Devika S Manickam (PI)   CV_short

Devika S Manickam, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Duquesne University School of Pharmacy. She currently serves as an Assistant Editor at the Journal of Controlled Release. She completed her Bachelors in Chemical Engineering in 2003 (University of Madras, India) and received her Masters and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2005 and 2008) from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). Dr. Manickam joined the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in January of 2016.

Press releases related to Manickam’s awards/honors

1. Spring_2017_DU_Magazine_2017 AACP NIA
2. Women in Science at Duquesne University _ Duquesne University
3. School of Pharmacy Professor Receives Prestigious Research Award – Duquesne University Times

Press releases related to Manickam Lab trainee awards and honors

1. AD Souza_spl poster_DU write-up
2. Congratulations! 2022 URSS Award Winner
3. Graduate Student Kandarp Dave Wins A 2020 AAPS award_DU media release
4. WISTEM Travel Award Anisha DSouza Letter

Purva Khare (PhD graduate student)

Purva has obtained her B.Pharm and M.Pharm (Pharmaceutics) from the Institute of Chemical Technology (Mumbai, India). She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Duquesne University. Her master’s project focused on developing an ophthalmic nanosystem for the prophylaxis and treatment of fungal keratitis. She has worked as a formulation trainee at Ferring Pharmaceuticals (Thane, India) on oral delivery of proteins and peptides. Her current research focusses on developing novel lipid based nanoparticles for siRNA delivery.

Paromita Paul Pinky (PhD graduate student)

Paromita Paul Pinky is from Kushtia (Bangladesh). She has completed her Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Dhaka. She has completed training in hospital pharmacy from Dhaka Medical College, Bangladesh. During her bachelor’s, she pursued pharmaceutical industrial training at Essential Drug Company Limited (Dhaka, Bangladesh).  In January 2023, she joined Dr. Manickam’s lab as a Research Volunteer and was trained in different cell culture techniques. Eventually, she joined as a graduate student in the Manickam lab in August 2023. Her current research focuses on understanding the cellular uptake pathway of extracellular Vehicles (EVs) into recipient brain endothelial cells and development of mitochondria-containing EVs to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Vivek Basudkar (PhD graduate student, fall 2024)

Vivek completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Pharmacy at the University of Mumbai, where his master’s research project was focused on nanoformulation. Thereafter, he gained 2.5 years of industry experience in the Cellular and Biosciences department. During his postgraduate and industrial experience, he developed diverse skillsets associated with formulation & development and biotechnology including preformulation, mammalian cell culture, animal studies, biochemical assays, etc. His current research work is focused on delivery across BBB using extracellular vesicles. 

 

 

Balaji Govindaswamy (PhD graduate student, spring 2025)

Balaji Govindaswamy completed his Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Bharathidasan University, Trichy and Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Guru Nanak College, Chennai. His expertise spans nanoformulations, microfluidics, computational biology and mathematical modelling. Balaji has significantly contributed to the development of nanoemulsions for cancer treatment and 3D organoids based on hydrogel therapeutics during his work at the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai and has published studies on neurotherapeutics, cancer and anti-inflammatory research. His current research focuses on development of ionic-coated LNPs and extracellular vesicles for neurological disease therapies.

Rocco Caprara (2024 BME UG researcher)

Rocco Caprara is a Senior undergraduate student at Duquesne University. He is majoring in Biomedical Engineering with minors in the fields of Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Assistive Technology. Rocco has specific interest in using drug delivery systems and material science to enhance the ease and impact of various therapeutics in biological systems. He has also worked in conjunction with the Duquesne School of Pharmacy through the Computational Biomechanics Lab in the 2024 Summer URP to find shear rates and flow rates through culture mediums. With his research experience in the Manickam lab he hopes to enhance his understanding various drug delivery methods and applications.

Bodhi Brady (2024 NURE fellow)

Bodhi is a rising junior at South Dakota State University, where he is majoring in human biology and minoring in psychology. His primary interests are in biological systems, especially in regard to various human pathologies. After college he plans to pursue medical school to build upon his clinical knowledge, hopefully specializing in psychiatry or neurology. Bodhi’s summer research at the Manickam lab will allow him to explore novel therapeutics while further developing his understanding of the body.

 

 

Audrey Lawrence (2024 summer research trainee)

Audrey Lawrence is entering her senior year as an undergraduate student at Duquesne University. She is majoring in Health Science on the Pre-Med track and minoring in Spanish. After college, Audrey plans to attend medical school and hopes to work towards providing accessible care to rural communities. Working in the Manickam lab will be her first experience with research, and Audrey is excited to learn more about the process!

Lab Alumni

Tess Calcagno (Duquesne 2019 PharmD candidate). Tess worked with us during Fall 2016-Spring 2017 and left to get ready for Medical School!

Alyssa Linden (Duquesne 2020 PharmD candidate). Thank you for your help during spring 2018!

Sydney Graves (2018 Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Program Fellow). Thank you for the great work you did with Kandarp and we wish you the best!

Carlee Shifko (Research Volunteer, DU PharmD Class of 2021). Thank you for your help during fall 2018! We wish you the best in your new research opportunity!

Linjiang Han (Research Intern, 2018-2019, MS Graduate Student). Thank you for your work.

Lalah Ali (Research Volunteer, DU PharmD Class of 2020). Thank you for your hard work. We enjoyed working with you and are looking forward to seeing your successes!

Catherine (Katie) Hoover (Fellow, 2019 Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Experiences). Katie, you totally rocked it and hope you’ll come back next year!

Wanzhu Zhao (MSc graduate, Spring 2020). Last know position: Research Associate, Omega Therapeutics, Boston, MA (https://omegatherapeutics.com/).

Suneera Adlakha (PhD graduate student, 2020). Moved to Dr. Jelena Janjic’s lab (DU Pharmaceutical Sciences) in fall 2020.

Riyan Babidhan (2019-2021, BSPS thesis student). Riyan earned dual PharmD/BSPS degrees and graduated with honors in 2022 AND won the Tucci award for excellence in Pharmaceutics!

Gina Joy (2020-2021, BSPS thesis student). Gina earned dual PharmD/BSPS degrees and graduated with honors in 2022 AND won the Viatris award for excellence in Pharmacy!

Anisha D’Souza (2020-2021, Postdoctoral associate). Last known position: Research Fellow, Massachusetts Eye, and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Aravind Sreeram (2021 Summer Undergraduate Research fellow).

Duncan Dobbins (2021 NURE fellow). Duncan is a Postdoctoral Fellow @ Geisinger Health!

Maura Farinelli (2022 NURE fellow). Maura will start her MD program at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in fall 2024! Congratulations, Maura, and we are super-proud of you!!!

Abigail Sullivan (2022 NURE fellow). Abby is currently working as an Research Associate at Yarrow Biotechnology, NY.

Kandarp Dave (2024 PhD graduate). Kandarp will soon start his postdoctoral research position at the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital.

Jhanvi R. Jhaveri (2024 MS graduate). Jhanvi is now pursuing her PhD in Pharmacology at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.