Alumni Highlights - Putnam City Schools Foundation

Kareem Graham
Putnam City High School, Class of 1995

Dr. Kareem Graham is an immunologist and Principal Scientist/Laboratory Head at Principia Biopharma. During his high school career he was a standout scholar and talented center on the basketball team. We caught up with this former Pirate recently and asked him to share a little about his high school experience and life since graduation.

Tell us about your high school experience. What did you enjoy the most?

Overall, high school was a wonderful, rewarding experience for me, and I have many fond memories of my time at PCHS. I enjoyed participating in classroom discussions and debates, particularly in my English classes. These interactions were important for developing critical thinking and speaking skills. I also loved spending time with friends at school sporting events, especially home football and basketball games. I enjoyed getting out into the community and interacting with students through mentoring programs like Student-to-Student. Lastly, I loved competing on the basketball court. The atmosphere at our home games was really special, and our fans were amazingly supportive in traveling to road games as well.

Who were your favorite teachers?

There were so many phenomenal teachers who had a positive influence on me. (If I start to list names, I will undoubtedly omit someone important!) Among the ones I remember most: Steve Watson and Dr. Melanie Boaz — English teachers during my junior and senior year, respectively — really pushed their students to write with precision and to read texts with a critical and reflective eye. Joy Ahmad, my counselor, was an inspiration and tremendous advocate for me and countless other students. (I'm incredibly lucky that my name fell in her section of the alphabet!) My basketball coach, the late A.D. Burtschi also had a tremendous impact on me. He pushed all his players to get the most possible out of their physical talent, while also paying meticulous attention to the strategic and mental aspects of the game. Lastly, there were numerous teachers, administrators, and staff members who regularly provided words of kindness, wisdom, and encouragement — even though I never set foot in their classroom or office.

Above: Kareem (far right) got an early start in leadership when he served as Vice President of his senior class at PC High. Also pictured (from left): Alison Foster, Secretary; Michael Sanders, Treasurer; and Jim Farrow, President. (PC High yearbook photo.)

Explain what you do for work now. Did anything that happened in high school get you started on the path you are on?

After completing graduate school and postdoctoral training, I spent a few years teaching and doing research in the School of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. I now work as a scientist for a company in the San Francisco Bay Area that develops drugs for autoimmune diseases. There's no doubt that my high school experience played a huge role in shaping how I see the world today. I've had a strong interest in science for a very long time, but, over the years, I've also developed a deep appreciation for the role of writing and storytelling in everyday life. An important discovery or concept loses impact if you can't communicate its relevance or significance. COVID-19 is a great example of this: We've seen how miscommunication and disinformation have at times created confusion about how to work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The lessons I learned on the basketball court — about teamwork, sacrifice, humility, and perseverance, to name a few — transcend sports and continue to permeate just about every aspect of my life. Discovering and developing a drug takes a true team effort; it requires collaboration among many people with diverse skill sets and perspectives. Things don't always go as planned, but you must be able to regroup and learn from your mistakes. You have to do your job and trust others to do theirs as well, with everyone remaining faithful to the ultimate goal of delivering safer and more effective drugs to patients.

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