Original ResearchVol. 9 · Issue 2026Open accessn = 1

Building scientific engagement from n = 0: a longitudinal study of one physician

Derieck Reid
Derieck P. Reid Sing, MD1,2
1 Medical Affairs, pharma & medical devices · 2 General Medicine, San José

Abstract

Background. Most expert networks are inherited. Some have to be built from nothing.

Methods. One physician, followed from 2017 to the present across pharmacovigilance, Medical Affairs, eight Latin American markets, a digital health start-up and a clinic that never closed.

Results. Networks, teams and a launch model were built from baseline zero and adopted beyond their market of origin.

Conclusion. Trust is the rate-limiting step. Everything else scales.

KOL engagementmedical societiesmarket entrydigital opinion leadersresponsible AIcardiometabolic
nodes 0
edges 0
mean degree 0.0
Figure 1. Network formation from baseline zero. Each new node connects to its nearest neighbours. Tap the figure to add a node.
1. Key results

Primary and secondary endpoints.

Follow-up
9+ yrsin pharma and medical devices2017 → present
Sites
8markets where medical engagement was built5 therapeutic lines
Team
~10people hired and led from zero6 countries
Digital network
100+digital opinion leaders engaged15 collaborations (15%)
Reviewer #2Major revision

“The sample size is one. The findings may not generalise.”

Author's response

We agree, and we invite replication. The full method is available in Supplementary S2.

2. Methods

Study design: one cohort, several exposures.

Overlapping exposures are expected. Select a bar for details and what each period taught.

20172019202120232025now

Figure 2. Exposure timeline. Purple: industry. Gold: clinical practice and independent projects. MD, Universidad Hispanoamérica · MSc Medical Scientific Liaison · ICH-GCP certified.

3. Mechanism of action

Proposed pathway: from question to trust.

Hover or tap each step. Note the negative feedback loop: transactional asks inhibit the pathway.

Clinical question Listen Map who speaksand who decides Give before asking Trust Engagement→ insight Transactional asks positive feedback: insights refine the next question
Clinical question. The starting substrate. Define what needs to change in practice before choosing whom to engage.
4. Discussion

Clinical vignettes: what would you do?

Four situations from building engagement from zero. Choose a management plan.

S. Supplementary material

Things that didn't fit in the main text.

TABLE S1 · FICTION
Cover of We'll Know When We Land, by D. P. Reid

I wrote a novel.

A short literary one, under the pen name D. P. Reid: one passenger, seat 26D, and a flight that doesn't let go. 14,628 words. Writing it taught me what medicine did: say less, and make every word carry weight.

Read it on Amazon →

METHOD S2 · FIELD GUIDE

I turned my method into a playbook.

Free and interactive: a relationship health check, engagement from zero, a prioritisation scorer and AI prompts for your own network.

Open it →
FIGURE S3 · PROTOTYPE
Derieck presenting his digital health start-up on stage at IT Summit Costa Rica

I founded a start-up, and took it on stage.

An AI-guided health platform, built as a Delaware company from an idea to a working MVP. I pitched it from San José to San Francisco (pictured: IT Summit Costa Rica).

Lesson: technology is the easy part; trust is the product.

NOTE S4 · CONTROL GROUP

I never stopped seeing patients.

In person and by telehealth since 2019. It's my control group for whether anything we build in industry actually reaches people.

5. Correspondence

Peer review welcome.

If something here resonated, or you disagree with any of it, I'd like to hear from you.

derieckrs@icloud.com LinkedIn CV on request
Competing interestsThe author is also the subject of this study.
FundingSelf-funded. Fuelled mostly by coffee.
Data availabilityAvailable from the author upon reasonable request.