OHTA is proud to announce that the 2024 Sue Davies Awardee is Apexa Thaker, an occupational hygienist working at a pharmaceutical company in India.
This award is given to the student with the best performance in achieving the International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene (ICertOH) who resides in a country considered an emerging or developing economy. Apexa not only received the honor itself, but she also received the necessary funds for her to attend the AIHA Connect 2024 conference.
Apexa has an inspiring story: She has a master’s degree in industrial hygiene and safety and has been working for 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She currently manages EHS programs for Zydus Hospira Oncology Pvt Ltd (Pfizer joint venture) in Ahmedabad, India. Apexa is in charge of implementing, and monitoring compliance of Pfizer EHS standards based on OSHA compliance and risk-based exposures resulting from handling Occupational Exposure Band 4 & 5 compounds.
Apexa notes that she experienced a phenomenal change while studying OHTA training modules, not only in her knowledge but in her personality. Through her studies, she not only became more skilled at her job, but she became more aware and empathetic about workplace hazards and risks and where to find solutions. She feels that attendance at AIHA Connect 2024 will give her the opportunity to meet and absorb knowledge from other IH professionals and to learn best practices to make this world a better place to live and work. Apexa also stays very busy being a wife and mother to a 7-year-old daughter, but she plans to continue her journey in occupational hygiene. She noted that “the journey is long, but so is my conviction, commitment, and motivation. “
