Centennial Scholarship Award
Description of Scholarship Program
To help commemorate the FDA Centennial, the FDA Alumni Association has established a scholarship fund for students enrolled in the Temple University School of Pharmacy’s Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs graduate program.
The FDAAA Centennial Scholarship Award was announced at the FDAAA annual meeting April 5, 2006 in Washington. Pharmacy School Dean Peter H. Doukas, Ph.D., and Wendy Lebing, assistant dean, quality assurance/regulatory affairs graduate program, received the award from FDAAA Chairman John C. Villforth and Robert W. Sauer, chairman of the FDAAA Scholarship Committee.
FDAAA Establishes Scholarship Fund for Temple Pharmacy School’s QA/RA Program
Representatives of Temple University’s School of Pharmacy accept award of Centennial Scholarship Fund from the FDA Alumni Association at the FDAAA annual meeting last April. From left to right: FDAAA Board Member Robert Sauer; Board Chairman John Villforth; Board Member Burton Love; Temple School of Pharmacy Dean Peter Doukas, Ph.D.; Pharmacy School Director of Development Christopher VanVessem; Assistant Dean – QA/RA Wendy Lebing; Robert Myers, President of the Parenteral Drug Association; Linda Suydam,D.P.A., President of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association; and Peter Corr, Ph.D., Vice President - Science, Pfizer Inc. and Chairman of the Board of Directors - PhRMA Foundation.
The endowment, currently more than $ 52,000, creates the first scholarship in the school’s QA/RA program. FDAAA established the endowment to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Pure Food and Drugs Act and to encourage academic training in regulatory and quality issues, according to Villforth. FDAAA selected Temple after reviewing graduate programs of schools nationwide. “It was a logical choice, after seeing Temple’s outstanding program and long-standing relationship with the Food and Drug Administration,” said Sauer. Since 2000, the school has worked closely with FDA in sponsoring an annual conference, “FDA and Industry in Dialogue.” FDA staff also lecture for and teach in the QA/RA program, which is based in Fort Washington, Pa. Each semester over 700 students enroll in QA/RA courses, which are taught by industry experts representing virtually every major pharmaceutical corporation in the U.S., according to the school’s Website.
Donations to the fund have come from pharmaceutical trade associations, including the PhRMA Foundation, drug firms, and FDAAA members. Donations are still being accepted.
Upon receiving the award, Doukas said, "Temple School of Pharmacy is most appreciative and honored to receive this generous FDAAA Centennial Scholarship on the occasion of the Agency's Centennial. We thank the FDAAA on behalf of the students who will benefit and for the recognition of the QA/RA program that it symbolizes."
Temple University School of Pharmacy is a pioneer in providing advanced academic coursework in quality assurance and regulatory affairs, which refer to the quality practices and regulations governing the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology, healthcare and consumer products, and related industries. The school was the first to create a master’s program in QA in 1968. In the 1990s, the school created the first academic certificate programs in drug development, clinical trial management, and medical device regulation.
Scholarship Award Recipients
In the fall of 2012, five outstanding FDA employees were selected to receive this prestigious award. Those individuals are:
Donald Ertel
Boriana Tserovski
Laxmi Padmini Kasichayanula
Anshoo Chowdhary
Vishalkumar Patel
Donald Ertel MT(ASCP) is a Regulatory Officer for the Division of Manufacturing and Product Quality at the FDA's Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation and also a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service. LCDR Ertel holds a B.S. Degree in Medical Technology from the University of Maryland. For almost three years, Donald's primary responsibility at the FDA has been performing scientific regulatory review (CMC) of BLAs, PMAs and supplements. He is a qualified lead inspector for CBER performing pre-license and pre-approval inspections for BLAs and supplements. LCDR Ertel has over 20 years of experience working in Quality Assurance and Compliance in and with regulated industries of Blood Banking & Cell Therapy (prior employment at Johns Hopkins Hospital), Biotechnology, and Pharmaceuticals (prior employment at Shire).
Boriana Tserovski - After graduating with a B.S. in Genetics and Psychology from Iowa State University, Ms. Tserovski worked as a microbiologist at the Microbial Food Safety Unit at the USDA on a Hatfield Quality Meats project devising processing strategies to detect and eliminate pathogenic bacteria in meats. While subsequently working as a senior microbiologist in biopharmaceutical testing services at CRL, she pursued graduate courses in advanced diagnostic microbiology. Most recently, she enrolled in courses leading to the Drug Development Certificate in Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs offered at Temple University School of Pharmacy to stay in touch with the developments in the field as well to gain understanding of the full picture of drug development. After excelling in the courses required for the certificate, she was accepted into the Master's Program in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs
Laxmi Padmini Kasichayanula is a trained pharmacist and an active participant in the RAPS NY/NJ Chapter. She holds a RAPS Certificate in Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and is currently pursuing a MS degree in Regulatory Affairs from Temple University. Ms. Kasichayanula worked as an Associate Professor in Pharmacology in a recognized pharmacy school in India, where she actively participated in several extramural activities related the role of pharmacy in patient education and disease awareness.
Anshoo Chowdhary is currently a student at Temple University, pursuing her MS in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs. She did her BS in Pharmacy from India and was awarded with the Global Public Foundation Award and scholarships for an Outstanding Academic achievement at the University. As a pharmacy undergraduate, she always wanted to take her education to next level and increase her abilities through an advance degree and more practical exposures.
Prior to coming to United States, she worked for a Pharmaceutical company in India. There, she performed a key role in the Total Quality Management team and learnt about the strict quality standards, GMPs involved at every step of the drug development. Since then, she had a deep desire to explore more into this field and broaden her knowledge and scope. Hence, after coming to USA she decided to opt for Temple's renowned QA/RA program, to gain the best knowledge of the Quality and Regulatory world.
Vishalkumar Patel - From India, Mr. Patel completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Rajiv Gandhi University BEA school of Pharmacy in 2006. He then earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy Honors degree from Nirma University School of Pharmacy in 2010. Currently he is working as a Pharmacy Graduate Intern, while pursuing his Pharmacy practice license in the United States. His professional interests include academia, research, drug regulation and administration which made him pursue the Master of Science in QA/RA at Temple University in 2011. He plans to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, he has a greater goal of improving access to medicines in developing countries, while also becoming involved in providing health care to underserved areas both in the U.S. and overseas.
See the full list of former Centennial Scholarship Award recipients
How to Apply for Scholarship
The FDAAA scholarship is open to current and new students in Temple’s QA/RA graduate program who are not eligible for tuition reimbursement at their organization. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of both financial need and academic merit. The first award will be given for the fall 2006 semester and will consist of the tuition costs for one QA/RA course (exclusive of computer and technology and other applicable fees). A selection committee consisting of the dean, assistant dean, director of graduate studies, and at least two QA/RA faculty members will make the final selection. The recipient will be announced in early September.
For further information, contact:
Temple University School of Pharmacy
Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs Graduate Program
Attention: Wendy Lebing, MALD, MS, Assistant Dean
Phone: 267-468-8560
Fax: 267-468-8565
Web: www.temple.edu/pharmacy_QARA
E-mail: qara@temple.edu
FDAAA Centennial Scholarship Application Form
How to Donate to Scholarship Fund
There are many students in the Temple University School of Pharmacy’s Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs graduate program who have no source of funding for their education and would be grateful to receive financial support. You can make a difference in a student’s life by sending donations to the FDAAA Centennial Scholarship Fund. All donations go directly to the FDAAA Centennial Scholarship and are tax deductible, as permitted by federal law. (FDAAA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.) For more information please contact:
Robert Sauer
3806 Glen Eagles Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20906
Phone: (301) 460-4668
Email: sauer@erols.com
or
Christopher Van Vessem
Director of Development
School of Pharmacy
Temple University
3307 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19140
Contributions can be made by check or credit card:
Check Payments: Make check payable to the FDAAA Centennial Scholarship Fund. Send payments to Robert Sauer to the above address.
Credit Card Donation:
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