A UofSC College of Pharmacy student research team has won first place in the SCBIO Student Video “Challenge Accepted” competition. The team of Nikki Chen, Kara Taylor, Grayson Baker and Lauren Caines, based at Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation in West Columbia, SC, created a video entitled “Safety Evaluation of a New Container Closure System Design of a Blow Fill Seal Type of IV Bottles.”
SCBIO developed the competition to demonstrate the impactful challenges that students across South Carolina are accepting. The project provided the students an opportunity to see how clinically trained pharmacists can contribute to and become valuable team members in the pharmaceutical industry.
Team member Nikki Chen, Class of 2024, has always been interested in pursuing industry and innovation in pharmacy.
“This project has provided me the opportunity to learn more about the process of scientific research and experimental design from a student perspective,” she says. “Being able to utilize my hobby of video editing and graphic design in this particular competition was really unique and has helped me connect with SCBIO individuals across the state.”
Michaela Almgren, Pharm.D. M.S., clinical assistant professor in the Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences department and clinical advisor and special projects manager at Nephron Pharmaceuticals, serves as the team’s mentor.
“I am so glad that our pharmacy students had a chance to work on this interesting project. They were able to use their clinical knowledge and regulatory training, as well as their understanding of the principles of aseptic technique, and apply these skills to developing and executing a research protocol to test a design for a new medication container closure to assure patient safety,” says Almgren.
Chen attended the SCBIO Conference held in Charleston, S.C. this week to accept the award on behalf of the team, along with a $1,500 cash prize.
Topics: Student Experience, Research