Vivek Agrahari, Ph.D., hopes his AAPS experience will help fulfill his dream of improving human health.
By Mark Crawford
Raised in a small town in northern India, Vivek Agrahari received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and his master’s degree in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry in his native country. Guided by a strong belief that multicultural experiences are the best way to maximize success in the pharmaceutical sciences, Agrahari traveled to the U.S., where he received his doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) in 2015. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha.
Agrahari’s research interests include drug delivery and nanoformulations for HIV prevention and therapeutics. His research at UMKC resulted in the development of a novel stimuli-sensitive nanoformulation system loaded with anti-HIV therapeutics that can prevent vaginal transmission of the HIV virus. The preliminary data, including preclinical safety/biocompatibility and in vitro anti-HIV efficacy, are very promising. His research at UNMC targets the eradication of HIV reservoirs in cells and tissues using nanoformulations. His doctoral research has been recognized with the Graduate Student Research Award from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality section and the Controlled Release Society Nicholas Peppas Young Student Scientist Travel Award in 2015.
THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY
An active member of AAPS since 2008, Agrahari has served as chair, chair-elect, and vice-chair of the AAPS UMKC student chapter from 2012 through 2015. He is currently volunteering as a student representative of the AAPS Pharmaceuticals in Global Health and Nanotechnology focus groups. In these positions, he has been closely involved with steering committee members in facilitating teleconferences, publishing newsletters, and developing programming. He is also an active member of the student committees of the AAPS Physical Pharmacy and Biopharmaceutics, Formulation and Drug Design, and the Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality sections.
Agrahari strongly believes his involvement with AAPS has played a “unique and major role” in advancing his career as a pharmaceutical scientist. “The leadership experiences gained here were impactful and played a significant role to achieve my career goals,” he states.
His involvement with AAPS and several other professional organizations provided platforms for networking and the independent exchange of scientific information. Also, through AAPS meetings and workshops, Agrahari interacted with outside researchers and scientists, who helped him with his work. “I have been fortunate to present my research at several AAPS meetings, which enabled me to receive feedback from experienced researchers and explore the potential for collaboration,” he says. “This has helped me integrate my career goals with research pursuits. I can honestly say that joining AAPS was a career-defining decision for me.”
Agrahari believes that being part of an academic or professional organization creates valuable opportunities for leadership. He assumed a leadership role in 2015 when he helped establish the Controlled Release Society student chapter at UMKC and accepted the role of president. “It was a challenging task for me, as it was a new chapter, but we overcame our obstacles,” he adds. “I also tried to convey to other members the career advantages of working with these organizations.”
The ups and downs of leadership taught Agrahari to view each day as a new opportunity to set high goals and work with people who share the same passion for doing their best. “I shared my experiences with my successors and encouraged them to accept challenges as an opportunity to learn,” he says. “Every problem has a solution and only perception matters. Therefore, always keep your mind open to gain knowledge from others.”
In summary, AAPS provides students with excellent resources and a wide range of services for professional development, job hunting, and improving leadership skills. “I have attended the AAPS Career Fair many times and received in-depth advice from experts on my résumé,” he says. “At AAPS there are great opportunities for advancing a pharmaceutical career, so I encourage everyone to join.”
A PROMISING FUTURE
Agrahari urges his fellow students to be open-minded about new ideas, communicate effectively, and persevere. “Although brilliance and quick thinking are valuable, they are not enough to do excellent science,” says Agrahari. “In my opinion, the 'P' in Ph.D. stands for perseverance! If students give up too easily, they cannot become successful. Two of the most important attributes for young scientists are curiosity and aspiration to learn new things.”
Agrahari advises spending as much time as possible at the beginning to understand key research problems and possible solutions to address them. He also recommends being focused but thinking big, working hard but also working smart, and being independent but staying collaborative. All science is interesting—remain flexible, consider new opportunities as they arise (even if they are not in your preferred field), and select cutting-edge research problems to solve. “The field is in constant need of creative ideas that can have a clinical impact,” he says. “Also, stay in touch with colleagues, since they can be a source of knowledge and inspiration.”
Agrahari’s goals include achieving excellence in learning and developing safe and effective ways to use innovative therapeutics. “I want to apply my research experiences for the improvement of conventional and novel delivery methods,” he says. “In the future, I want to have the scientific and leadership responsibility to guide a team of creative and innovative scientists in developing pharmaceutical products that have global impact.”
He is especially grateful for the excellent graduate education he received at UMKC; the wisdom and guidance of his doctorate supervisor, Bi-Botti C. Youan, Ph.D.; and the support and encouragement of his parents, wife, and other family members.
Although his career is just beginning, Agrahari has already been able to contribute to the increased recognition and appreciation of the pharmaceutical sciences among the other sciences at the international level, especially for HIV prevention and therapeutics. He has also published several peer-reviewed research papers based on his research projects. “I am eager for the future,” adds Agrahari. “I want to make a difference in finding safe and effective ways to use medicine and improve human health. I am still just beginning—hopefully, one day, I will develop something very novel and innovative that will solve a big problem or challenge in the treatment of disease.”
Mark Crawford is a science and technology freelance writer based in Madison, Wis.