Dr. Dirksen has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of medical communications and clinical research across varied therapeutic disciplines. Prior to joining VetPharm, she worked for Celltech Americas, Inc., Howard Proskin & Associates, and the AMC Cancer Research Center, managing the development and completion of clinical study documents for regulatory submissions. In addition, Dr. Dirksen was responsible for the negotiation of client contracts and the production of study-related publications for a range of purposes, from corporate press releases to scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. In her capacity as Scientific Officer for the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the US, she developed technical documents such as journal articles and grant submissions for the biomedical research community, as well as newsletters and educational brochures geared toward both professional and lay audiences. Most recently, she expanded her skill set to incorporate instruction of writing at the undergraduate level.  

 Dr. Dirksen earned her bachelor of science degree in biology and natural sciences from Muhlenberg College, and her masters and doctoral degrees in pharmacology from the University of Rochester.