Safak Paker-Leggs Science Education Fund

This fund was created in honor of my late wife, who passed away on March 10, 2024 at the age of 54 from autoimmune disease complications. She loved science and healthcare. Safak received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Ankara. She later owned and operated a successful pharmacy in Türkiye and subsequently worked for GlaxoSmithKline (Istanbul, Türkiye) in pharmaceutical sales. Safak later moved to the United States where she continued her educational and professional pursuits through obtaining a Master of Science from Central Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Safak also served as a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Her passion for science led her to a fulfilling career as a Global Medical Information Oncology Team Lead at Merck, where she devoted the last 9 years of her life. She was an active member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Women in Science organization for the last 10 years as a Community Manager and mentor. She also established an internship program at Merck to provide work experience and job opportunities in Global Medical Information to Ph.D. candidates in Pharmaceutical Sciences.