlets worldwide, including pharmacies, drugstores, medi-spas and e-retailers.

The fellowship was launched last year as part of a new partnership between MUSC and SkinCeuticals, a part of L’Oreal USA’s Active Cosmetics Division.