A fifth year graduate student and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Pharmacy Administration, Kaustuv Bhattacharya is no stranger to success. Kaustuv is this year's recipient of the department's MME Fellowship, an award based on outstanding academic performance and outstanding contribution to departmental research. Learn more about Ole Miss Pharmacy's stellar student Kaustuv Bhattacharya!
Why did you choose Ole Miss?
"While researching various graduate programs across the U.S., I learned how strong the Pharmacy Administration program at Ole Miss is. The research interests of the faculty members excited me and really complimented my own research interests and ambitions. That is when I knew that this was the right place for me, and my subsequent conversations with the faculty members and students only reaffirmed my faith."
Why Pharmacy?
"My major is pharmacy administration, with health outcomes research being my area of interest. I started developing a keen interest in this area of research in my third year of pharmacy school, and it has only grown with time. It motivated me to pursue graduate education in this field of research and learn about methods to assess effectiveness of various medical and policy interventions and improve quality of care."
What's your favorite class?
"My favorite classes have been the statistics courses taught by Dr. John Bentley. I have taken four of them, and each one of them has helped me better understand my field of research. He approached very complicated concepts in a way that made them relatable and easy to understand. Not only did it help me understand the research methodology better, it also motivated me to be a better teacher, so that I might one day help other people understand research methods in such a way that the learning stays with them forever."
What organizations are you involved with?
"I am currently involved with Rho Chi, the academic honor society in pharmacy, and it has been my pleasure to have the opportunity to serve as the secretary of the Ole Miss chapter for the past two years. Additionally, I am associated with a couple of professional organizations in my field of research, namely, ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) and AMCP (Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy)."
What are your career plans?
"My career goals are to use my research training to generate scientific findings that can help reduce treatment disparities, increase patient access to health care and improve quality of care."
How was your experience receiving the MME Fellowship?
I consider it a huge honor to have been this year's recipient of the fellowship. While it feels nice to be appreciated, I know none of this would have been possible without the trust and unconditional support of the faculty members, fellow graduate students and our esteemed alumni, who inspire me every day to be better than I was yesterday!