Countdown to Commencement 2025: Emily Austin

Emily Austin, a graduate student in the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, is this week's featured student in the “Countdown to Commencement” series. She was nominated by Dr. Lipika Chablani, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy.

Austin is a driven student who has a long list of notable achievements from her time at Fisher. She serves as president of Rho Chi Honors Society, president of the American Pharmacist Association (APhA), president and founder of Fisher’s NCODA chapter, secretary of the Pharmacy Student Government Association, and the stroke awareness chair of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA).

“We raised thousands of dollars in my time as NCODA president for Hope Lodge, and getting to interact with them was truly incredible,” said Austin.

Chablani is grateful for the continued support Austin has given to her over the years. The pair have collaborated on numerous projects, most notably on their challenges in handling, storing, and preparing biologic products, recent advancements in transdermal delivery of biologics, and their long-term study in boosting breast cancer immunotherapy. Chablani has been working on this study for around 15 years with Austin alongside of her for the past three and a half years.

“Being involved in something I know could positively impact patients one day and potentially save someone’s life is very rewarding,” explains Austin.

In reflecting on her time at Fisher, Austin compares herself to the person she was leaving high school in 2018 and the person she is today, emphasizing that she is an entirely different person. She credits the people she has surrounded herself with and the endless support from the Fisher community.

“I hope that I have continued to show people that they can get involved, and they can do this even if it’s their first time in a leadership position. The sky’s the limit.”