In this episode of the OnPoint Podcast, Scott sits down with Nandini Sabharwal, Field Medical Director at Pfizer, to explore how Medical Affairs teams can move past the hype and start building real, practical AI skills. Drawing from her experience as a clinical pharmacist and MSL, Nandini shares how using AI first in everyday life creates confidence, fluency, and momentum that directly translate into work. The conversation focuses on how teams can start now, stay compliant, and use AI to expand, not replace, their impact.

Nandini is a seasoned Medical Science Liaison with over five years of Medical Affairs experience spanning various therapeutic areas. She spearheads the Internal Medicine Field Medical AI workstream, focusing on initiatives that bridge AI innovation with field medical operations, such as using AI to enhance medical engagement and insight generation. She is an enthusiastic pioneer of integrating AI in customer-facing teams, emphasizing the importance of upskilling, democratization of AI skills, and cross-functional collaboration with other field teams for AI advocacy.

Connect with Nandini on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandini-sabharwal/

[00:00] Why AI Is Becoming a Core Skill in Medical Affairs

[01:30] Why MSLs Are Already Equipped to Use AI Effectively

[04:10] Using Personal AI Use Cases to Build Confidence and Fluency

[11:20] Safe and Compliant AI Use in Pharma and Medical Affairs

[18:30] How NotebookLM and LLMs Accelerate Scientific Learning

[24:10] Practical AI Workflows for MSLs: Planning, Insights, and Efficiency

[34:50] Expanding Medical Affairs Impact with AI Without Losing the Human Element

In this episode, Scott sits down with Nick Taylor, Head of Gilead’s IT Innovation Lab, to unpack how he has led enterprise-wide adoption of Copilot and built AI solutions now used by nearly 30,000 employees. Nick shares the mindset, methods, and practical realities of teaching teams to use AI well, from personal productivity to enterprise-scale agents.

Together, they discuss:
• How Nick moved from IT architecture to leading AI innovation across Gilead
• What early pilots revealed about real-world AI adoption
• The small wins that drive big productivity gains
• How teams should think about governance, compliance, and risk
• The shift from personal AI use to team- and enterprise-level AI
• What Medical Affairs teams should expect in the next 3 years of AI maturity

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntaylornc

OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast delivers insightful conversations on the most pressing issues facing top Medical Affairs professionals. Listen to stay ahead of industry trends and be inspired by leaders shaping the future of Medical Affairs.

OnPoint is available on several podcast platforms, including the Acceleration Point YouTube channel.

[00:00] – Welcome and Introduction
[02:00] – Early Copilot Pilots and the Small Wins That Sparked Enterprise Adoption
[06:40] – Building Genie: Gilead’s Enterprise AI Assistant
[08:35] – Security, Compliance, and Fixing Broken Data Hygiene
[14:45] – The Four Levels of AI Maturity in Medical Affairs
[18:55] – Personal AI Mastery: Prompts, Roles, and Nick’s ‘Board of Advisor’ Agents
[28:35] – Scaling AI Across Pharma and Why You Can’t Outsource Thinking

2025 wasn’t just another year of progress for Medical Affairs. It was a year of transformation.

In this special OnPoint: Medical Excellence Podcast episode, Scott Thompson looks back across the conversations, leaders, and moments that defined the past year and distills them into six themes that are reshaping how Medical Affairs teams operate, lead, and create impact.

This is not a rewind. It’s a synthesis of what changed, why it matters, and how the most forward-thinking teams are already applying these lessons.

OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast delivers insightfulconversations on the most pressing issues facing top Medical Affairs professionals. Listen to stay ahead of industry trends and be inspired by leaders shaping the future of Medical Affairs.

OnPoint is available on several podcast platforms, includingthe Acceleration Point YouTube channel.

[00:00] – The Year of Transformation

[01:29] – Stop Waiting for Big AI. Start Now

[03:34] – Integration Is Excellence

[05:56] – Measure What Changed, Not What You Did

[08:09] – Start Small. Prove Value. Scale.

[11:04] – Maturity Is Built One Coordinated Step at a Time

[13:37] – What Should the Modern MSL Be Mastering?

[16:42] – Everything Connects