The PhRMA Foundation congratulates our 2023 award recipients in the areas of drug delivery and drug discovery. The awards include predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships, and faculty starter grants. Out of nearly 300 applicants, the Foundation awarded 18 researchers a total of nearly $1.3 million.
Drug Discovery
Predoctoral Fellowships
Sarah Bernhard
Washington University
in St. Louis
Project: Structure, Function and Pharmacology of Delta Opioid Receptor Bitopics
Rhashanda Haywood
University of Maryland,
Eastern Shore
Project: Early Drug Discovery of Novel Meta-substituted N-benzamide Enaminones as Potential Anti-seizure Agents
Aakanksha Rajiv Kapoor
Weill Medical College
of Cornell University
Project: Determine Mechanisms by Which Club Cell Factor/s Inhibit Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells to Increase Efficacy of Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer
Jacqueline Plau
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Project: Expansion of the First-in-Class Drug Candidates Targeting Cellular Retinol-binding Protein 1
Katelyn Reeb
Drexel University
College of Medicine
Project: Positive Allosteric Modulation of EAAT2 for the Treatment of Neurological Disorders
Kinza Rizwan
Baylor College of Medicine
Project: Development of a First-in-class Inhibitor of SPOP to Suppress Highly Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Piyusha Pagare, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Project: Mu-opioid Receptor Modulators to Counteract Synthetic Opioids
Melanie Uguen, PhD
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Project: Multimodal Approaches for the Development of SETDB1-targeting Cancer Treatment
Joshua Walker, PhD
University of California, Berkeley
Project: Protein-Natural Product Chimeras for Protease-resistant Antibody Therapies
Faculty Starter Grant
Swarup Mitra, PhD, MSc
Marshall University Research Corporation
Project: Novel Psychoplastogen Therapeutics in Alleviating Oxycodone Abuse
Drug Delivery
Predoctoral Fellowships
Cynthia Choi
University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
Project: Immunomostimulatory Effects of Low Dose Radiolabeled Monoclonal Antibody Dinutuximab in Preclinical Studies
Cydney M. Martell
Northwestern University
Project: High-throughput Discovery of the Determinants of Stress-induced Aggregation in Miniproteins for Hyper-stable Therapeutic Design
Vladimir Molchanov
Van Andel Research Institute
Project: Developing SEEK&HEAL Technology for Targeted Stem Cell Therapy of Degenerative Diseases
Serena Omo-Lamai
University of Pennsylvania
Project: Modifying RNA-lipid-nanoparticles for Treating Inflammatory States
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Rogerio A. Bataglioli, PhD, Virginia Tech
Project: Microbial Gene Delivery for the Modulation of the Gut Microbiota
Faculty Starter Grants
Ashlee Brunaugh, PhD
University of Michigan
Project: Development of Repurposed Adjuvant Studded Particles to Enhance Inhaled Antibiotic Activity Against Extensively Drug Resistant Pathogens
Fatima Rivas, PhD
Louisiana State University
Project: Development of Drug Delivery Methods for Terpenoid Compounds
Kevin Yehl, PhD
Miami University
Project: A Generalizable Biomineralization Strategy for Improving Formulation and Delivery of Phage Therapies