UK Students Awarded Pre-Doctoral Fellowships in Pharmaceutics for 2019

Julie Calahan and Matt Defrese have been awarded Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowships in Pharmaceutics for 2019. This award provides a stipend of $20,000 per year for up to two years. The PhRMA Foundation funds scientists at critical points in their research careers to support and reward innovation in disciplines essential to the development of safe and effective medicines. For over 50 years, the PhRMA Foundation has helped thousands of scientists advance their careers and has inspired new generations to enter biopharmaceutical research.

Calahan received a B.S. in Chemistry from California State University, Fresno and worked at Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA for 12 years before coming to UK. While at Amgen, she completed an MS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 2011 through the Distance Learning Masters Program with the University of Kansas. In 2015, she joined Eric Munson's lab at the University of Kentucky and is focusing on solid-state NMR and pharmaceutical formulation development. Her PhD research is correlating the physicochemical properties of magnesium stearate with dissolution and lubrication properties. After graduation, Calahan is planning to return to industry and continue contributing to pharmaceutical drug development.

Defrese earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California State Polytechnic University of Pomona. He then worked 4 years as a process development engineer within the pharmaceutical and nutritional industries prior to enrolling in the PhD program at the University of Kentucky, College of Pharmacy in 2016. Once there, Defrese joined Dr. Marsac’s lab, which is focused on providing a fundamental understanding of the underlying formulation and processing mechanisms of advanced drug delivery systems that are necessary for the development of a successful drug product. Matt's research includes the investigation of the role of solution-state properties on the stability and performance of spray dried amorphous dispersions alongside a detailed characterization of the spray drying process to allow for the precise design and control of critical material attributes of the same. Upon completion of his thesis, Defrese intends to pursue opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry to design formulations and processes in support of the delivery of novel drug compounds to treat unmet medical needs.