We are so proud of Pharmaceutics third year Ph.D. student, Alenka Jaklic, this year’s School of Pharmacy Magnuson Scholar!
Alenka has had the unique opportunity to join the start-up of an NIH-funded project aiming to develop a novel microphysiological system (MPS) that recapitulates key aspects of human kidney function, including drug transport and excretion. This research expanded her understanding of proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) in drug excretion, and she realized the critical need to develop predictive models of renal tubular transport in healthy and diseased kidneys in order to improve drug dosing decisions and clinical outcomes.
Dr. Danny Shen, of the Departments of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy, noted that Alenka “has demonstrated outstanding academic performance and the ability to engage in challenging research work. Alenka is showing all the signs and promise to become a superb research scientist… Alenka’s thesis will represent a nice blend of basic and clinical research that is truly translational with potentially high and long lasting impact.”
In the future Ms. Jaklic hopes to continue to pursue her passions for research and education through a career at an academic institution or clinical and translational institute. Congratulations!
Read more about the UW Health Sciences Magnuson Scholars.