Malik Wins National Championship and Continues her Research

Jennifer Malik recently won the Collegiate Club Cyclocross National Championship this January in Reno, Nevada while pursuing her doctorate degree in Biomedical Engineering. Cyclocross is a timed cycling discipline that consists of biking over extremely difficult obstacles, some of which force the riders to get on and off of their bikes multiple times per lap. Malik has only been competing in cyclocross for four years, but she races up to 30 times each year. Some of these races are in Canada and Europe, making this a major time commitment for racing as well as training. According to her, cyclocross provides a way to unwind and destress from the rigors of completing a PhD program. Click here for the full story WOSU wrote on Jennifer Malik.

 

Malik is advised by Dr. Samir Ghadiali, professor and Director of Graduate Studies. Her research focuses on developing new drug delivery methods, specifically for patients who experience chronic ear infections. Her goal is to ultimately develop a less invasive treatment for chronic ear infections through using nasal drug delivery instead of the current ear tube treatment. Malik is planning on finishing her program by the end of the spring semester and intends on becoming a post-doc in Dr. Kai Zhao’s lab in order to gain more clinical experience. She also will continue developing her drug delivery research in Dr. Zhao’s lab.

 

Congratulations to Jennifer for being a national champion athlete, as well as on her innovative research!