Thomas Diezi, graduate student, in the lab of Glen Kwon, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division,was among the first recipients of the Zografi Fund.
The George D. Zografi Educational Advancement Fund was established in 2006 (when Dr. Zografi retired) to provide support to enable undergraduate, graduate and professional students to conduct research projects in the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station laboratory. This philosophy derives from the passion Zografi holds for ensuring the continued effective application of the physical sciences and pharmaceutics to the development of drug products.
The Zografi Fund has allowed graduate students to serve as a "project assistant" for the summer or regular semester period, and gain industry experience without leaving campus. A key aspect of a student's educational experience in the Zeeh Station is exposure to the importance of physicochemical properties of drugs and materials in formulation, stability, manufacture and packaging. Station projects are focused on the major challenges in modern day drug development such as formulating biotechnology drugs, finding and selecting the best solid form for small molecules, and solubilization of poorly soluble drugs (mainly with lipid-based drug delivery formulations) nanomilling technology and amorphous solid dispersions.
Currently, the fund can support one student per year, usually during the summer session, however, it's the goal of the school to build the Zografi Fund to the level that it can support a student during the fall and spring semesters as well.
Overall, the Zeeh Station experience supported by the Zografi Fund provides a unique environment that will help in recruiting top students and maintain the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy as a premier institution for the education of scientists in pharmaceutical development.
If you would like to make a personal gift to help build the Zografi Fund, please go to the UW Foundation's secure server at supportuw.org/giveto/zografi-fund. If you would like more information, please contact Linda Halsey at (608) 263-6172 or linda.halsey@supportuw.org .
George Zografi 75th Birthday Celebration
In June, George Zografi’s past graduate students came to Madison from all corners of the country to celebrate his 75th birthday and reconnect with each other. The gathering that became known as the “GZ UW Reunion Weekend” was a huge success and there is already talk about the next GZ Reunion for George’s 80th birthday. Thanks go to Mehran Yazdanian (B.S. ‘85, M.S. ‘88, Ph.D. ‘90) for coordinating the gathering.
