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Victoria Garcia, Ph.D., made a fairly common shift as an undergraduate student in Texas: She changed her course of study. However, in choosing a unique program at Virginia Commonwealth University for her graduate degree, she found a much more uncommon path.

Garcia, who grew up in the El Paso area, studied biology at Texas Christian University and figured she would enroll in medical school. But an internship in pharmaceutical sciences revealed her passion for research more than patient care, and as she considered graduate programs at VCU and in Chicago, “the one at VCU was the most unique – and the only Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical engineering in the U.S. right now,” she said.

Garcia graduated in 2026 with her doctorate from the School of Pharmacy.

In 2024, she became a part of the NCI T32 fellowship with VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, a two-year training program for predoctoral and postdoctoral students. It connects strongly to her dissertation, which focuses on osteosarcoma lung metastases and inhaled chemo immunotherapy. Her mentor was Larisa Litovchick, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the Cancer Biology research program at Massey.

“I didn’t just get to meet other professors, but I also got to meet other students in different Ph.D. programs and other scientists that are working at the core facilities,” Garcia said. “I got to attend a cancer biology research conference and some of the conferences that Massey has sponsored. I’ve not only been able to engage with chemical engineers and manufacturing specialists, but also cancer biologists and clinicians that are working in the hospital. I really have enjoyed the interdisciplinary training that I’ve been able to do.”

Garcia acknowledges that jumping directly from a bachelor’s degree to a Ph.D. program in 2021 was hard at times.

“You’re coming in younger than most other people because it is more common to come in with a master’s [degree],” she said of enrolling at VCU. “There were even some students that came in already with a Ph.D. We were all on different learning curves.”

Still, the experience was “really rewarding,” Garcia said, with impressive highlights along the way.

Garcia said her Ph.D. program – a collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and the College of Engineering – and her Massey work have intensified her passion for pharmaceutical engineering, particularly its human impact.

“Even though I’m not doing any work with patients, I’ve always collaborated with a clinician,” she said. “We’re getting feedback from people that are in the clinic and interacting with patients. It’s great to see these doctors that do care and not just about the next FDA-approved drug, but also the work that’s being done in the lab. It’s really exciting to watch that collaboration.”

Garcia, advised throughout the program by Sandro da Rocha, Ph.D., a pharmaceutics professor in the School of Pharmacy and director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Sciences at VCU, defended her dissertation on April 22. As she considers her future plans, Garcia is grateful for VCU’s role in her professional and personal development.

“I would not be the scientist that I am today without the help from my advisors and the connections that I’ve made with the people in my lab and in my program,” she said. “There’s scientific work and presentations that I’ve done that I don’t think the version of myself five years ago would have even imagined that I could be capable of.”

Outside of the lab, Garcia enjoys spending time with her roommate, who is in the same Ph.D. program, and their cat. She emphasizes how the “small things” and self-care are crucial in coping with the intensity of a doctoral program.

“In the field that we’re in, people can get really stressed,” Garcia said. “There are always deadlines and pressure. If I can cultivate self-care and make it important to me moving forward, it’s something that I hopefully can always have a part of my life.”

Written by: Anastasia Mineiro