A Lab and a Legacy that Live On

At 90, former Dean George Zografi’s influence continues to ripple outward at the School and in the careers he shaped

By Katie Ginder-Vogel

On August 14, the sun-bathed Frederick B. Commons at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy welcomed a crowd to celebrate someone who retired 20 years earlier: former Dean George Zografi. The room filled with the students he trained decades ago, who have since become thriving industry executives and esteemed academic researchers.

Azita Saleki (BS ’88, MS ’91, PhD ’93), AbbVie’s chief operations officer, traveled to Madison from Chicago to attend the event. Lynne Taylor arrived from Purdue University, where she is the Retter Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy. Mehran Yazdanian (MS ’88, PhD ’90), vice president of research and development operations at Teva Pharmaceuticals, touched down from Philadelphia. Dozens more members of the Zografi Research Group filled out the crowd — the latest in a 25-year-strong tradition of gatherings held every few years, this one marking his 90^th birthday.

“I think it demonstrates the affection we have for each other and memories of their years at UW and in our lab,” says Zografi. “You could feel the friendship and the genuine desire to see each other. What I like is that on all these occasions, many of my family are present, and they are welcomed. Everyone there took them in and made them part of the celebration.”

“I think it demonstrates the affection we have for each other and memories of their years at UW and in our lab.”
–George Zografi

His former students and institution continue to celebrate that legacy, this year’s gathering organized by Yazdanian, Evgenyi Shalaev, and John Hill — all former lab members — as well as the School’s Associate Dean for Advancement Ed Portillo (PharmD ’14), Senior Director of Development Julie Jensen, and School of Pharmacy Dean Steve Swanson.

“I’m very appreciative; it was all so sincere,” he says. “We all feel very lucky to have been part of the climate UW–Madison and the School of Pharmacy have created.”

Opening doors

Saleki took Zografi’s drug delivery systems course as an undergraduate and says his lecture on the physical chemistry factors that impact drug delivery influenced her long-term career path.

“George’s approach to science, his style of teaching, and the support he gave me after that class, patiently answering my many, many questions, opened a door I had not known was available to me,” she says.

Saleki joined Zografi’s lab as an undergraduate researcher and stayed in his lab throughout her master’s and PhD programs.

“That path began because George took the time to teach, to listen, and to believe in a student who was just beginning to find her way,” Saleki says. “I had the privilege of learning from him, not only the fundamentals of science, but also something much deeper: what it meant to be a mentor and a leader for the next generation. George has this extraordinary way of taking a special interest in each student’s growth, helping each person see what is possible, and giving us the confidence to pursue our own goals.”

Taylor completed her postdoc in Zografi’s lab, where she began her research on poorly soluble amorphous drugs, particularly amorphous solid dispersions, which has formed the background of her career. Taylor and Zografi published a review article together as recently as 2025.

“One of the biggest gifts that life has given me was George taking me into his lab as a postdoc 30 years ago,” Taylor says. “George was an invaluable resource to me as I navigated becoming an academic.”

Taylor says Zografi’s immense legacy is global, reaching countless people.

“He has helped so many products to be developed, reaching even more patients,” Taylor says. “He’s had a tremendous impact on the field, the science, and on people’s development and their careers.”

Knowing his mentorship is still spreading outward from each of his mentees is “very satisfying,” Zografi says. He has trained over 50 graduate students, who went on to careers in academic and industry.

“What’s exciting to me is we’re into the fourth generation,” he says. “My students who went into academia have generated their own groups and mentor those students, and I’ve been delighted to see so many of my graduate students in industry leadership positions contribute to the School’s professional development program, giving their time to mentor others, including within their own companies.”

 

Lasting impact

When he retired in 2006, donations poured in to establish the George Zografi Educational Advancement Fund, which supports a graduate student worker for the School’s Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station — a center Zografi helped relaunch after 70 years. The original Pharmaceutical Experiment Station operated for just 20 years, opening its doors in 1913 until the pressures of the Great Depression were too heavy.

“When George and his colleagues established the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Station, the idea was for it to provide an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to interact with others who are developing pharmaceuticals, and the educational component was especially important,” says Swanson. “So, George established the Zografi Fund, which supports graduate students and other learners who are interested in getting hands-on education about pharmaceutical development.”

“The Zografi Fund and the Zeeh Station are two incredible entities that have given so many opportunities to me and others — so many of us have benefitted from Dr. Zografi,” says Caroline Hopkins (PhD ’24). As the most recent recipient of the Zografi Fund, Hopkins served as a project assistant in the Zeeh Station during graduate school.

“It was an incredible experience getting to see what working in an industry setting would be like, pushing translational research forward,” Hopkins says. “As I finished my PhD, I was hired on as a full-time scientist. I got my dream position, and I get to do incredibly exciting work.”

Today, Hopkins is a pharmaceutical scientist at the Zeeh Station and, following the retirement of longtime Zeeh director Ed Elder, recently took on teaching responsibilities.

“I get to do science and teach new pharmaceutical sciences students,” Hopkins says. “We still take on a graduate student every year as a project assistant, and it’s an incredible opportunity for me to balance research and drug development with teaching and helping the School of Pharmacy.”

Zografi is grateful for the contributions to the fund and for the ongoing impact that it has on the School and on up-and-coming researchers.

“I wanted to leave something tangible for the education of future graduate students, in particular,” he says. He hopes to establish a fellowship to provide even greater support in the future.

“I’m looking forward to the possibility that we could give full funding as a graduate fellowship in the future that could be broadly used for education of future graduate students,” he says. “I think it’s essential we be part of the future of pharmaceutical sciences.”

Throughout his career, Zografi has held tight to his philosophy that mentorship and support for early career researchers and students is an important responsibility.

“You just have to care,” he explains. “When somebody agrees to work with you, not for you, you have a responsibility to them.”