Pictured (left to right): Julius Tuekpe, Dr Carol Lim (Mentor), Braxton Hornsby, and Cassidy Steele

This year, Cassidy Steele, a pharmacy student from the University of Utah, was a 2025 ACCP Foundation Futures Grant Award recipient. This grant supports pharmacy research advancement, awarding up to $20,000 to selected student research proposals each year. Cassidy has always had an interest in molecular biology and has gained valuable exposure to pharmacogenomics through her internship. She is most interested in gene therapy, which is the focus of her research project. She is passionate and highly motivated in this area, attending monthly meetings to learn more about gene therapy and gene therapy safety. In her free time, Cassidy enjoys quilting and playing video games. She has lived in Utah her entire life and loves the mountains and exploring outdoors. Congratulations to Cassidy and her team on receiving the 2025 ACCP Foundation Futures Grant. We look forward to seeing all they accomplish.

Describe your research project and how the award will affect it.

• My research focuses on a novel gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma called p53-Bad*. The project has 2 main goals: confirming its mechanism of action and evaluating targeted delivery strategies. I was thrilled by the opportunity to work on such an innovative project, but my college offered limited funding, and the type of laboratory work I wanted to do could be expensive. Receiving this award is truly the reason this research is possible! It removed the financial barrier and allowed me to fully pursue the project. Hopefully, this project will contribute to a therapy that will continue to clinical trials and ultimately have a real impact on patient health.

How did you get in contact with your pharmacist mentor/how did you get introduced to your research topic?

• When I first considered starting a research project, I read through the publications of faculty I thought I’d be interested in working with. Then, I sent a couple of different faculty members emails to set up meetings and discuss what it would look like if I were to do a project with them. I ended up emailing my current mentor and asking if we could meet. She invited me to attend a laboratory meeting with her and her PhD students, and it was clear almost immediately that I would fit right in with them as a group. That initial connection laid the foundation for amazing mentorship and friendships. This definitely required some initiative on my part, but it has been well worth it!

What did the application process for this award look like and how did you approach it?

• I spent months working on this application. At one point, I even had a dream about editing a figure in the application. I created an initial draft and then went through several rounds of revisions with my mentor. Her feedback helped me strengthen every part of it. It was a thorough process and invaluable in helping me understand all the considerations and effort that go into designing a research project.

What advice do you have for students wanting to get involved in research?

• I’d offer 3 pieces of advice to students looking to get involved in research. (1) Meet with multiple potential mentors and the research teams to decide who you would be interested in working with. The dynamic you have with your mentor and your team will have a massive impact on your experience and your success. (2) Figure out what works for you to ensure that you are managing your time effectively. Time management is already difficult as a student, so you really have to find a system that works for you to also add research to your schedule. (3) Embrace the challenges! If you’re doing research, things will go wrong, and things will fail. Troubleshooting can be frustrating (seriously, SO FRUSTRATING), but it’s such a valuable skill. There’s no better way to learn than by trying, failing, troubleshooting, and trying again.

Do you have any other advice for pharmacy students?

• Stay curious, stay determined, and trust that all the effort truly adds up. You’re doing great!

If you are interested in learning more about the ACCP Foundation Futures Grant, visit https://www.accpfoundation.org/futures/. Applications opened on May 15 and are due September 1, 2026.