Interview of Dr. Santosh Thakkar: A Passionate Scientist
We recently had the pleasure to interview Dr. Santosh
Thakkar, who currently works at Amgen Inc., USA. It was a brilliant
brainstorming session wherein he gave us a glimpse into his vision which is as
vast as the horizon. Even after achieving laurels in the field of pharmacy, the
dynamism and passion which he exudes is evident in this interview. He spoke
about his journey right from his early days. It began with him as a student in Government
College of Pharmacy, Karad (Maharashtra) to working in the USA. He has initiated
an impressive Movement which he has christened ‘Transformation Pharmacy’. Read the excerpts below!
Pharma
Literati: Can you brief our
readers about yourself? Your educational background, specialisation and your
college days?
Dr. Santosh: I completed my Bachelors in Pharmacy from Government
College of Pharmacy, Karad (Maharashtra), India and pursued my Masters in
Biopharmaceutics from the same university. I worked on Stabilization of
cephalosporin antibiotics using cyclodextrins. I went on to further pursue an
integrated course of M.S and PhD in biomedical sciences (research focus: cellular
drug delivery via membrane transporter proteins and cancer research) at the
Medical College of Georgia in the United States of America. However, I could
not pass my first year exams due to which I wasn’t allowed to continue the
course further. That is when I started working at the Medical College of
Georgia as a research technician. I worked as a research assistant on several
projects. I used to help several post doc fellows during which my interaction
with them grew manifold. I worked with several Indian as well as Japanese,
American postdoc fellows. Dr. Ganapathy and Dr. Prasad took note of my work and
decided to give me independent projects. These projects along with my
experience of lab work at the Medical College of Georgia helped me secure
admission for M.S/ PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas.
I worked on Immunoglobulin dynamics and stability, Biophysical characterization
of macro-molecules, Preformulation, formulation and stability of
macro-molecules, Viscosity of high concentration macro-molecular drugs etc.
during my tenure at University of Kansas.
Pharma
Literati: Has anyone from your
family studied pharmacy?
Dr. Santosh: Yes. My father was a pharmacist who graduated in 1971
from Government College of Pharmacy, Karad and completed his Masters from Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagpur. He worked in industry, retail pharmacy and
academia (retired as a Principal of a pharmacy institute in rural Maharashtra).
. Now he helps teach and empower high school kids in Karad and surrounding
region for free.
Pharma
Literati: Who made an impact
on you during graduation? Especially any particular teachers?
Dr. Santosh: All my friends and professors made an enormous impact
on me during my college life in India and in USA. To name one single person is
not quite right. However, Dr. Kuchekar (now principal of MIT Pharmacy College,
Pune) made an impact on me in India (He was my guide during my Bachelors as
well as Masters.) and Dr. Russ Middaugh (he was my mentor during PhD work in USA).
Pharma
Literati: How do you motivate
yourself?
Dr. Santosh: Movies like ‘Glory Enough for all’, ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Pay
it Forward’ and more keeps me motivated. In ‘3 Idiots’ movie, I can identify
with the character played by Amir Khan in the film. He is shown to be pro teaching,
innovation and passionate. Also, Steve Jobs still is a relentless source of
inspiration for me. I try to inculcate positive things from my role models.
Hence I believe that Sardar Patel’s organisation, Gandhiji’s way of life and
Shivaji’s passion for his work is what keeps me motivated and hungry for future
challenges.
Pharma
Literati: How do you think the
pharmacy profession has changed in India in the last 15 years?
Dr. Santosh: 15 years ago, very few people were aware of this
stream of science. Now, the situation has changed and people have a fair idea
about Pharmacy as an education field. I feel, however, though that pharmacy
profession in India needs to be transformed and the standards and respect for
pharmacy should be similar to a lot of countries such as USA, Canada, UK etc.
Also, clinical trials in developing countries need to be fair and, standards
and remuneration should be similar for all the countries conducting clinical
trials across the globe. That is when pharmacy profession will truly get its
due.
Pharma
Literati: What advice would
you give to the students currently pursuing pharmacy?
Dr. Santosh: I would like to advise young students studying
pharmacy to pursue higher education and involve in research early on. For
example, diploma students can help M.Pharm students with their research. And,
B.Pharm students should initiate their own research during 2nd or 3rd
year itself. I tell them to develop a mindset which is leaning towards
innovation rather than rote learning. We can help students interested to pursue
this through ‘Transformation Pharmacy’ Movement. The free web portal for such
activities is ‘www.globaltransformationgroup.us. (a fully functional website will be ready in 3 – 4 weeks).
Pharma
Literati: Tell us more about ‘Transformation
Pharmacy’ Movement.
Dr. Santosh: It is a movement aimed at transforming pharmacy
education and culture. It originated in my mind when I was going through the
dictionary. I happened to read something about static electricity. On reading
further explanation about it, I came across the word ‘transformation’. I
instantly took a fancy to this word and started thinking on the lines of what I
would like to transform. Hence I thought of education, healthcare, social
sphere, global peace, political consensus etc. We would like to encourage all
the readers to think about their own activities they would like to transform
and connect via website, email (thakkarsantosh@gmail.com) or WhatsApp (+1 785
393 9672).
Pharma
Literati: So how do you plan
to go about ‘Transformation Pharmacy’ Movement?
Dr. Santosh: We have several plans. Initially, we plan to give free
‘Transformation Pharmacy’ movement t- shirts to all the college students in
India (that is our hope). We would like that students wear these t- shirts proudly
as a mode of awareness of our Pharmacy profession. We plan to distribute these
t-shirts through various colleges, universities and social settings. Besides,
we also plan to put up billboards at various places throughout India and
encourage people to inculcate and spread ‘Transformation Pharmacy’ Movement.
Again, the end goals of “Transformation …” movement are education, healthcare
and social activities. ‘Transformation Pharmacy’ is one of the aspects of the
overall transformation movement.
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