AAPS-2017-2018 Student committee leaders and adviser
By Akshay Jain, Ph.D.
The University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) AAPS student chapter was established about 15 years ago. We aim to promote intellectually stimulating academic, scientific, and social interaction between graduate students, faculty, and pharmaceutical scientists across the nation. Ever since the inception of this chapter, graduate student leaders and faculty at the School of Pharmacy (SOP, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences) are working hard to blend science and leadership. We also bridge the gap between the pharmaceutical scientists in academia and industry. UMKC graduate students have actively been involved in planning and attending numerous national and international conferences such as AAPS, the Controlled Release Society, and the Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium for many years. Other objectives of the student chapter include career development, scientific awareness, leadership, and outreach activities such as résumé-building workshops, scientific seminars, and spreading awareness to K–12 students about career opportunities in the pharmaceutical sciences. Every year graduate students at UMKC-SOP present their work at national conferences like AAPS. Our graduate students (Akshay Jain, Abhirup Mandal, Zhen Zhao, to name a few) and faculty (Ashim Mitra, Ph.D., Kun Cheng, Ph.D.) have received awards of excellence in the field of pharmaceutical sciences research at AAPS.
Welcome picnic for new graduate students.
We at the UMKC AAPS student chapter are dedicated toward improving the knowledge and outreach of our graduate students. To stay up to date with current breakthroughs and cutting-edge research technology, we organize special seminar series every semester. We invite academic and industrial stalwarts from around the nation to learn about their research and life experiences, which can inspire young scientists at our student chapter. We have had the great opportunity to host many outstanding scientists this past year (2017–2018). Joseph Balthasar, Ph.D. (University of Buffalo), Rajagopal Ramesh, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma Health Science Center), Maria Croyle, Ph.D. (University of Texas-Austin), Hai-Quan Mao, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University), Michelle Arkins, Ph.D. (University of California San Francisco), Christian Melander, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University), are a few of the many amazing guest speakers who spoke to us.
With amazing mentoring and support from the faculty at UMKC-SOP, students can accomplish their academic goals, but career development is also something our graduate students seek. In early 2018, we organized a live webinar session and workshop with well-known industry career mentor and founder of “Cheeky Scientist Association,” Isaiah Hankel, Ph.D. After the webinar, Isaiah answered specific questions about job applications, résumé building, the approaches for a successful job interview, etc.
AAPS Chapter Students after bowling event.
To keep stress at bay, with the help of the UMKC Office of Student Involvement, we organize many stress buster events such as bowling night, movie night, laser tag, chapter dinner, etc. This serves as a getaway for students (and their families) from hectic research and other responsibilities. This brings everyone together to build a stronger bond among graduate students. With new members in the chapter every year, we are growing and bringing new ideas to expand the outreach of our chapter and benefit students.