By Aimee Bulger
Staff Writer
Finding a balance between work and play can be difficult — especially when holding a career position of high importance and power. However, Melissa Mertzman ‘96 shows just how possible this can be when done right.
After attending the College and earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Mertzman went on to earn her doctorate in analytical chemistry from Drexel University, where she was a leading researcher in the field of chiral microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography, a separation technique for chemical solutes, according to Science Direct. Mertzman then went on to work in the field of pharmaceutical drug development, where she has gained 25 years of experience.
Mertzman is currently the global head of Dossier Development and Operations, a group in pharmaceutical development within Janssen Research and Development, LLC, a division of Johnson & Johnson. There, she oversees approval, review and authoring of chemistry manufacturing and controls content for several different aspects within the chemical field.
Globally, she serves as a representative for her department in China, where she works to understand requirements and advocate for global standards of pharmaceutical drugs, an aspect of her work she says she is most proud of.
Within her job, responsibilities include clinical trial application, marketing applications, responses to health authority questions, briefing books and investigator brochures that support global submissions during development and commercialization.
Within her field, Mertzman is highly successful, and she spoke with The Signal about a few of her accomplishments that stand out to her the most.
“The Dossier Community of Practice is definitely something I feel proud of,” she said. “I remember pitching the idea to senior leadership back in 2016, at which time the answer was ‘no.’ But a year later, we’d experienced some pain points in the regulatory intelligence and advocacy arena, and I sensed there was a new opportunity to revisit the discussion. Sure enough, the next time it was proposed, the answer was a resounding ‘yes.’”
Mertzman’s perseverance and patience allowed for her idea to be put into motion, bringing success to her company as the plan went live in 2019, placing her in charge of oversight.
In addition to being a highly-accomplished chemist, Mertzman also spends her free time as both a photographer and a mother, all of which she had to learn to balance with grace.
“I had hit a rough patch in my career,” she said, “and it forced me to re-evaluate how I was working and helped me realize that somewhere along the way of pouring myself 150% into my career and my children I had lost my identity. And while I was doing well by external standards, the truth was that I felt empty and burned out.”
Working with a high pressure schedule is not something new to Mertzman, as she did so during her time at the College as well.
“I was working 40 hours a week waiting tables, while attending as a full-time chemistry major,” Mertzman said. “Granted, somehow, I still found time to join a sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon. Seriously, I have no idea how I ever had that level of energy. I couldn’t do all of that now.”
Mertzman credits her experience with her ability to persevere, make decisions, take risks, be a leader and be “scrappy.” With the close-knit community of the College, as well as help from the professors and dean at the time, Mertzman was able to successfully graduate and go on to earn her doctorate.
Over time, Mertzman said she was able to find her balance, find her “no” and become more selective for herself and her well-being within her career. Discovering the importance of turning down tasks and responsibilities that do not promote the best possible results for her career path or her mental health, Mertzman maintains a workload that allows for her creative side to bloom.
Mertzman also explained how, despite having a very supportive husband, the work at home falls “disproportionately” onto women, even when they are the main breadwinner of the family. Mertzman said the idea of always saying “yes” to everything can be toxic to lots of women, overloading their already full plates.
In her personal life, Mertzman detailed the importance of finding “Melissa” within her identities of wife, mother and boss. One key thing that helps her achieve this is photography, which she displays on Instagram, @bnw_goddess.
“Photography nourishes the creative side of me that was so strongly present when I was younger, but that I had placed on the back shelf in adulthood,” Mertzman said. “Taking these realizations together, that I needed to be selective with my career management at work, and that I needed to introduce activities that would help me take better care of myself, resulted in me becoming laser focused on how I manage my time and energy.”
With this balance discovery, Mertzman realized an important aspect of everyday life, so important that she offers it as a piece of advice: taking care of health, both mental and physical, is a key life priority.
“The better care I take of my body, heart and mind, the more energy I will have to support the balance,” she said.
Finding a balance of work and play, Mertzman is able to flourish in both her career in chemistry and her photography. Discovering how to say no, not taking too much onto her plate, and finding things that make her happy, Mertzman is able to thrive with her perfect balance in life.
