About the Author:
Katrina Lexa
Katrina Lexa is a first-year PhD student in medicinal chemistry.
A graduate of Hamilton College (HC) in Clinton. N.Y., Lexa got her first authentic taste of basic science while working in the HC chemistry lab where she helped investigate an anti-breast cancer pharmacophore for future use in clinical trials. (She used computer technology to investigate the nuances of protein biochemistry and the factors involved in designing an effective drug.) In spring 2005, she was invited to attend the Sanibel Symposium, an international conference organized by the Quantum Theory Project from the University of Florida. There, she won the undergraduate research award for her presentation on pharmacophore development using molecular dynamic and quantum mechanic simulations.
“It was then I realized how much I enjoyed the camaraderie and collaborative
qualities of research,” she says.
Lexa comments that she chose to enroll in the College’s med-chem program for several reasons: the chance to work with and learn from faculty representing a wide range of life sciences disciplines; the College’s multifaceted partnerships with industry; and the opportunity to learn more about the biochemical and physical methods involved in drug design.
Her career ambition is help bridge the gap between drug design and patient treatment.
rue, the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy enjoys top national rankings. But excellent rankings are just one reason this year’s incoming PhD students chose Michigan over competing graduate schools.
With graduate programs ranging from biophysics to synthetic chemistry, administrative science to pharmaceutics, the College offers ample opportunity for PhD students to find the right match for their research interests. Add in the wide range of research enterprise in which U-M faculty are engaged, the faculty’s history of inspiring critical and creative thinking, and the strong and lasting personal bonds that develop between faculty and students, and it’s easy to see why Michigan was the preferred choice for this year’s entering PhD class.
Over 40 percent of the incoming class is international. The mean age is 24; the mean GPA, 3.7; and the mean Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are an impressive 507 verbal, 740 quantitative, and 4.3 analytical.
First-year PhD students hold a wide range of undergraduate, and even some graduate, degrees from institutions as diverse as University of Detroit; Seoul National University, Korea; Carnegie Melon University; University of California, San Diego; Ankara University, Turkey; and our own U-M.
Students’ reasons for choosing to pursue a PhD at Michigan are as varied as the students themselves.
“I want my research to have worldwide impact and value, therefore I chose one of the world’s best colleges in one of the world’s best universities,” states pharmaceutical sciences student Jason Baik.
SAS student Alvin Wu echoes that sentiment. “My career goal is to be a leading researcher, and SAS faculty are engaged in highly-relevant, interdisciplinary research, which will help me reach my goal,” he explains.
Members of the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy incoming PhD class meet at a welcome reception held at the College in late August 2006.
Pharmaceutical sciences student Lindsay White, agrees that the Pharm-Sci faculty “are prominent in their fields,” but she was won over by the College’s culture of collegiality. “When I came to U-M during my graduate program search, one of the things that struck me was how friendly the faculty and students were,” she says.
First-year medicinal chemistry graduate student Hacer Karatas was most impressed with the range of faculty research interests.
“College Med-Chem faculty represent diverse backgrounds and areas of research focus, and are making significant contributions in pharmaceutical chemistry,” Karatas notes. “That’s an exciting combination for me.”
Medicinal chemistry graduate student Allen Brooks was drawn by the opportunity to conduct research with a potential impact on world health.
“I see a world with a lot of health problems,” Brooks observes. “My goal is to spend my life helping to find solutions to these problems, and the applied aspects of Michigan’s Med-Chem program offers an excellent starting point.”
“Over the past few years we have refined our recruiting processes,” explains Hank Mosberg, associate dean for research and graduate studies and professor of medicinal chemistry. “The result is that we have been more successful in attracting larger entering classes of academically accomplished PhD students. Students’ diverse backgrounds and interests mirror our faculty’s own diverse research interests and the fact that we’ve added new programs and subprograms. Enhanced financial aid packages and major investments in technology and facilities also have contributed to our success.
“The goal of the doctoral program is to educate and train the next generation of leaders in basic and clinical pharmaceutical research,” Mosberg states. “Toward that end, we seek well-prepared, eager problem solvers who have a strong commitment to collaboration and collegiality.”
Mosberg remarks that the multidisciplinary nature of the College’s PhD programs “set us apart from most other graduate programs.”
“The breadth, depth, and collaborative nature of our PhD programs extend our reach way beyond our College,” he says. “As a consequence, we are able to participate in and have an impact on a vast array of life sciences while maintaining our identity as a fairly small academic unit. That, I believe, is the perfect balance.”
