Alum Monday

On this week of alum-monday, we would like to celebrate our 2006-2010 batch's esteemed alumnus Dr. Rushit Lodaya, he was the "General Secretary" in his final year at SVKM'S BNCP. His inspiring journey began with BPharm, after which he worked as a research assistant and stem cell consultant, emphasizing the future importance of ongoing stem cell research.

During his Masters, Rushit excelled as a research associate at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. He designed protocols for excipient compatibility and stability, crucial for Phase I/II drug development. He innovatively employed Spray Drying to create soluble amorphous drug compounds. He further showcased his expertise by developing Lyophilization cycles for stable injectable drugs and formulating extended-release and gastric release tablets.

His peers and colleagues also recognised & commended his industrious nature, in-depth subject knowledge, and meticulous hard work .They also acknowledged his diligent work ethics and unwavering commitment.

After his Masters, he took on the role of an Associate Scientist II at GSK, following that he also got a fellowship for his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Northeastern University, USA. Currently, Dr. Rushit is working as an Expert Scientist at GSK, Maryland USA. His role involves spearheading vaccine adjuvant formulation and optimization, while also leading cutting-edge research into novel adjuvants and mRNA delivery. 

This week's Alum-Monday proudly features Darshankumar A Shah, a dedicated and hardworking alumnus of the batch 2004-2008, who currently holds the position of Senior Assistant Sales Manager at Baxter International Inc.

After completing his undergraduate studies at BNCP, he began his career at Cipla, later transitioning to the role of Key Account Manager at Baxter Healthcare. Simultaneously, he pursued a Master's in Business Administration from Welingar Institute of Management Development and Research. His career progressed as he was promoted to Area Sales Manager at Edwards Lifesciences. Following this, he gained experience as the Area Sales Manager at InnAccel before joining Abbott as the Key Account Manager.

With more than 15 years of experience, he has gained his skills in pharmaceutical and surgical sales and marketing. We were delighted to have him as our special alumni guest at the AUBE 2022-23 annual function.

His journey is undeniably inspiring, and we eagerly anticipate learning from his extensive industry experience and expertise. 

Today's ALUM-MONDAY is to celebrate the incredible journey of our remarkable alum, **Dr. Barkha Yadav-Samudrala, PhD.**!

She earned her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University, where her passion for scientific exploration truly shone. As a graduate teaching assistant, she dedicated herself to mentoring budding pharmacy students, leaving an indelible mark on their educational journeys.

Currently, Barkha's scholarly path has led her to the esteemed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Her relentless dedication and boundless curiosity have propelled her through the realm of academic excellence.

Her achievements are as diverse as they are inspiring. Her commitment to academic distinction was acknowledged by Dr. BNC Pharmacy College with the prestigious Award for Academic Excellence during 2011-13, a testament to her unwavering dedication to her studies.

Barkha's prowess knows no bounds—she effortlessly navigates the realms of blotting, in vitro experimentation, animal studies, data analysis, neuroscience, confocal microscopy, and immunohistochemistry, among other areas.

Beyond her remarkable research endeavors, she is a member of Association for women in science & she has a passion to mentor and support women in STEM. Her voice also resonates as the gracious host of the NerdRx podcast, where she shares her passion for knowledge with the world.

Dr. Barkha Yadav's journey is a testament to the boundless possibilities of dedicated pursuit. Let us applaud her outstanding accomplishments and wish her continued success in her scientific explorations and beyond! 

On this week of alum-Monday, we would like to celebrate our 2007-2011 batch's esteemed alumnus Dr. Jimita Toraskar. Her inspiring journey began with B.Pharm. at SVKM’s BNCP, during which she was part of a project based on Anti-counterfeiting and role of packaging technology at Associated Capsule Group. Her bachelor internship included industrial experience from Egyptian European Pharco Pharmaceutical in Alexandria, Egypt. She was also the "General Secretary of Student cell - Indian Pharmaceutical Association" in her final year B.Pharm. and was actively leading national campaigns for HIV awareness and anti-tuberculosis.

She was awarded Leiden University Excellence Scholarship and went on to pursue masters in Biopharmaceutical Sciences in Netherlands. During her masters, she worked on robust 3D cell models and high throughput screening to identify novel therapeutic drug combinations in the field of cancer research. She was further granted Erasmus Mundus exchange scholarship that enabled her to continue her passion for research at the Pharmacogenomics department in Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

After her Masters, she followed her interest in cancer research and identified novel prognostic biomarkers involved in breast cancer metastasis. She collaborated with several international institutions such as Arctic University of Norway and CNIO-Madrid to make this project successful. For her unique contribution, she was awarded PhD in medicine at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. Her peers and colleagues acknowledged her excellent scientific communication skills, leadership qualities and interpersonal skills.

With over 8 years of experience in the field, currently Dr. Jimita is working as the Chief Scientific Officer at Vitae Evidence AS, Oslo. Her role involves enabling development of digital technologies that can make personalized medicine accessible to patients and clinicians. As an executive member of her team, she is responsible for the overall management of the company's research and development activities, as well as ensuring that the company's product is developed in accordance with the highest scientific standards 

On this week of Alum-Monday we would like to present our remarkable and astounding alumnus Mr. Jeet Anjaria. After completing his bachelor's degree of pharmacy from SVKM'S Dr Bhanuben Nanavati college of pharmacy in 2011, he went on to secure his master's in Pharmacology from SVKM'S Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

He began his corporate journey as in the field of Clinical Trial Medical Coding at Cognizant for a year after which he joined his current company Fortrea (Previously Labcorp Drug Development). He has shown constant progress and growth in Fortrea throughout the years starting off as case processor in the field of Pharmacovigilance (PV) and later as Team Lead for Managing PV operations

Currently, Jeet holds the position of a Project Manager for Patient Safety Solutions and adjudication in global PV managing operations for with his projects and team across India, USA, and EU markets.

His dedication and expertise in this vital sector of pharmacy that is the field of Pharmacovigilance are truly commendable. His years of service have undoubtedly contributed to the safety and well-being of countless patients, and his commitment towards ensuring the quality and effectiveness of pharmaceuticals is truly inspiring.

Let's shine a spotlight on Kritika Kamra, an outstanding alumna from BNCP's class of 2009-2013. Her journey from a student to a professional is nothing short of remarkable. Kritika currently serves as a Senior Project Manager in R&D at GSK for North America.

During her time at BNCP, Kritika excelled both academically and in extracurricular activities. She led the Indian Pharmaceutical Association - Student's Forum as the Public Health Officer, held other leadership positions. She exhibited a remarkable level of emotional intelligence, earning a reputation for responsibility and dedication that made her stand out among her peers.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Kritika was honored with the prestigious Student of the Year award in 2013 by IPA at the Maharashtra State Board Level. After graduation, she spent five years working in the healthcare domain in Mumbai before she ventured to the United States to pursue her MBA at Babson College, Massachusetts.

Today, Kritika is on a new academic journey, pursuing a PhD in Business while making an impact in her current role. She is one of our few students who have chosen to pursue education in the realm of business after a degree in pharmacy, showcasing her unique and valuable skillset. Kritika's journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to excellence, and we're excited to see her continue to soar in her career.

On this week of Alum Monday we are delighted to present our inspirational alumunus Mr Nimit Mehta.

After the completion of his Bachelor's degree in pharmacy from BNCP in 2009 he proceeded to pursue his Master's in Pharmaceutical Sciences from NMIMS.

His career in the pharma world began as a Project Trainee for Glenmark Generics Ltd. Afterwards he joined Cipla where he was in Medical services- Neuropsychiatry. He was further chosen to be the recipient of the Achiever's Award for his outstanding performance in 2015 in Global Medical Affairs. During this time he also secured his Post-graduate diploma in Business Administration and Management from NMIMS. He was then appointed as the Marketing Manager, Emerging Markets and very soon promoted as the Senior Marketing Manager at Cipla.

To carry on the streak of success and step out of his comfort zone, he moved to Toronto, Canada and started his journey from scratch as a Pharmacy Assistant at Shoppers Drug Mart. Within a year he got promoted as the Team Lead - CPAK, Central pharmacy services. He worked as the Functional Team Lead for a few months at PocketPills before acquiring his current role as the Marketing Associate at Biosyent Inc.

His wide array of experience in global pharmaceutical markets is evident in his strategic approach and his achievements are truly commendable. 

On this week of Alum-Monday we would like to present our inspirational alumni Ms. Pooja Chopra. Our talented alumnus completed her degree from Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati college of pharmacy in 2009. She proceeded to pursue her master's from University of Houston in Pharmacy Administration.

During her course of post graduation she showed her intellectual and leadership skills as the President of Pratham - UofH chapter, a non-profit organization that works to provide education to underprivileged children in India.

She joined as an analyst and was then promoted as a senior analyst in healthcare consulting at Analysis Group, focused on health economics and outcomes research. She then started off as a Healthcare consultant at McKesson. With her hardwork and passion, she progressed to become a Senior healthcare consultant and then the Manager for consulting analytics and strategy. She was later promoted as the Associate Director for the same, and then became the Director for Real World Evidence and Data Science.

Currently, she holds the position of the Director of WWHEOR Immunology at Bristol Myers Squibb. She has constantly evolved while developing new skills and it's been truly inspiring to witness her journey. 

On this week of ALUM MONDAY,we present our remarkable and astounding alumnus Harsh kuvadia from the 2011-2015 batch

Mr. Harsh Kuvadia, a dedicated professional who's been on a journey of excellence! With a Masters in Pharmacy Administration, focus in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) and Pharmaceutical Marketing from St. John University, he has comprehensive experience in Real world evidence generation and strategic payor communications across Neuroscience and Oncology.

Currently, He is working as an Associate Director at Johnson & Johnson, where he leads Population health decision maker (PHNDM) strategy to communicate the value of pipeline and launch products in Oncology therapeutic area to drive market access for patients.

But that's not all! With 5 years of invaluable experience under his belt, he is also passionate about mentoring pharmacy student and promoting career opportunities within the field of HEOR.

From his professional and academic experience, Mr. Harsh is always championing continuous learning and more opportunities for students in the field of pharmacy and healthcare. 

On this week of Alum-Monday we are glad to introduce our inspirational alumunus Mr. Dhruv Upadhyay from the batch of 2010-14 of BNCP. Dhruv is currently the Process Development Scientist for Pivotal bioprocess sciences and technology at Amgen based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

His pursuit of masters degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Northeastern University of Boston allowed him to gain invaluable experience at  Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research and Bristol-Myers Squibb. 

After his post graduation he started as a Research Associate Scientist at Avitide, Inc. and steadily advanced in his career, eventually becoming a Senior Research Associate at Jounce. He was soon promoted as the Associate Scientist, following which he joined his current company Amgen.

Starting from his academic foundation at BNCP, Dhruv has embarked on a path of continuous growth and learning. His journey is a prime example of how determination and hardwork can lead to success in the bioprocess sciences and technology sector.