“Through her research innovation, academic excellence, and leadership, Apurva is not only advancing vision science but also embodying the spirit of discovery and impact that this campaign seeks to honor.” – Aliasger Salem

Hometown: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Faculty mentor/advisor: Aliasger Salem, PhD, associate vice president for research and Lyle and Sharon Bighley Endowed Chair and Professor, College of Pharmacy

Degree program and anticipated graduation date: PhD in pharmaceutics, Spring 2027

Apurva Dusane is developing non-invasive topical drug delivery systems to treat Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), a progressive eye disease that can lead to blindness. Her work focuses on creating formulations that bypass the need for invasive surgical procedures, offering a safer and more accessible treatment option to the 300 million patients around the world who have FECD, which currently has no approved drug therapies.

“Pursuing research at Iowa has helped me improve my approach towards critically and creatively designing experiments, while staying resilient through challenges,” says Dusane. “It has given me the opportunity to contribute to science in a way that can directly improve lives.”

Her research has earned numerous recognitions at prestigious international competitions, including the Dissolution Research Presentations International (DRPI)–World and Boehringer Emerging Scientist Talent (BEST) Program.

After graduation, Dusane plans to continue advancing drug delivery technologies, aiming to make life-saving treatments more widely available and affordable for patients worldwide.