Debika Ghatak Wins 2025 Fox Award

Congratulations to Molecular Pharmaceutics Ph.D. student Debika Ghatak (Ghandehari Lab) for winning the 2025 Fox Award, nominated by her fellow students!

Each year, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Jeffrey Fox with this award. The award is intended to recognize an outstanding graduate student based on the recommendation of their peers. As described by Dr. James Herron, Dr. Fox was “a good scientist and a wonderful human being. He had a particular rapport with both his own students, as well as the department’s student body and became a strong advocate for students — which is one of the reasons the Fox Award was created.” Award recipients are selected not only based on academic merit, but also on service to the Department, the University, and to fellow students.

Debika joined the University of Utah in Fall 2022 and began her research in the Ghandehari Lab in Spring 2023. Her project tackles a critical challenge in drug delivery—preventing drug adsorption in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems—through a collaborative effort with Drs. Kevin Watt and Venkata Yellepeddi from the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Clinical Pharmacology. She has co-first authored a research publication and presented her work at 2023 Controlled Release Society Annual Meeting and Utah Biomedical Engineering Conference.

Debika has contributed extensively to the department as a member of the 2023–2024 Student Advisory Committee, serving as the Retention, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) representative. She has helped organize department events, mentored fellow students for the past two years, and volunteers with the Red Cross Society. Outside of academics, she is a trained Kathak dancer and is passionate about building an inclusive and connected student community.

Debika’s dedication to research, service, and mentorship embodies the spirit of the Fox Award. Congratulations again on this well-deserved recognition!