Jennifer Le, Pharm.D., BCPS-ID, Assistant Professor, UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, attended the FIT Program in 2008. Her project, titled “Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamics of Antimicrobials in Resistant Infections,” was recently awarded a K23 grant from the NIAID over 5 years. The purpose of the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research (POR) Career Development Award (K23) is to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research. This mechanism provides support for 3–5 years of supervised study and research for clinically trained professionals who have the potential to develop into productive clinical investigators focused on patient-oriented research. Jennifer’s mentor team is Victor Nizet, M.D., Edmund Capparelli, Pharm.D., and John Bradley, M.D.

When contacted, Jennifer stated,

I’m so lucky to receive this award, as this is my first time ever applying for NIH funding! My attendance at the FIT program 2 years ago really paid off. Thank you so much for continuing this informative, well-structured program that made me realize that funding success stems from hard work and support of great mentors and role models such as Drs. Courtney Fletcher and John Cleary. They were so helpful to me and even took the time to write support letters that I submitted along with my application. Keep up the great work!

Congratulations to Jennifer on her successful grantsmanship!