Pharmaceutics Graduate Seminar
Alpana Thorat, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist, Pfizer Inc .
Seminar Title: “Avibactam Tomilopil (AVT): Development of Spherical Crystallization Process for DS Isolation”
PBB 338
Friday February 20, 2026, from 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm
Dr. Alpana Thorat is a Principal Scientist in Crystallization Process Development at Pfizer in Groton, Connecticut, where she works within Chemical Research & Development on early‑ and late‑stage small‑molecule drug substance programs. She has over ten years of combined academic, postdoctoral, and industrial experience in crystallization science, particle engineering, and pharmaceutical process development, with a focus on connecting fundamentals of crystallization and phase behavior to scalable manufacturing processes.
Her technical expertise spans nucleation and crystal growth control, antisolvent and cooling crystallization, batch, and continuous crystallization (including MSMPR and plug‑flow systems), and solid‑state characterization. At Pfizer, Dr. Thorat has served as a unit‑of‑work lead for multiple late‑stage clinical programs and has contributed to the implementation of novel crystallization technologies for final API isolation, as well as internal initiatives in solubility prediction and workflow automation.
Dr. Thorat earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, where her doctoral research focused on crystallization and particle formation of poorly water‑soluble drugs. Her postdoctoral training includes research at MIT on continuous crystallization and process analytical technologies, at the University of Minnesota on frozen‑state and solid‑state characterization of biopharmaceutical formulations, and at Purdue University on active molecule–excipient interactions and recrystallization inhibition.
In addition to her research contributions, Dr. Thorat is deeply committed to mentoring students and early‑career scientists. She has mentored graduate students, interns, postdoctoral researchers, and junior scientists, and regularly engages in outreach, career panels, and professional development initiatives. She has authored 18 peer‑reviewed publications, contributed to patent applications, and is active in the scientific community through AIChE, crystallization conferences (ACT), and academic–industry consortia.
For more information, contact: Reena Bokria at rjb07003@uconn.edu