AAPS Announces 2023 Awards Recipients

Awards Program Recognizes Research and Leadership in Pharmaceutical Science

Arlington, VA—AAPS is proud to congratulate the recipients of the 2023 Awards Program. AAPS Awards celebrate scientists who are role models in the pharmaceutical science community. Each year, scientists volunteering through the AAPS Awards Committee review nomination submissions and select individuals whose scholarship, leadership, and service exemplify the highest personal and professional achievement.

“We are delighted to unveil the distinguished recipients of this year's AAPS Awards, whose exceptional contributions have brought about a transformative impact in the pharmaceutical community. Their unwavering dedication to advancing pharmaceutical academia, research, industry, and regulatory fields has set unprecedented standards of excellence in healthcare,” AAPS 2023 Awards Committee Chair and Regents Professor and Director at Texas A&M University School of Medicine Doodipala Samba Reddy, PhD, R.Ph., FAAPS, said. “These exceptional individuals embody the spirit of ingenuity, marked by groundbreaking discoveries and revolutionary innovations that have significantly influenced patient care and the development of new drugs and products.

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to this year’s awards recipients and wish them continued success in their endeavors to further advance our thriving pharmaceutical community.”

The 2023 AAPS Awards recipients are listed below.

Distinguished Scientist Award

Mansoor Khan, R.Ph., PhD, FAAPS, Regents Professor, Vice Dean, and Director of the Formulations Design and Development Core Laboratory at the Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University, is recognized for his wide-ranging and international impact on the pharmaceutical sciences. His work is broad, spanning education, R&D, and other areas. He also works closely with regulatory authorities. “You find his fingerprints everywhere,” one Awards Committee member said.

Global Leader Award

Allen Templeton, PhD, FAAPS, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply, Merck Research Laboratories, is recognized for the international impact of his science, and the bridge he has formed by his work in industry and instruction in academia. According to one of his nominations, Dr. Templeton’s “impact on human health in developing numerous lifesaving medicines, his significant service and leadership roles in the profession, and his demonstrable contributions toward global outreach make him fully qualified of receiving the AAPS Global Leader Award. Dr. Templeton is a global leader by every definition.”

Distinguished Service Award

Vivian Gray is recognized for her long history of service to AAPS, which includes assisting in the development of several programs such as the AAPS course, “Dissolution of Solid Oral Dosage Forms” and leading the formation of the AAPS In Vitro Release and Dissolution Testing (IVRDT) Community.

Emerging Leader Award

Raman Bahal, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Connecticut, is described as a “rising star” in the pharmaceutical sciences community, receiving tenure at the University of Connecticut after only 4 years. NOVEMBER 2023 271 www.dissolutiontech.com “Dr. Bahal is an exceptionally gifted organic chemist with particular skill in synthesizing peptides and nucleic acid analogs,” wrote one supporter in a nomination. “He is a leader in nucleic acid-based chemistry and its delivery strategies. He has a reputation, both nationally and internationally, as an outstanding pharmaceutical chemist.”

Outstanding Manuscript Awards

“Cancer Immunotherapy Update: FDA-Approved Checkpoint Inhibitors and Companion Diagnostics,” AAPS Journal, Julianne D. Twomey, PhD, and Baolin Zhang, PhD “Polyvinyl Alcohol/Chitosan Single-Layered and Polyvinyl Alcohol/Chitosan/Eudragit RL100 Multi-layered Electrospun Nanofibers as an Ocular Matrix for the Controlled Release of Ofloxacin: an In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation,” AAPS PharmSciTech, Shahla Mirzaeei, PhD, Shiva Taghe, PhD, Kofi Asare-Addo, PhD, and Ali Nokhodchi, PhD “Molecular, Solid-State and Surface Structures of the Conformational Polymorphic Forms of Ritonavir in Relation to their Physicochemical Properties,” Pharmaceutical Research, Chang Wang, PhD., Ian Rosbottom, PhD, Thomas D. Turner, PhD, Sydney Laing, Andrew G. P. Maloney, PhD, Ahmad Y. Sheikh, PhD, Robert Docherty, PhD, Qiuxiang Yin, PhD, and Kevin J. Roberts.

Alice E. Till Advancement of Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences Recognition

Former AAPS President Diane J. Burgess, PhD, FAAPS, Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutics, University of Connecticut, is recognized for an extraordinary career as a scientist, both as a researcher who has authored many publications, and as a leader. She is a former president of both AAPS and the Controlled Release Society. Dr. Burgess is credited by her supporters with using her platform to develop both individual women and the organizations they work in, allowing her to train and mentor women as researchers, instructors, and leaders.

Student Chapter Awards

The University of Texas AAPS Student Chapter is recognized for making a significant impact on graduate student researchers at the school through numerous activities, including a welcome event, a Design of Experiments Workshop, a presentation by Dr. Kerry Empey of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, and several events with researchers from around the world. The University of Toronto AAPS Student Chapter is recognized for efforts to provide mentoring opportunities for students, as exemplified by the launch of the chapter’s first mentorship program. The program connected approximately ten graduate students and post-doctoral fellows with guidance and advice from alumni mentors currently working in either academia or industry.

Best Abstract Award

This year, 72 of the hundreds of poster abstracts submitted to PharmSci 360 before the early submission deadline were recognized with the Best Abstract Award. These posters will be presented by their authors at the 2023 PharmSci 360, Oct. 22-25, in Orlando, FL. Currently, early poster abstracts can be viewed in the PharmSci 360 program.

Best Poster Award

The most scientifically impactful posters that will be presented at PharmSci 360 will be announced in August.

Award recipients were recognized at the 2023 PharmSci 360 in Orlando, FL, on Oct. 22, at the Orange County Convention Center. For more information about this event, visit www.aaps.org/pharmsci360.