Chetan Rathi, PhD student in Pharmaceutical Sciences, won the prestigious Merck Biopharma Innovation Cup organized near Frankfurt, Germany from July 3–8, 2016. In its sixth year, the Innovation Cup brings together a promising new generation of academic talents from the life sciences, engineering and business administration in a meeting of the minds with Merck KGaA senior management, active researchers and accomplished retirees to uncover the next great innovation in medical science.
Chetan successfully made it through a rigorous screening process to be among the 31 participants selected from a pool of over 900 applicants from premier universities spreading across 53 countries. Participants worked in 6 teams in the areas of Oncology, Immuno-Oncology, Autoimmune Diseases, Chemo- and Bioengineering, Emerging Markets and Global Health to generate an innovative idea that addressed a scientific challenge and developed the idea into a business plan under the guidance of experienced Merck veterans during this intensive one week long biocamp.
Chetan represented the Global Health team which also included Erica Namigai (PhD, University of Oxford), Jennifer Beveridge (PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology), Theresa Maier (PhD, University of Cambridge), Josh Tycko (Editas Medicine/PhD, Stanford University) and coach Dr. Gabriele Disselhoff. Their novel approach for controlling schistosomiasis transmission successfully captured the imagination of the audience consisting of Merck KGaA top management and external consultants. As the winner, the Global Health team was felicitated with cash award of €20,000 ($22,257.00 US).
This event also provided a great opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about pharmaceutical research and development, network with top students from around the world and explore career options at Merck KGaA, which operate in the US under the names EMD Serono and MilliporeSigma.
“I am grateful to Merck for selecting our proposal which would hopefully make significant strides in the fight against schistosomiasis and further strengthen Merck’s commitment to eliminate the neglected disease,” said Rathi.
Additional details about the Merck Biopharma Innovation Cup can be found here: