Christopher Wang, a second-year Pharm.D. candidate in the Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy (RASP) pathway at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, received the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Gateway to Research Scholarship.
Wang was presented the $5,000 award for his project, “Optimization of Naphthyl-Pyridine-based Inhibitors for the Right Open Reading Frame (Rio) Kinase 2.”
The primary goal of the Gateway to Research Scholarship program is to help students gain an understanding of the importance of research by enabling them to apply that knowledge to improve their clinical skills. This scholarship provides an opportunity for Pharm.D. and baccalaureate degree students to participate in a faculty-mentored research project. Wang’s faculty mentor is Bill Zuercher, Ph.D., in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
“With the research stipend offered by AFPE, I have the opportunity to expand my interest in pharmaceutical research. Without the encouragement of the faculty here at UNC, I would not have had the opportunity to apply for this research opportunity. I owe a big thank you to my RASP advisers, Dr. Craig Lee and Dr. Qisheng Zhang, for all of their support and help!”
About the achievement, Lee, director of the RASP program said, “This prestigious award from AFPE will have a major impact on Chris’s growth and development as a researcher and pharmacy professional.”