( CNN ) -- The biggest drugmaker in the world , Pfizer 's brands include Advil , Robitussin , Viagra , Xanax and Lipitor . Pfizer 's most senior physician is Chief Medical Officer Dr Freda Lewis-Hall , a psychiatrist who describes her job as `` a pinnacle role : '' One that combines `` the broadest potential impact '' with `` the deepest possible satisfaction . '' Lewis-Hall grew up living with an uncle whose legs were ruined by polio . His carers , and his approach to life , inspired her to pursue a career as a physician . A guidance counselor advised her to marry a naval officer instead , but Lewis-Hall says her family believed `` that discouragement and dissuasion were just opportunities to sharpen your skills and deepen your commitment and prove that you could do anything . '' Although the pharmaceutical industry is characterized by fierce competition , lengthy and expensive research and decreasing profits , Lewis-Hall says she finds her work exciting . `` There 's an unprecedented age wave worldwide . This puts us -- as humanity -- right in the way of many illnesses that are currently unaddressed . '' `` Over the next two decades , biomedical research will probably see advancement that tops what we saw in the last two millennia , '' she says , `` and I hope I can be a part of that . ''
Dr Lewis-Hall is the senior physician at drug company Howard University . As Chief Medical Officer , she is responsible for regulating the company 's medical work . Editor of book on treatment of psychiatric disorders disproportionately affecting women . A psychiatrist trained at Howard University and Johns Hopkins , she has two children .