Rikhav Gala

Rikhav Gala has extensive work experience in the pharmaceutical and scientific research field. Rikhav is currently working at Pfizer as Group Lead - Principal Scientist, and previously held the position of Principal Scientist at the same company. Before joining Pfizer, Rikhav worked at Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society as an Elected Full Member. Rikhav also had significant roles at Fraunhofer USA Inc. as a Scientist, Formulation Group Leader, where they led projects on the development of pre-clinical and clinical product formulations. Rikhav also served as a Principal Investigator on several awarded grants. Prior to that, they worked at UPM Pharmaceuticals as a Formulation Scientist II, contributing to various projects on formulation development and process scale-up for oral solids and semi-solids. Rikhav also gained experience as a Research Scientist I at The University of New Mexico, focusing on nanoparticulate formulation and the development of oral disintegrating films. Rikhav began their career as a Graduate Research Assistant at Mercer University, where they worked on formulation and development of microparticulate vaccines. Additionally, Rikhav served as a Research Intern at Roquette, formulating oral disintegrating films containing vaccines. Their academic background includes a Graduate Research Assistant role at the University of Central Lancashire, where they developed a novel large-scale method for the production of stable liposomal powders and formulated chocolate-based dosage forms for pediatric drug delivery.

Rikhav Gala has a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from the University of Mumbai, which they obtained from 2007 to 2011. Rikhav then pursued a Master of Science (MSc) in Industrial Pharmaceutics at the University of Central Lancashire from 2011 to 2012. Rikhav furthered their education by completing a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Mercer University from 2012 to 2016. In addition to their academic qualifications, Rikhav has obtained various certifications including a Pharmacy Teaching Certificate from Mercer University in 2015, as well as several intellectual property-related courses from the World Intellectual Property Organization. Rikhav has also completed the Pfizer: Leadership Essentials Program offered by Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning in 2023. Rikhav has been recognized with the Competent Communicator Award from Toastmasters International, although the specific date of attainment is not provided.