Dalila Masic on AI, EQ, and the Future of the MSL Role

HCPs are already using AI in their day-to-day work faster than most Medical Affairs teams can keep pace with internally. That shift is pushing MSL leaders to decide not whether to adopt AI, but how to do it in a way that keeps the human relationship at the center of the job.

Scott Thompson is joined by Dalila Masic, PharmD (Sanofi), Regional Medical Director for the Type 1 Diabetes Immunology MSL team, who has moved from field medical into in-house digital strategy and back into the field again. Dalila walks through the five-level AI framework her team uses (consume, create, augment, orchestrate, transform) and explains why reading an HCP's communication style, not just their clinical needs, is becoming central to earning trust as AI adoption accelerates; physician AI use has already more than doubled since 2023, according to the American Medical Association. If you're trying to move your MSL team past the chatbot stage, this conversation lays out a practical path forward.

Key Takeaways:

• The five levels of AI adoption build on each other. Masic's team moves from consume (summarizing literature, drafting emails) to create, augment, orchestrate, and transform. Her advice for level one: "just start small because as you start small, then you're like, 'Okay, this is what's working. This is what's not working.'"
• Admin work is the first target, not the last. In Masic's words: "We did a baseline survey of our team, and we found that over 50% of their week was admin work." Reducing it, she says, could "open up more time, again, to be human."
• Communication style matters as much as content. Masic's team uses a four-color personality framework to match how they present data to each HCP's preferences. Working with endocrinologists who lead with analytical thinking, she says, "I need to change my communication style and approach and how I present data." She also built a personal app to help estimate an HCP's style ahead of a first meeting.
• A specific goal produces better AI output than a vague one. Masic puts it plainly: "don't give it a vague goal. Give it a specific goal, 'cause the more specific you can be in terms of what you wanna achieve, the better these actions will be."
• The MSL role is shifting from information holder to scientific thought partner. As HCPs get answers faster from AI-enabled tools, Masic argues that "the future of the MSL is not to be the best information carrier. It's to be the best scientific thought partner," which makes emotional intelligence and relationship-building the differentiator.
• AI adoption in Medical Affairs is still early. Masic notes that some companies are already implementing orchestrate-level next-best-action tools, but on transform-level AI she says, "It's very early, I would say, and not in medical affairs." She points to pharma's highly regulated environment as the reason it may take time.

Resources Mentioned

Replit: An AI-assisted app-building platform Masic used to build a personal side project that estimates an HCP's communication style ahead of a first meeting. Masic noted she is not affiliated with or sponsored by Replit.

OpenEvidence: An AI clinical-evidence tool referenced as an example of HCPs already using AI to get answers faster than pharma teams can keep pace with.

Insights Discovery: A four-color personality framework (blue, green, yellow, red) Masic's team uses to tailor communication style to each HCP.

About Our Guest

Dalila Masic, PharmD, is Regional Medical Director for the Type 1 Diabetes Immunology MSL team at Sanofi, where she leads a team of seven MSLs. She began her career in critical care pharmacy at Loyola University Medical Center before joining Sanofi as a cardiovascular MSL, later leading digital and omnichannel strategy in-house, and then returning to the field to apply what she'd learned. She leads an AI MSL work group and serves as one of Sanofi's internal GenAI ambassadors.

Connect with Dalila on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalilamasic/

FAQ

What are the five levels of AI adoption in Medical Affairs?
Dalila Masic describes a five-level framework: consume (using AI to find and summarize information), create (using AI to draft content like decks or reports), augment (using AI to inform decisions, such as tailoring communication to an HCP), orchestrate (AI coordinating systems and teams to recommend next actions), and transform (AI strategically improving patient outcomes). She recommends starting at level one rather than jumping ahead.

Why does Dalila Masic say emotional intelligence matters more as AI adoption grows?
As AI increasingly handles information delivery, Masic argues the MSL differentiator shifts from being the best source of information to being the best scientific thought partner. That requires reading an HCP's communication style and building trust, skills rooted in emotional intelligence rather than data access.

How does HCPs' rate of AI adoption compare to pharma's?
Masic says HCPs are adopting AI faster than pharma companies can keep pace with internally. External data supports this: the American Medical Association's 2026 Physician Survey on Augmented Intelligence found that over 80% of physician respondents now use AI in a professional context, double the share reported in 2023.

What personality framework does Masic's MSL team use to communicate with HCPs?
Masic's team uses the Insights Discovery color-energy model, which groups communication styles into four types: blue (analytical), green (feeling-oriented), yellow (forward-thinking and intuitive), and red (direct and decisive). MSLs adapt how they present data based on which style an HCP leads with.

How can a Medical Affairs team start using AI without a big investment?
Masic recommends starting small: dedicate about 10 minutes a week to experimenting with an existing tool like Copilot on a single, well-defined problem. She emphasizes that a specific, well-scoped goal produces better AI output than a broad or vague request.

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