Newsletter | October 2025

In 2025, the PhRMA Foundation (PhF) is celebrating our 60th anniversary. Since our founding in 1965, we have awarded more than $100 million in grants to over 2,700 researchers at hundreds of U.S. universities and institutions.

In the News

Inside Higher Ed’s Fight to Continue Groundbreaking Research in the Face of Funding Cuts


In this Fast Company article on the recent federal cuts to research funding, PhRMA Foundation President Dr. Amy M. Miller shares her perspective:


“There’s a lot of creativity going on right now,” Miller said. “But I really want to emphasize there is absolutely no way that the foundations and industry together can fill the gaps.”


Read the article.

Apply: 2026 Awards in Value Assessment and Health Outcomes Research

 

The PhRMA Foundation seeks proposals from early career researchers who investigate challenges and potential solutions related to evaluating the delivery, safe use, effectiveness, and value (clinical, patient-centered, and economic) of drugs and other health care interventions.


Proposals should incorporate patient engagement at an appropriate level. Proposals that do not engage patients, caregivers, or clinicians will be considered unresponsive.


Deadline: October 30 @ 12:00 p.m. (Noon) ET

 

Before You Apply

Watch: Engaging Patients in Research


This webinar focuses on why and how researchers should engage patients in value assessment and health outcomes research. Review committee members, a past awardee, and a patient advocate discuss ways that applicants can demonstrate their commitment to patient-centered research in their proposal.

 

From the Blog

Frontier Award Study Empowers Patients to Confidently Engage in Value Assessment Research

Dr. Surachat “Chat” Ngorsuraches of Auburn University is prioritizing authentic patient engagement throughout the research process in his Foundation-funded study on how patients and caregivers in the Deep South value therapies for multiple sclerosis. Read more.

 

A Smart Boot and Digital Monitoring Platform to Improve Wound Healing for Diabetic Foot Ulcer


Dr. David G. Armstrong of the University of Southern California has dedicated his career to caring for people’s feet. His Foundation-funded research focuses on helping patients better manage diabetic foot ulcers using digital health technologies to enhance limb preservation and reduce health disparities for disadvantaged populations. Learn more.

Meet the Researchers

Hear directly from our 2025 award recipients about their research and career paths.

Annalisa Ferrotta: Understanding Glioblastoma Treatment Failures and Evaluating New Options

Tim Lai: Leveraging Real-World Data and Patient Preferences to Improve Depression Treatment

Dr. Yu-Hsiang Chen: Tracking Residual Cancer Cells After Treatment to Prevent Relapse

Dr. Lisa Volpatti: Turning Bad Cholesterol Into a Good Drug Delivery Vehicle

Awardee Publications

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

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

**Epigenetic regulation of chromosomal instability by EZH2 methyltransferase, Cancer Discovery

Albert Agustinus, PhD (PhF21), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

**Physiologically informed in vitro framework reveals context-dependent combinatory activity of niclosamide-colistin against Gram-negative bacteria, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Ashlee Brunaugh, PhD (PhF23), University of Michigan

Large-scale transcriptome mining enables macrocyclic diversification and improved bioactivity of the stephanotic acid scaffold, Nature Communications

Desnor Chigumba, PhD (PhF21), University of Michigan

Frailty Phenotype State Transitions Among Older Adults with a History of Cancer and Diabetes, BMC Geriatrics

Emilie Duchesneau, PhD (PhF24), Wake Forest University

**Development of Novel Neratinib and Docetaxel Core-Loaded and Trastuzumab Surface-Conjugated Nanoparticle for Treatment of HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer, Pharmaceutics

Victor Ejigah, PhD (PhF22), Howard University

**A Lipid Prodrug Strategy Enhances Targeted Protein Degrader CNS Pharmacokinetics, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Fleur Ferguson, PhD (PhF22), University of California, San Diego

Updates on Tau-Related Drug Targets and Potential Disease-Modifying Therapies for Alzheimer's Disease, American Journal of Pathology

Jessica Fortin, DVM, PhD (PhF21), Purdue University


In Vitro Evaluation of Amide-Linked Coumarin Scaffolds for the Inhibition of α‑Synuclein and Tau Aggregation, ACS Omega

Jessica Fortin, DVM, PhD (PhF21), Purdue University

**The Microbial Bile Acid Metabolite 3-oxo-LCA Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Progression, Cancer Research

Ting Fu, PhD (PhF24), University of Wisconsin–Madison

**A soft–stiff patterned bioengineering model reveals kinase pathways driving directional cell migration in pulmonary arterial hypertension, Biomaterials Science

Tamanna Islam (PhF24), University of Utah


Microfluidic captured patient-derived circulating endothelial cells identify novel targets of pulmonary arterial hypertension, Biomaterials

Tamanna Islam (PhF24), University of Utah


Durotaxis is a driver and potential therapeutic target in lung fibrosis and metastatic pancreatic cancer, Nature Cell Biology

Tamanna Islam (PhF24), University of Utah

**Potentiating cancer immunotherapies with modular albumin-hitchhiking nanobody–STING agonist conjugates, Nature Biomedical Engineering

Blaise Kimmell, PhD (PhF22), The Ohio State University

**The particle drifting effect in vivo: impact of dose and animal species, International Journal of Pharmaceutics

Na Li, PhD (PhF22), University of Connecticut


Mass transport analysis of the particle drifting effect in a biphasic diffusion apparatus, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Na Li, PhD (PhF22), University of Connecticut

Advances in metal-organic frameworks for cardiovascular therapy: from structural design to preclinical applications, Coordination Chemistry Reviews

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

**A sphingolipid-derived paclitaxel nanovesicle enhances efficacy of combination therapies in triple-negative breast cancer and pancreatic cancer, Nature Cancer

Jianqin Lu, PhD (PhF22), University of Arizona

**The role of efferocytosis in ischemic stroke and insights from retinopathy, Trends in Neurosciences

Carol Morris (PhF24), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

**Antigen-Fc fusion therapy reduces severity of a model of pemphigus vulgaris without systemic immunosuppression, Science Translational Medicine

Ali Nili, MD (PhF24), Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Recent advances in the application of polymeric nanoparticles to the pulmonary delivery of mRNA, Nanomedicine

Alexandra Piotrowski-Daspit, PhD (PhF24), University of Michigan

CellPhenoX: An Explainable Machine Learning Method for Identifying Cell Phenotypes To Predict Clinical Outcomes from Single-Cell Multi-Omics, Advanced Science

Fan Zhang, PhD (PhF22), University of Colorado

Awardee News

David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD (PhF24) of the University of Southern California gave the keynote address at the Mexican Wound Healing Society meeting this month, sharing work supported by his Foundation grant.

David Barthold, PhD (PhF21) of the University of Washington gave a research presentation titled "Modifiable risk factors for dementia: potential for prevention" at the annual meeting of the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Health Advisers in September.

Emilie Duchesneau, PhD (PhF24) of Wake Forest University and her team presented two posters about her Foundation-funded research at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) in August in Washington, DC.

Claire Fleming, MS (PhF25) of the University of Virginia was selected for an NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship. She was also awarded for her poster presentation at the Lung Development, Injury & Repair Gordon Research Conference.

Tamanna Islam, MSc (PhF24) of the University of Utah will give a podium presentation about her Foundation-funded work “Bioengineered Approach to Study Cell-specific Durotaxis in Lung Fibrosis and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” at BMES 2025 in San Diego this month.

Aakanksha Rajiv Kapoor (PhF23) of Weill Cornell Medicine gave a short talk on her Foundation-funded work at Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy by the New York Academy of Sciences in June.

Ariel Leyte-Vidal (PhF25) of the University of Miami will give an oral presentation on her Foundation-funded work this month at the ESH-iCMLf 27th Annual John Goldman Conference on Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Biology and Therapy.

Na Li, PhD (PhF22) of the University of Connecticut received the 2025 Rising Star Scholarship Award from the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education.

Yongbin Liu, PhD (PhF23) of Houston Methodist Research Institute received his first R21 grant from NIH/NIAID. "I am truly grateful for the PhRMA Foundation’s support, which has been invaluable in helping me move forward in my research career," he said.

Piyusha Pagare, PhD (PhF23) of Virginia Commonwealth University received the Avenir Award in Chemistry and Pharmacology of Substance Use Disorders from NIH/NIDA. "This award was possible only due to the postdoctoral fellowship I received from the Foundation," she said.

Stephanie Zawada, PhD (PhF23) of Mayo Clinic was selected as a 2025-26 Congressional Fellow for Health and Aging Policy by the American Political Science Association.

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