Each month, the editors of three of the ASPET journals choose their Highlighted Trainee Authors. These early-career scientists are recognized for their innovative research published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Drug Metabolism and Disposition, and Molecular Pharmacology. This feature showcases selected young scientists, demonstrates what drives them, and reveals why pharmacology is important to them. This month we are featuring the May 2026 Highlighted Trainee Author.
Yue (Winnie) Wen
The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
“I have always been interested in how theories and experimental data can be translated into improvements in human health. Over time, I became especially drawn to pharmacokinetics because it sits at the intersection of medicine, mathematics, and statistics,” says Winnie Wen, a 4th-year PhD candidate in the Isoherranen lab at the University of Washington. At this stage in her PhD training, she is continuing to build expertise in both experimental and computational approaches to understand drug disposition while preparing for a future career in the pharmaceutical industry. She credits her advisor, Dr. Nina Isoherranen, as an influence on her academic and professional development.
Wen’s published research, “Development of physiologically based liver distribution model that incorporates intracellular lipid partitioning and binding to fatty acid binding protein 1,” focuses on understanding how highly abundant lipid binding proteins inside cells can influence drug exposure. This mechanism is important because it affects overall prediction of the volume of distribution of a given drug. “By considering intracellular protein binding and incorporating the mechanism into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model, I hope my work can help improve the prediction accuracy of drug tissue distribution kinetics,” she shares. Ultimately, Wen wishes this research will help predict target tissue drug exposure, support drug development, and improve therapies for patients.
Uncovering mechanisms that may explain gaps in the current understanding of drug distribution has been the most exciting and rewarding part of the research process for Wen. “More broadly, it is very fulfilling to contribute to research that has the potential to improve how drugs are studied, and ultimately to make a meaningful impact on drug development and patient care.”
Wen’s long-term goal is to build a career in the pharmaceutical industry, where she can contribute to drug development through translational research and quantitative modeling. In the future, Wen would like to continue working on research questions related to drug disposition and interindividual variability, help improve the safety and efficacy profiles and drugs.
For Wen, being published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics is an honor and responsibility. It reflects the quality of the research and also provides an opportunity for her to share findings with a scientific community that is deeply committed to advancing pharmacology. It is especially rewarding to know that her work can contribute to ongoing discussions and future discoveries in the field.