Drug Delivery
Postdoctoral Fellowship

Program Vision

Delivering today’s increasingly complex drugs to patients demands novel approaches in technology development, formulation, manufacturing, as well as prediction and demonstration of in vivo performance. The PhRMA Foundation seeks to fund therapeutically relevant research that optimizes drug composition, dosage, and delivery to make treatments clinically viable, safer, more effective, and/or easier to manage for patients.

Scope of Research

Research areas could include, but are not limited to:

• Formulation composition, drug dosage, and delivery modalities/technologies that enable desired pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of drugs, including emerging molecular and biological modalities
• Development of CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) processes that achieve enhanced product quality of challenging chemical entities (e.g., poorly soluble drugs, large molecules, cell-based constructs)
• Predictive approaches (e.g., modeling, simulation, data analytics, and machine and deep learning) that seek to achieve in vitro and in vivo correlation; bridge a drug’s critical quality attributes and in vivo performance (PK, efficacy, and toxicity); and facilitate assessment of toxicities and side effects of a drug delivery system

Requirements

Proposals must include a clearly defined therapeutic payload and target tissue, as well as rationale for dosing and PK/PD feasibility. When possible, a project should include a plan for biodistribution and a clear explanation of functional delivery efficiency. Research applicable to multiple drug modalities will be prioritized.

Computational approaches must include a clear and feasible plan for translational validation to human-relevant systems. Proposals that involve AI approaches (i.e., data-driven ML/DL) must clearly document and reference the methodology, explain the data curation process (sources, quality, quantity), and detail the validation process.

Nonresponsive

Proposals framed as platform development without a payload, disease context, or feasibility path will not be considered.

Note: Please ensure you are applying to the correct PhRMA Foundation program. If your project does not align with the goals of the Drug Delivery Program, as outlined above, please review the Foundation’s Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine programs to see whether your project fits into one of those programs. Contact the Foundation (info@phrmafoundation.org) with your project description if you need further clarification.

• Applicants (U.S. and non-U.S. citizens) must be based at a PhD and/or MS degree-granting accredited U.S. university.
• Applicants must hold a PhD, PharmD, MD, or appropriate terminal research doctorate.
• Applicants must be in a postdoctoral research position at the time of LOI submission.
• Applicants are ineligible if their doctoral degree was granted before January 1, 2024.
• Applicants are ineligible if they do not have at least two first author publications.
• Applicants currently funded on an institutional training grant (e.g., NIH TL1, T32, T90, or T35 awards or a nonprofit/professional society equivalent) may apply if they state they will forgo the institutional training slot if funded by a PhRMA Foundation award.
• Applicants are ineligible if they are the recipient of an NIH K99/R00 award or NIH-F award.
• An individual may not simultaneously hold another funding mechanism providing stipend support while the PhRMA Foundation postdoctoral fellowship is active. If necessary, the university may supplement the award to a level that is consistent with other postdoctoral fellowships it offers.
• Applicants applying for funds to support postdoctoral work in the laboratory where their graduate work was performed will be given lower preference. One of the objectives of this fellowship is to gain new skills, and therefore, an ideal candidate will be conducting their research in a new laboratory.
• Only one applicant per lab may apply across the three funding categories of predoc, postdoc, and faculty starter grant in the Drug Delivery Program.

• The PhRMA Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery provides $60,000 in stipend support per year for 12, 18, or 24 months.
• To receive funding beyond the first 12 months, awardees must provide the PhRMA Foundation with a satisfactory progress report upon completion of the first 10 months of funding.
• Funding is conditional upon the awardee’s continued employment with the university in the postdoctoral program, which will be assessed on a quarterly basis prior to payment. The awardee is required to notify the PhRMA Foundation if they leave the university.
• Payments will be made directly to the university on behalf of the awardee, with the understanding the university will administer the funds.
• This award is intended solely as a stipend and may not be used otherwise. PhRMA Foundation funds may not be used for tuition, fringe benefits, or indirect costs to the university.
• Funding may begin as early as January 1, 2027, or on the first day of any month thereafter, up to and including August 1, 2027.
• A financial report (separate from the 10-month progress report) will be required upon completion of the first 12 months of funding.
• A final progress report and financial report will be required within 60 days of the fellowship’s conclusion.
• Unspent funds are to be returned to the PhRMA Foundation.
• Any changes to the proposed project must be approved by the PhRMA Foundation.
• These funds are non-transferable.

The applicant must have primary responsibility for the writing and the preparation of the application, understanding the mentor/advisor will provide guidance to the applicant.

This is a two-step process. Step one is submitting a letter of intent (LOI) by April 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET. If your LOI is accepted, you will be notified by July 1, 2026, that you should proceed to the second step of submitting a full application, due August 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET.

To start a letter of intent, go to the ProposalCentral website at proposalcentral.com. If you are a new user of ProposalCentral, follow the link “Create an Account” and complete the registration process. If you are already a registered user, login with your username and password. If you have forgotten your password, click the “Forgot your Password?” link.

Once you are logged in, please click the “Professional Profile” tab at the top and complete steps 1-11 or update with your current information. Your name, degrees, position/title, academic rank, department, and address will be pulled from this page in ProposalCentral.

Step 1: Letter of Intent (LOI)

To submit an LOI, select the “Grant Opportunities” tab in ProposalCentral and a list of applications will be displayed. Find “PhRMA Foundation” and click the “Apply Now” link next to the Postdoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery Program.

Candidates are required to submit the following items at this stage:

1. NIH Biosketch

Do not include scholastic performance.

2. Project Abstract

3. 600-Word LOI

The LOI must be written by the applicant and should describe the research project and its aims. It will be entered directly into ProposalCentral and cannot exceed 4,500 characters, including spaces. The first use of any abbreviation or acronym should be preceded by the full name or description. One attachment is allowed for figures (maximum of 4) and citations. These do not count towards the 4,500-character limit. This attachment should be on U.S. letter sized 8.5” x 11” page with .5” margin and 11-point font. Figure descriptions should not exceed three sentences.

4. Research Impact Questions

Provide responses to the Research Impact Questions using the template provided in Proposal Central.

• Explain how your project fits into the PhRMA Foundation’s Drug Delivery Program.
• What is the critical question you aim to address and how is your project an innovative way to address it?
• What is the specific hypothesis/hypotheses you aim to test?
• Explain how your project could advance drug development within five years of publication.

LOIs are due by April 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET.

Step 2: Full Application (by invitation)

Applicants whose LOIs are selected by the review committee will be notified by July 1, 2026, and invited to submit a full application.

Full application deadline is August 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET. Late submissions will not be accepted.

To submit a full application, please complete and/or review for accuracy the following sections in ProposalCentral. Submissions that do not meet the requirements will not be considered.

Section 1: General Information

On this page, enter your project title and how much funding you are seeking.

Section 2: Download Templates and Instructions

Use this page to download copies of the program instructions, as well as templates that you must use for the Research Impact Questions and Training Plan.

Section 3: Applicant

The information you provided in the LOI stage will remain in your historical data in ProposalCentral. If needed, update your Professional Profile to include your degrees and a biosketch, as these are required to complete this page of the proposal.

Section 4: Institution Details

The information on this page will be populated from the institutional profile in ProposalCentral’s database. If any information is missing or incorrect, contact the PC Support Team at pcsupport@altum.com or 800-875-2562 (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time).

Section 5: Key Personnel

Use this page to add any Key Personnel to your project. Adding them on this page does not grant them access to your proposal — that must be done on the “Enable Other Users to Access This Proposal” page.

You are required to add a Department Chair and a Research Supervisor/Sponsor. If they are the same person, add their information in each section.

Section 6: Letters of Reference

The system will NOT accept your application unless the letters of support from your references have been successfully uploaded.

You are required to submit contact information for the following personnel:

• Research Supervisor or Sponsor (the person who mentors and authorizes your work in the lab)
• General References: 1-3 people who are familiar with you and your scientific career
• Collaborators: If you have collaborators, they must submit a letter of support. Each collaborator (up to 2) should submit their own letter of support. If you have 3 or more collaborators, they should co-write one letter of support with all their signatures. The person responsible for coordinating this group letter is the name you should enter in this section.

Once you add their names and contact information to your application, an auto-generated email will be sent to them with instructions on what they should address in their letter of support and a personalized hyperlink where they should upload their letter.

Letters of support should be uploaded before August 26 so you can submit your application before 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET.

We suggest you inform your references in advance of what to include in their letter of support.

Research Supervisor or Sponsor requirements:

• Assessment of the applicant, including their progress, achievements, publication/presentation record, interpersonal and communication skills, etc.
• Description of the applicant’s scientific question and how they came up with the idea.
• The supervisor’s NIH biosketch, attached to the letter as an appendix.

General Reference requirements:

• The time period for which they have known the applicant and in what capacity.
• Comment on the applicant’s communication and interpersonal skills, and ability to collaborate with peers on research projects.
• Explanation of how this program will be a productive experience for the applicant and why they should be selected.
• If involved in the applicant’s project, an explanation of their roles and responsibilities regarding the project.

Collaborator Reference requirements:

• Explanation of their involvement and responsibilities with the project.
• The collaborator’s CV or biosketch, attached to the letter as an appendix.

Section 7: Additional Questions

Answer all questions on this page. Be sure your bibliography page is up to date with publications and presentations.

Section 8: Abstract and Keywords

Enter your abstract (written for a broad scientific audience) and keywords. Take heed of the character limit for the abstract.

Section 9: Budget Summary

Enter your project dates and requested stipend support (e.g., are you requesting, 12, 18, or 24-months of funding). This should match what you entered in Section 1 “General Information.”

Section 10: Organization Assurances

Respond to the questions on this page regarding your IRB and IACUC approval.

Section 11: Attachments

Ensure your name and institution are noted at the top of each attachment.

• Applicant’s NIH-Style Biosketch (required)
  You will have submitted this under the “Applicant” section. Do not include your academic record.
• Extended Letter (required)
  Include a synopsis of your career, professional interests, and desired career path. The letter should not exceed two single-spaced pages (U.S. letter size 8.5” x 11” / .5” margin / 11-point font).
• Research Plan (required)
  Applicants must prepare a comprehensive yet concise research plan. This should be written by the applicant and not copied from another’s project. Applicants should use a format similar to that for NIH grants.The research plan should include a specific aims page (one-page limit), followed by your research strategy (not to exceed eight pages) that describes the rationale, significance, research design and methodology, timeline, and preliminary results (if any exist). A bibliography of major references should also be included (bibliographies are not included in the page limit).

  Required type specifications: U.S. letter size 8.5” x 11” / .5” margin / 11-point font (figures may be provided in a smaller font). The first use of any abbreviation or acronym should be preceded by the full name or description. Submissions that do not meet the specified guidelines for proposal preparation will not be considered.

• Research Impact Questions (required)
  Please respond to the research impact questions using the template provided.
• Training Plan (required)
  Use the template provided under Section 2 “Instructions and Templates.” The Training Plan must be signed by the applicant and research supervisor.

Section 12: Demographics

Responses on this page are confidential.

Section 13: Enable Other Users to Access This Proposal

Use this page to grant access to your proposal to any other users in the system.

• “Administrator” level permissions allow them full control of the proposal.
• “Edit” level permissions allow them to edit the proposal, but not delete it.
• “View” level permissions allow them to view the proposal but not make any changes.

Section 14: Validate

By clicking “Validate” on this page, the system will check your application for any missing or incomplete information.

Section 15: Print Application and Signatures

On this page, you will be able to print a recap of your application. As the applicant, by e-signing this application, you agree that you completed the application yourself. This is required for submission.

If you have given someone at the institution “Edit” access because they need to sign your application, they will e-sign in this section once you have completed your application. This needs to be completed before you “submit” your application.

Note: The PhRMA Foundation does not require anyone other than the applicant to e-sign the application, but your institution may require it.

Section 16: Submit

Do not forget to review your application before you “submit.”

Award notification is December 15, 2026.