Dr. Niklas Hegemann | From Charité Berlin to the Pharmaceutical Industry

Our guest today is Dr. Niklas Hegemann, Medical Affairs Trainee at a leading global pharmaceutical company. Niklas's career path is anything but straightforward. He began with business administration - a choice shaped in part by family expectations - before a six-month internship at a major pharmaceutical firm sparked a lasting passion for medical science. This led him back into academia to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science at Marburg and a Master's degree in Genes, Drugs & Stem Cells – Novel Therapies at Imperial College London, followed by a doctoral thesis in experimental cardiology at Charité. In this episode, Niklas talks about how he leverages his academic training in data analysis, scientific literature review, and multidisciplinary collaboration in his current role in Medical Affairs. He reflects candidly on the setbacks he faced when first trying to move into industry, the role of mentorship and humility in finally making the transition, and what it takes to adapt to a corporate environment after years in academia. He also shares how he has maintained his ties to the cardiovascular research community as a visiting scientist and why he sees hybrid career paths as a real opportunity for scientists today. The interview was conducted by Dr. Christina Ayazi from ZEWK at TU Berlin.