For Elana Bertram, coming to law school meant giving up a lucrative career in sales.

After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 2004 with a biology degree, Bertram took a position as a pharmaceutical sales representative. She says she became frustrated seeing the obstacles that doctors face in trying to treat patients within the payment structure dictated by health insurance companies.

Bertram realized that in order to help solve these problems, she needed to approach them from a policy level.

Now a second-year law student, Bertram is exploring her career options in health law. She landed two part-time summer internships: as an assistant to the in-house council at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) in Norwalk, Conn., and its supporting organization, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) and as an intern at the Chief State's Attorney's Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Rocky Hill.

She says the internships are helping her understand how to fit health and science into the law. "It's good to see there's a niche for me with science and the law--other than just medical malpractice," she says.

"I'm trying to get as well-rounded a base as possible. The contrast is good. I'm privileged to have both opportunities."

At the Chief State's Attorney's Office, Bertram spends most of her time answering defense attorneys' motions to dismiss, which she says is a good opportunity to interact with skilled defense attorneys.

At the MMRC, Bertram helps to negotiate contracts between the organization, the 15 research sites with which it partners, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The research sites run drug trials for myeloma, a rare and aggressive blood cancer that shows few symptoms until an advanced stage. Because multiple myeloma is a rare disease, pharmaceutical companies are less likely to focus drug development efforts in this area.

"There's so much positive energy in this office. I'm so excited to be able to lend my efforts to what they're trying to do," Bertram says.

At Quinnipiac, Bertram is pursuing a concentration in health law and taking a class on intellectual property. And while she's still figuring out her plans for after graduation, Bertram says she would consider a career as a lobbyist or a position on the legislative level.

While leaving behind her sales career was difficult, Bertram says choosing a law school wasn't. "I just liked Quinnipiac the best. The faculty is so accessible and supportive. They go above and beyond to be available. They live and breathe their students--that's something that's really special."