Meet Eric Gross, the Newest Member of ASPET’s Publications Committee
Eric R. Gross, MD, PhD, FASA, Associate Professor, University Tenure Line, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Eric Gross is a physician-scientist and practicing anesthesiologist within the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. He received his PhD in Pharmacology at the Medical College of Wisconsin focusing on the pharmacological effects of opioids on the cardiovascular system. At Stanford, Dr. Gross runs an NIH-funded research laboratory studying how aldehydes and aldehyde metabolism impact pain, organ injury, and in general human health. Dr. Gross is actively involved in JPET as an Associate Editor and as the JPET Editorial Fellowship Director. He noted that, “One of the earliest milestones in my scientific career was seeing some of my first research published in JPET. That moment helped shape my path as a scientist and makes my role on the ASPET Publications Committee especially meaningful.”
PhRMA Foundation and JPET Honor Early Career Scientists
Four recent papers, published as part of The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics’ Special Collection on The Pharmacology of Next Generation Therapeutics, were awarded Trainee Challenge Awards through a partnership with ASPET and the PhRMA Foundation. The authors of these papers will receive a $5,000 prize from the PhRMA Foundation, a 60-year-old nonprofit that supports early career researchers through grants and fellowships. We spoke with Amy M. Miller, PhD, President of the PhRMA Foundation, about the awards and the focus of the PhRMA Foundation in the future.
Can you discuss the philosophy behind the PhRMA Foundation’s Challenge Awards, and how “next generation therapeutics” furthers that philosophy?
The PhRMA Foundation launched its Challenge Award competitions in 2017 to encourage scientists to tackle pressing research questions and propose creative solutions that advance the Foundation’s vision: improving patient care through access to life-changing medicines. We’ve run nine competitions and awarded 36 papers on topics including innovative methods for evaluating the value of health interventions, new approaches for understanding health disparities and, most recently, the integration of artificial intelligence tools into research. Our 2025 Challenge Awards were specifically designed for trainees, with the goal of motivating them to work with mentors, develop strong research and writing skills, and engage with timely scientific questions.
Partnering with JPET for a Trainee Challenge Award felt like a natural next step in our long-standing relationship with ASPET. Our organizations share a deep commitment to supporting early-career investigators. In addition, the Foundation has funded pharmacology research for 60 years, so focusing this Challenge Award on “the pharmacology of next-generation therapeutics” aligned with our legacy. These emerging therapeutic modalities hold extraordinary promise for improving drug safety and efficacy, and this special call aimed to explore both the scientific hurdles and opportunities ahead.
Were there any trends of note among the submissions?
The papers in this special collection reflect a clear shift beyond traditional small-molecule drugs toward more precise and complex therapeutic modalities that blend chemistry, biology, and engineering. We saw work on targeted protein degraders like PROTACs, peptide and protein therapeutics, nucleic acid delivery systems, and extracellular vesicles.
Drug delivery emerged as a consistent challenge and opportunity. Several articles explored advances in nanosystems, from artificial nanoparticles to cell-derived microvesicles. Others focused on strategies to optimize the pharmacology of peptide and protein therapeutics for clinical use. We also read strong disease-focused papers applying these emerging modalities to major health burdens, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and rare inflammatory disorders.
The PhRMA Foundation’s grantmaking focuses on research that reflects the evolving therapeutic landscape and interests of the biopharmaceutical industry. How do these papers address that?
The Foundation adapts its grantmaking activities to align with the changing therapeutic landscape and to foster the development of research skills in areas important to the biopharmaceutical industry. This Trainee Challenge Award yielded a collection of papers that synthesize critical insights for researchers working to advance novel therapeutics in both industry and academia.
Because these awards specifically engage early-career scientists, they also help cultivate the next generation of researchers who may one day contribute directly to drug development. That’s a key part of our mission: preparing trainees to thrive as colleagues within industry, as external collaborators to industry, or as future academic leaders training industrial scientists.
Is the Foundation planning on doing more Trainee Challenge Awards in the future?
Yes, so stay tuned. These awards give us a unique way to support early-career scientists outside our traditional grants and fellowships. We also value collaborations with organizations like ASPET and scientific journals, which help us quickly shine a spotlight on emerging scientific questions that matter to industry and the broader research community.
What areas of research will the PhRMA Foundation turn toward in the next few years?
In the near term, we’ll continue to prioritize drug delivery, drug discovery, and translational medicine. Our scientific advisory committees, which include roughly equal representation from industry and academia, look for projects that are novel, innovative, and high-risk/high-reward. And just as importantly, they look for scientists who are curious, persistent, and bold, and who are building the skills needed to contribute meaningfully to the pharmaceutical ecosystem, wherever their careers take them.
As we look across this year’s Trainee Challenge Award submissions, it’s clear that early-career scientists are already helping to define the future of therapeutic innovation. Taken together, these papers underscore both the pace of change in our field and the opportunities ahead.
The PhRMA Foundation was created 60 years ago to support scientific excellence, and that mission feels more relevant than ever. We remain committed to empowering researchers who are willing to take chances, explore new modalities, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in drug development. By engaging trainees early, encouraging collaboration across sectors, and staying attuned to the evolving needs of industry and patients, we hope to continue playing a meaningful role in advancing the next generation of therapeutics and the next generation of scientists who will bring them to life.
Amy M. Miller, PhD, is President of the PhRMA Foundation, where she leads the strategic planning, fundraising, and recruitment of biopharmaceutical industry experts who comprise the award selection committees. Before joining the PhRMA Foundation, she served as President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a leading organization in promoting women’s health. Dr. Miller began her nonprofit leadership career at the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) where, as Executive Vice President, she helped the organization successfully advocate for the passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and lobbied for a variety of regulatory policies and Presidential initiatives. Prior to entering nonprofit management, Dr. Miller served as a Policy Analyst and scientific expert in the office of the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health within the National Institutes of Health. She also served as an AAAS legislative fellow and policy adviser to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), focused on welfare reform and domestic homeland security. She began her career as a researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Orleans and a PhD from the University of Connecticut.