Medical Affairs Intern at Ardelyx, Inc. in Waltham, MA

Summary: Ardelyx, Inc. is a commercial biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines for unmet medical needs. The Medical Affairs Intern will evaluate the role of social media in Medical Affairs, conduct competitive intelligence, and provide evidence-based recommendations to leadership regarding Ardelyx's social media activities. Responsibilities: - Conduct competitive intelligence - Review Medical Affairs‑relevant social media activity across a defined list of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies - Identify how Medical Affairs teams use platforms such as LinkedIn and X to share scientific information, publications, and congress updates - Document examples of common approaches to publication dissemination, congress coverage, and medical content sharing - Assess current Ardelyx Medical social media activities - Review the current Ardelyx Medical Affairs social media program, including vendor‑supported publication and abstract posts - Evaluate existing engagement metrics, posting cadence, and content mix - Identify the types of scientific information currently shared through Ardelyx Medical channels and how they are positioned - Benchmark industry practices - Compare Ardelyx Medical’s current approach with observed practices from peer companies - Identify common strategies, governance models, and engagement patterns used across the industry - Evaluate whether and how social media appears to support scientific communication or visibility for Medical Affairs organizations - Gather internal context - Meet with select Medical Affairs team members to understand how social media currently supports publications, congress activity, and scientific communications - Focus discussions on clarifying current practices, objectives, and constraints rather than designing new workflows - Evaluate platforms and potential opportunities - Explore whether additional or emerging professional platforms are being used by peer companies for Medical Affairs engagement - Identify potential areas where the Ardelyx Medical social media program could be optimized, simplified, or refocused - Develop findings and recommendations - Synthesize research into a structured summary of findings, including competitive intelligence, benchmarks, and key observations - Outline potential paths forward (e.g., maintain the current approach, optimize the current model, expand selectively, or discontinue if strategic value appears limited) - Prepare and deliver a short presentation summarizing findings and recommendations to Medical Affairs leadership - Additional Medical Affairs Operations support - As time allows, assist with short‑term Medical Affairs Operations projects or analyses aligned with the intern’s skills and development goals Required Qualifications: - Currently pursuing a degree in Life Sciences, Public Health, Pharmacy, Health Communications, Marketing, or a related field - Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources - Interest in Medical Affairs, scientific communication, and digital/social media in a biopharmaceutical context - Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to summarize complex information clearly - Organized, detail‑oriented, and comfortable working with qualitative and basic quantitative data (e.g., engagement metrics) Preferred Qualifications: - Familiarity with LinkedIn and X (Twitter) as professional/scientific communication channels - Prior experience in social media analysis, competitive intelligence, or communications is a plus - Basic presentation skills and proficiency in PowerPoint or similar tools Required Skills: Medical Affairs, Scientific communication, Digital/social media, Social media analysis, Competitive intelligence, Engagement metrics, PowerPoint, Analytical skills, Research skills