For more than 46 years the PhRMA Foundation has supported the training, research, and careers of young pharmaceutical scientists by awarding competitive grants and fellowships. Our programs have helped facilitate the careers of thousands of scientific investigators, faculty members, and physicians. Every program that we offer aims to improve the field of drug discovery and development. Today's award recipients are the future innovators and leaders of the pharmaceutical industry. The benefits of our programs are long-lasting. By supporting up-and-coming scientists we are also advancing public health – today, tomorrow, and years from now.
Learn more about past grant and award recipients. Download a PDF version of the Foundation's 2011 Annual Report

News Release     

PhRMA Foundation Awards
Comparative Effectiveness Research Grants to Top Universities
Annual grant initiative will support M.S. and Ph.D. programs

Washington, D.C. (December 1, 2011) — The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation today announced that Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington will each receive a $250,000 grant to establish a three-year graduate certificate program.  This program is formally known as the PhRMA Foundation Center of Excellence for a Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Educational Program. 

The program’s goal is to initiate the process of organizing, building, and delivering university based M.S. and Ph.D. curricular programs in U.S. colleges and schools to instill knowledge and hone CER skills in students.  These students will eventually teach, research, and interpret CER to better patient outcomes.  The new grant – which will be awarded annually – will also help support programs for high-quality CER, such as those under way at the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, by giving researchers and practitioners the educational tools they need to help carry out CER studies.

“In an effort to attract well-qualified candidates to the growing field of CER and build a strong foundation for such patient-centered research, we awarded – for the first time ever – a grant to top educational institutions to develop a graduate-level curriculum around CER,” said Jean Paul Gagnon, chairman, Comparative Effectiveness Research Advisory Committee, PhRMA Foundation.  “While there were several excellent candidates that applied for the grant, this year’s recipients were chosen because they displayed strong track records conducting CER and demonstrated a commitment to advancing the field through related activities.” 

CER examines the clinical effectiveness, benefits and risks of different medical or health care interventions, including drugs, medical technology, or approaches to organizing and managing health care.  The results of these comparison studies are used by medical professionals to make informed health care determinations with the goal of improving patient care.
 
"My colleagues and I at the University of Washington are very excited and pleased to be launching a Graduate Certificate Program in Comparative Effectiveness Research with the support of the PhRMA Foundation,” said Lou Garrison, Ph.D., professor and associate director, Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy Program, University of Washington. “As we move into this new era of patient-centered, real-world outcomes research with active stakeholder engagement, there is a tremendous need for newly trained researchers to take advantage of these new opportunities and to address critical methodological and information needs."

“The faculty members of the Center for Healthcare Services and Outcomes Research at Johns Hopkins University are excited to develop a Center of Excellence in Comparative Effectiveness Research Education,” said Jodi B. Segal, M.D., MPH, associate professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins University.  “We are beginning by developing a certificate program in comparative effectiveness research that will be available to degree and non-degree students. Concurrently, we will be converting two of our CER-relevant courses so that they are accessible through the Hopkins online learning program; and we will prepare a series of seminars that will be available via a video archive to all viewers.”

As part of the grant, both universities are required to collaborate with one another to help produce high caliber comparative effectiveness researchers and practitioners who interpret and use research results to help improve health outcomes.  For more information about the criterion for the award, click here. 
[Criteria for Center of Excellence for CER Education Program]

For 46 years, the PhRMA Foundation has supported the field of drug discovery and the careers of scientific investigators, faculty members and physicians.  By funding the research of more than 2,200 young scientists, the Foundation has helped pave the way for the future of biopharmaceutical care. 

For more information on Comparative Effectiveness Research read
"Curricular Considerations for Pharmaceutical Comparative Effectiveness Research” which was published in January 2011 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (PDS).  To view the article, click here: [Curricular Consideration for Pharmaceutical Comparative Effectiveness Research]

AWARDS

We will be using a new GrantStream application system for our fall programs. We will be updating the brochures, application components, and the application process. Keep checking the website for new information.

Pharmacology/Toxicology [view brochure] (Deadline: September 1, 2012)

• Pre Doctoral Fellowship
• Post Doctoral Fellowship
• Sabbatical Fellowship
• Research Starter Grant

• Pre Doctoral Fellowship
• Post Doctoral Fellowship
• Sabbatical Fellowship
• Research Starter Grant

Clinical Pharmacology (view information) (Deadline: February 1, 2013)

• Paul Calabresi Medical Student Research Fellowship (view details)
• Faculty Development Award in Clinical Pharmacology (view details)
  

• Pre Doctoral Fellowship
• Post Doctoral Fellowship
• Sabbatical Fellowship
• Research Starter Grant

Health Outcomes [view brochure] (Deadline: February 1, 2013)

• Pre Doctoral Fellowship
• Post Doctoral Fellowship
• Sabbatical Fellowship
• Research Starter Grant

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