Ben Jones

Ben completed a Master of Drug Discovery and Development and now works as a medicines evaluator at Medsafe in the Ministry of Health.

“During my Master’s I was able to take part in an exciting project that had been built up over a number of years. My main area of research looked at the bioactive properties of novel anti-cancer natural products at the cellular level. It had the potential to make a new contribution towards something that may eventually be beneficial to patients.

“My core role at Medsafe is assessing applications for new medicines for quality, safety and efficacy before they are able to be marketed and distributed in New Zealand. Other responsibilities include answering queries from industry and the public, responding to Official Information Act requests and collaborating with other international regulators.

“I use the specific skills and knowledge I learned in this programme on a daily basis. This knowledge has also helped to shape my broader understanding of pharmaceutical science, the industry and its regulation.”