PhD student receives ASCPT Presidential Trainee Award

ASCPT’s Presidential Trainee Awards recognize scholars with the highest‑scoring abstracts, as selected by the ASCPT Scientific Program Committee. This year’s honorees were recognized during the ASCPT 2026 Annual Meeting, held March 4-6 in Denver, CO.

Kumar earned the award for her research poster, 'A Translational PBPK Model for LNP-Mediated Delivery of mRNA Expressing Therapeutic Antibodies,’ developed under the mentorship of Dhaval Shah, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences. The project generated novel preclinical pharmacokinetic (PK) data to examine the dose-exposure-response relationship of mRNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) expressing monoclonal antibodies in vivo. Her research revealed nonlinear behavior across dose levels, leading the team to develop a novel LNP-mRNA-expressed protein physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to characterize the multidose level data. This comprehensive model enables mechanistic understanding of mRNA LNP disposition and was successfully translated to humans, where it was validated using published Phase 1 clinical data.

To the best of the team’s knowledge, this work represents the first comprehensive translational PBPK model for mRNA LNPs, providing a critical step toward improving dose selection and clinical translation of mRNA-based therapies.

Kumar was recognized at the Presidential Trainee Showcase on March 4, where she received a $500 prize, a commemorative plaque and complimentary conference registration.

“This award is incredibly motivating and reinforces my passion for translational modeling,” says Kumar. “It also encourages me to continue developing innovative approaches that can help bridge preclinical findings to clinical applications.”

In addition to the Presidential Trainee Award, Kumar received top poster ribbons for two research posters, 'A Translational PBPK Model for LNP-Mediated Delivery of mRNA Expressing Therapeutic Antibodies,’ and ‘Development of a Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Monoclonal Antibodies in Pediatrics: Mechanistic Insights into Age-Dependent Pharmacokinetics.'

Kumar shared her appreciation for the support she received throughout her work. “I am grateful to Dr. Shah for his mentorship, insight and approach to problem-solving, constantly pushing us to think smarter,” she says. “I am also very grateful to my lab colleagues Aneesh Rajwade and Rutuja Kulkarni who tirelessly helped me during my in-vivo mice study.”