Amgen scholars attend drug discovery meeting

Amgen has announced that a number of first-year scholars from its eight-year Amgen Scholars programme have – together with leading scientists in the field – attended the first Amgen Scholars Programme National Symposium, held in Lake Tahoe, California.

In total, 238 scholars were invited to the conference to listen to talks held by top scientists in both academia and industry, in addition to discussing their summer research projects.

Staff and faculty from leading US universities – including MIT, a partner in the symposium – joined Amgen employees at the event

The Amgen Scholars initiative is a $25 million (12.25 million pound) scheme to help give undergraduates hands-on research experience they may not be able to enjoy through their regular undergraduate studies.

President of MIT Susan Hockfield said: “The symposium provides students a unique opportunity to engage with highly regarded scientists to learn about how science research translates into drug development.”

She added that the skills, creativity and ability of the Amgen scholars at the event were “inspiring”, leaving her convinced that these individuals will achieve much in the field.

In May 2007, Amgen announced the appointment of David Lacey as senior-vice president and head of research at the firm.