2026 Health Economics and Outcomes Research – Intern

Job Description

Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) Internship Overview  

Envision spending your summer working with energetic colleagues and inspirational leaders, all while gaining world-class experience in one of the most dynamic organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a reality for AbbVie Interns.  

AbbVie’s HEOR Team is a premier research group that has been widely recognized for its scientific expertise and leadership. Combining multiple scientific disciplines to generate cutting-edge evidence, the HEOR team supports AbbVie’s scientific strategies and demonstrates the value of innovative treatments, shaping health care decision making to improve patient care. HEOR-driven research helps with: 

• Informing strategic decisions aimed at ensuring that patients can access and benefit from appropriate therapies in a timely manner. 

• Developing and guiding pricing/reimbursement strategies based on evaluation of public health policy, the reimbursement environment, and clinical, economic, and patient-centered outcomes data. 

• Leveraging innovative research approaches and partnerships to maximize the use of RWE and patient-centric outcomes research for informing internal and external decisions that positively impact patient lives. 

• Enhancing the patient voice by leveraging patient self-reported/digital health-driven outcomes in clinical trial and real-world settings to further understand the unmet needs and establish value of innovative treatments. 

HEOR interns will work in a matrix organization with global cross-functional partners which further enables understanding of generating evidence that addresses global and local affiliate needs. Interns will support efforts for on-market or pipeline assets in one or more disease states within the areas of Immunology, Oncology, Neuroscience, Eye Care, General Medicine, and Aesthetics. 

The internship will take place in-person at AbbVie’s office in Mettawa, IL.  

Key responsibilities include: 

• Conducting literature reviews, patient-reported outcomes studies, retrospective claims or electronic medical records database analyses, prospective observational studies, economic model development, and meta-analysis.  

• Conceptualizing research plans, protocol development, managing vendors, and writing/presenting results.  

• Developing analysis plans or study protocols and conducting analyses of internal databases and/or clinical trial data.  

• Assisting in the creation of scientific materials like slide decks, white papers, abstracts, or manuscripts for disseminating research findings to internal/external audience.  

• Attending team meetings, department meetings, and cross-functional team meetings to gain a better understanding of the role of HEOR within the biopharmaceutical industries and at AbbVie.  

AbbVie’s HEOR interns work within the Value & Evidence (V&E) Team and may be placed within two V&E pillars: 

• Therapeutic Area (TA) Strategy Teams: Align to the core set of TAs (Immunology, Oncology, Neuroscience, Eye Care, and Aesthetics), leads asset/product strategies, and covers product life cycle management 

• Centers of Expertise (CoEs): Comprised of the Real-World Evidence (RWE) Team, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) Team, and the Value Analytics Center (VAC) Team  

As part of the application, please include a cover letter to indicate your preference for either of the two V&E pillars listed above and a brief statement on the rationale. Your application will be considered for all HEOR summer internship opportunities. The final assignment within TA/Asset Strategy or CoEs will be determined by the internship committee and the hiring managers.  

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications  

• Must be currently enrolled in a graduate level program at an accredited university, preferably pursuing a PhD in the fields of pharmacy, medicine, health services research, outcomes research, health economics, health policy, epidemiology, statistics, data analytics, economics, psychology, and other disciplines related to HEOR. 

• Applicants pursuing a PhD with a non-traditional focus area or master’s degree with relevant prior work experience may be considered (applicant must effectively demonstrate the link to / strong understanding of HEOR.) 

• Must be enrolled in university for at least one semester following the internship. 

• Must have completed at least one year of graduate level studies prior to the internship.  

• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Expected graduation date between December 2026 – June 2027. 

• Prior relevant research experience, such as in areas of healthcare and data sciences.  

• Relevant advanced course work in areas such as, but not limited to, health economics, health policy, epidemiology, psychometrics, research methods, and/or statistics. 

• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication skills. 

• Demonstrated track record of leading and influencing teams with multiple stakeholders with different perspectives. 

• Adept in data analysis using statistical packages (e.g. SAS, R, STATA) and advanced analytical approaches. 

• Prior experience in conducting literature reviews. 

• Prior experience leading research studies. 

• Strong research skills in methods utilized in HEOR, including but not limited to health economic modeling, pharmacoepidemiology, claims-based analyses, and/or psychometrics. 

Benefits and Amenities  

• Competitive pay. 

• Relocation support for eligible students.  

• Select wellness benefits and paid holiday / sick time. 

• Mentorship from HEOR/V&E experts and industry leaders.  

• Experience in an industry setting working on impactful research projects to support brand and cross-functional strategies. 

• Exposure to development of HEOR strategies and evidence generation to meet payer and stakeholder needs. 

• Ability to interact with colleagues from diverse backgrounds across various departments such as Market Access, Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Marketing, Epidemiology, Patient Safety, and Public Affairs.