Bhavatharini “Rini” Arun is the 2026-27 recipient of the Charles and Charlotte Krown Fellowship, the highest honor awarded to graduate students at the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
A third-year PhD student in Gauri Rao’s lab, Arun will receive $10,000 to support her research. The fellowship recognizes excellence in research and academics.
Arun’s research addresses one of the biggest challenges in treating severe brain infections: ensuring antibiotics reach the site of infection. She develops mathematical models that function as a “virtual brain,” predicting how antibiotics move through brain tissues and fluids. By integrating laboratory experiments, animal studies and clinical data, her work aims to help clinicians make safer, more effective treatment decisions for patients.
“The Krown Fellowship recognizes the Mann School’s very best graduate students, and Rini’s research accomplishments are truly outstanding,” says Terrence Graham, associate dean for graduate education and postdoctoral studies.
International Recognition
The Krown Fellowship builds on international recognition Arun received earlier this year through the prestigious Lewis B. Sheiner Student Session. In June, she was selected to present at the session during the 2026 meeting of the Population Approach Group Europe (PAGE) 2026 meeting in Croatia. The Sheiner Student Session honors outstanding early-career researchers in quantitative pharmacology and model-informed drug development.
“Being selected was an incredible honor and one of the highlights of my PhD journey,” Arun said. “It reaffirmed my commitment to developing quantitative tools that improve patient outcomes.”
Arun said interacting with leading researchers in quantitative pharmacology and systems modeling gave her new perspectives that will shape her work. She credits much of her success to Rao’s mentorship and the collaborative environment of the Rao Lab.
“Dr. Gauri Rao’s mentorship has been the foundation of my growth as a scientist,” Arun notes. “She has challenged me to think critically while giving me the confidence to develop my own scientific identity.”
Rao notes the Krown Fellowship and Sheiner Student Session reflect Arun’s exceptional growth as a scientist.
“These honors recognize Rini’s ability to pair scientific rigor with creative quantitative approaches,” Rao said. “Her research is addressing critical data gaps and building the evidence needed to develop reliable models that can ultimately inform patient care.”
Looking ahead, Arun plans to continue combining mechanistic modeling with clinical data to advance individualized dosing strategies and bridge experimental science, mathematical modeling and real-world patient care.