Each month, the editors of three of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutic’s (ASPET) journals choose who they call their Highlighted Trainee Authors. These early-career scientists are recognized for their innovative research published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Drug Metabolism and Disposition, and Molecular Pharmacology. This feature showcases selected young scientists, demonstrates what drives them and reveals why pharmacology is important to them.
Sneha Rathi
Sneha Rathi was initially interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy and healthcare education but was later drawn to research and development of drug delivery systems. Rathi, a Senior Clinical Pharmacologist at AbbVie, said her career path was motivated by a desire to make a tangible difference in treatment options for hard-to-treat diseases and improve the lives of patients.
“I was eventually presented with an opportunity to pursue a PhD in Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics,” she explained. “The comprehensive exposure to various aspects of drug development during my studies solidified my commitment to a career in the pharmaceutical industry, where I aim to contribute to translating scientific discoveries into effective therapies.”
Rathi credits her undergraduate professors in India and her graduate advisors at the University of Minnesota, for significantly influencing and guiding her career. She says cross-functional collaboration with clinicians and experts during graduate school enriched her understanding of translational research and reinforced a patient-centric approach to tackling challenges.
Rathi said, “I aim to apply my learnings to bridge the gap between preclinical findings and clinical applications, contributing to the successful translation of therapies from bench to bedside.”
She says that being published in an ASPET journal “is a significant milestone as it represents not only the validation of my research by esteemed peers but also an opportunity to contribute to the broader scientific community.” Read her research in the August issue of The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Pooja Hegde
Pooja Hegde, PhD is a postdoctoral scientist at Eli Lilly and Company. She became interested in medicinal chemistry, and understanding how it integrated with pharmacokinetics intrigued her. Hegde’s goal is that her research advances the understanding of metabolism and transporter mediated drug-drug interactions.
“My projects and the data influenced my exposure to various fields and that helped me make important career decisions,” she said. “I plan to understand volume of distribution under various conditions, and I hope to integrate my med chem learnings with my PK training.”
Hegde says the current understanding of the PK for transporters has some gaps that she wishes to address with her research. This way she’s “better be able to anticipate drug interactions it is essential to understand the mechanistic basis for substrate disposition and elimination.”
She said having her work published in the August issue of Drug Metabolism and Disposition “is a big achievement” for her career. “ASPET journals are widely read across the DMPK field, and this will help me and my work get recognized.”