Phi Kappa Phi is proud to feature 2024 Graduate Research Grant recipient Alexa Beathard from the Oklahoma City University chapter. Beathard is a second-year graduate student researching a novel treatment for tuberculosis.

She used the grant to attend the 2024 Respiratory Drug Delivery (RDD) Conference in Tucson, Arizona, the largest international event focused on her research area. With limited funding in her lab and few local opportunities, the grant made it possible for her to participate in the conference, which brought together leaders in pharmaceutical sciences and targeted drug delivery.

At RDD, Beathard presented her research and strengthened her presentation and communication skills while networking with experts from academia and industry.

Her research focuses on developing a new therapeutic for tuberculosis (TB), the world’s second leading infectious killer. Beathard’s lab studies a novel compound, OHet72, which targets both drug-susceptible and multi-drug resistant TB. Insights gained at RDD helped advance her project and her lab’s goal of creating safer, more effective treatments.

Beathard says, “Scientific advancement is dependent on learning forward. What we know is constantly changing, and you have to be adaptable enough to change along with it otherwise progress will never be made. Since beginning my doctorate, I have been committed to exploring unique ideas and solutions which have allowed me to flourish in a research environment.”

Beathard hopes to become a principal investigator or work in industry specializing in targeted drug delivery. She said conferences like RDD are essential to gaining expertise, expanding networks, and refining research communication skills.

Will you be one of the next Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Research Grant recipients? The deadline to apply is Nov. 30, 2025. The society will award 20 grants of up to $1,500 to active members attending graduate school. These grants provide funding for research in support of career development opportunities.

For more information about the Graduate Research Grant program, visit www.phikappaphi.org/grants-awards/graduate-research or contact Kelli Partin at kpartin@phikappaphi.org.