Blending Tradition and Innovation

He didn’t like the drinks but he did like feeling better, which drove him to research the drink’s properties. He learned its main ingredient was an ancient herb, Vasaka. “Not only did I research the herbal remedies passed down by my family, but also the active ingredients of modern medicine,” he recalls.

In high school, Macwan became fascinated with medical science, the immune system and the complexity of the human body. He pursued a B.S. in Pharmacy in India and, after his family immigrated to the U.S. shortly, thereafter, began working to earn his PharmD. “I found myself studying philosophy and liked the idea of using my critical thinking skills to help people. I realized reading philosophy could help me become a better pharmacist,” he says.

The family settled in Brooklyn, New York, and Macwan set his sights on furthering his pharmacy education. He went to work at a neighborhood pharmacy as a technician and enrolled at Brooklyn College to take social science courses that were required to apply to Touro College of Pharmacy.

Touro was his top choice among pharmacy schools, he says, for its expansive pharmacy practice opportunities and research possibilities. “Touro has more practice experiences. Other pharmacy schools have one year, but Touro has one-and-a-half years of rotations. That appealed to me. Touro also has a ‘Research Track’ and I wanted to do that, too,” he says.

He researched the role of a gene in the development of premalignant colon cancer. The data collected suggested high levels of the gene may lead to cancer. He presented his research at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, and it was published in Neoplasia, a science journal about oncology.

The research was a highlight of his time at Touro along with other publications, posters and presentations on cancer. “Our result could enable early diagnosis of colon cancer in patients with elevated levels of the gene,” he says.

After graduation, Macwan plans to embark on two years of postgraduate training as a pharmacy resident in a clinical setting. He’s considering a career as an oncology clinical pharmacist, inspired in part by the memory of a grandfather who passed away from cancer as well as his passion for philosophy and critical thinking.

“Oncology is a very dynamic field. A lot of research takes place and many clinical trials come out of that,” he says. “You have to be on top of the studies and really understand the literature, analyze the articles and apply them to patients. It’s unlike any other field.”