When Neha Dafria enrolled in Keck Graduate Institute (KGI)’s Master of Business and Science in Biotechnology (MBS) program, she was ready for change.
“I was at a junction where I wanted to move out of the lab and into the business side of things,” said Dafria, ’14 MBS. “KGI provided that bridge.”
This shift would ultimately shape her career and lead to her current role as director of Customer Insights and Analytics at Amgen.
Originally from India, Dafria earned a degree in the United Kingdom and held various professional roles before arriving at KGI. Her international background helped ease the cultural transition, but it was KGI’s hands-on curriculum and close-knit community that gave her the skills to thrive in the US biotech industry.
“Networking means different things in different countries,” she said. “KGI helped me understand what networking looks like in corporate America – how to initiate those conversations and how to maintain relationships.”
Those connections helped propel her forward. Dafria began her career in forecasting and strategy consulting roles before joining Amgen in 2020. Today, she leads Customer Analytics for Amgen’s bone health division, leading a team that delivers innovative, high-impact insights to guide strategic decisions across the organization. Her work has become integral to advancing the company’s success in this space.
“I feel like I’m making a difference in patients’ lives,” Dafria said.
Returning to KGI as an Industry Partner
In 2020, Dafria reconnected with KGI in a new role – as a corporate liaison and project sponsor. Through Amgen, she sponsored a Team Master’s Project (TMP) focused on competitive intelligence for cancer treatments.
“The goal was to understand what other companies were doing in this space,” said Steven Casper, Henry E. Riggs Professor of Management and MBS program director, who served as faculty liaison for the project. “Students conducted a detailed landscape analysis using clinicaltrials.gov, patient databases, and data visualization tools to uncover trends, targets, and strategic implications.”
According to Casper, the project stood out for depth and impact.
“Neha and her colleague, fellow KGI alum Risha Patel, were deeply involved,” he said. “They modeled what it looks like to be an engaged, thoughtful industry partner.”
Consulting, Career Exposure, and Early Lessons
Dafria credits her early consulting experience with preparing her for leadership.
“It gives you a really good understanding of the internal workings of different pharma or biotech companies and how to address questions,” she said. “We addressed key business questions all day, which helped evolve and enhance my thinking. It also gave me exposure to different types of companies, therapy areas, and projects.”
She also pointed to the practical exposure of KGI offered early in her career.
"I still remember the industry talks where professionals shared what their day-to-day looked like across different functions such as regulatory, finance, commercial, and bioprocessing," she said. "You don't know what's out there until someone in the role walks you through it."
KGI’s resume workshops helped her adapt to the U.S. job market.
"Something as simple as learning how to format a one-page resume compared to a CV was new to me coming from India and the UK," Dafria said.
Building Lifelong Connections
Beyond the academics, Dafria said the friendships she formed at KGI continue to enrich her life.
"I made friends within the first week," she said. "One of them was my roommate both years, and we're still close today. We've traveled together. We were all consultants in different companies and made the transition to industry around the same time."
Centering Patients in Her Work
Now in a leadership role at one of the world’s largest biotech firms, Dafria remains grounded in the values that first brought her to KGI: curiosity, adaptability, and service.
"Working across different therapeutic areas — oncology, inflammation, obesity, and now bone health — has given me the ability to understand and identify patient needs and how those needs vary depending on the disease you're working within," she said. "That impacts not just the day-to-day decisions around patient care, but also broader conversations, like the role of caregivers or the kinds of benefits that matter most. It's been an interesting journey to see where things overlap and where they differ."
For current and future KGI students, Dafria’s career is a powerful reminder of what can happen when passion meets preparation — and when alumni remain engaged to support and inspire the next generation.