Newsletter | July 2026

Join the PhRMA Foundation for a one-hour crash course on transforming your academic curriculum vitae (CV) into a polished resume to catch the eye of industry hiring managers.

In this webinar, early career researchers can learn the do’s and don'ts of building a results-driven resume tailored for an industry career. Make sure to have your CV or resume on hand as our speakers provide actionable guidance on how to showcase your skills and achievements and market yourself effectively to successfully transition from academia to industry.

Video: Advice for Early Career Researchers

In this video, PhRMA Foundation awardees draw from their personal experiences to share candid advice on what it really takes to build a career in science.

They highlight the importance of pursuing meaningful, real-world research questions, seeking opportunities beyond the lab, and building strong connections within the scientific community. Many emphasize that success isn’t about perfection or avoiding setbacks — it’s about persistence. Watch now.

Hear our awardees discuss their research projects and career paths in videos and blogs.

Damilola Olukorede: Using AI to Streamline Development of New Antibacterial Drugs

Hilda Jafarah: From Childhood Experiments to Preventing Deadly Heart Rhythms

Anastasiia Vasylaki: Developing Nanomedicines to Deliver Gene Therapy for Kidney Diseases

Amandip Bangar: A New Immunotherapy Approach Targeting Lipids Instead of Proteins

Congrats to these Foundation-funded researchers on their recent work.

**Indicates research directly supported by a PhRMA Foundation award.

**Durability and mechanistic performance of aztreonam/avibactam versus aztreonam plus ceftazidime/avibactam against Stenotrophomonas maltophilia complex, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Ashlan Kunz Coyne, PharmD (PhF24), University of Kentucky

Colloidal stability of amorphous nanoparticles in solution: Impact of stabilizers, Pharmaceutical Research

Na Li, PhD (PhF22), University of Connecticut

**Potentiation of a Porous Silicon Therapeutic Vaccine in Colorectal Cancer via Oxaliplatin-Mediated Regulation of Myeloid-Driven Immunosuppression, Journal of Functional Biomaterials

Yongbin Liu, PhD (PhF23), Houston Methodist Research Institute

Effect of Using Personalized Estimates of Diabetes Risk During Primary Care Visits for People With Prediabetes, Learning Health Systems

Natalia Olchanski, PhD (PhF21), Tufts Medicine

**Structural and molecular determinants of glutamate transporter allosteric modulators, Molecular Pharmacology

Katelyn Reeb, PhD (PhF23), Drexel University

**Copper depletion boosts CNS leukemia therapy by inhibiting nucleotide synthesis through impairment of mitochondrial complex IV activity, Nature Cancer

Alan Wong (PhF26), Harvard Medical School

Kan Li (PhF26) of Rutgers University received the 2026 Robert M. Scarborough Graduate/Postgraduate Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry, awarded by the American Chemical Society. He also presented his research at the 39th ACS National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium.

Na Li, PhD (PhF22) was awarded the Faquir Jain Early Career Research Excellence Award by the University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Piaopiao Li, PhD (PhF24) joined the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine as a tenure-track instructor. She was also selected to serve as Advisor on the American Diabetes Association's Public Health & Epidemiology Interest Group Leadership Team.

Zhongyu Li (PhF26) of Emory University gave an oral presentation about her PhF-funded research at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Session 2026 in June.

Yongbin Liu, PhD (PhF23) of Houston Methodist Research Institute was awarded an NIH National Cancer Institute R21 award. He also presented his PhF-funded research at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting.

Katelyn Reeb, PhD (PhF23) started a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH's National Cancer Institute. Her new research focuses on discovering and characterizing autophagy-modulating small-molecules for cancer and neurodegeneration.

Erick Rodriguez-Palma, PhD (PhF25) of the University of Florida recently presented his PhF-funded research on stress-induced nociplastic pain and sensory neuron hyperexcitability at the North American Pain School (NAPS).

Abigail Schwarz, PhD (PhF26) of the University of Alabama at Birmingham will present her PhF-funded research at the International Association of the Study of Pain conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in October.

Madison Seefeld (PhF25) of the University of Minnesota gave a short talk about her PhF-funded research at the Keystone Vaccinology Symposium in Killarney, Ireland, in May.

Srividya Swaminathan, PhD (PhF21) of City of Hope received a one-year Rally Foundation Independent Investigator Grant.

Nha Tran (PhF25) of the University of Michigan presented her PhF-supported research at two conferences: the 2026 International Conference on Deprescribing and the 2026 Midwest Social and Administrative Pharmacy Conference.

Bushra Zaman (PhF26) of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences won the People's Choice Award at her school's 3-minute thesis competition. Her school also awarded her an Outstanding Student Award and a Fellowship Initiative for Research Excellence Award. Additionally, she presented her PhF-funded research at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology conference in May.

Join our email list to get updates and funding announcements directly in your inbox.

www.phrmafoundation.org