This 60-minute session will feature lightning talks followed by an interactive panel discussion focused on sustaining the research pipeline by strengthening support for early- and mid-career investigators. Speakers will address the impact of recent federal policy changes on junior awardees, highlight effective support strategies in the current funding climate, and explore ways to build clearer pathways to additional funding mechanisms. The panel will actively engage attendees in identifying actionable approaches that funders, institutions, and organizations can adopt to mitigate challenges and support the next generation of researchers.

Moderator

• Kylie McPherson, PhD – Associate Director of Research, Misophonia Research Fund
  Dr. Kylie McPherson is a neuroscientist with a diverse research background spanning topics such as learning and memory, chronic pain, and sensory sensitivity. Dr. McPherson received her Doctorate of Neuroscience from The Vollum Institute at Oregon Health & Science University and her Bachelor’s of Biochemistry from Occidental College. Alongside her education, Dr. McPherson has been a patient advocate and medical writer for a research non-profit, contributing to various projects and initiatives since 2011.
  

Speakers

• Megan Allen, PhD – Scientific Director, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
  Damon Runyon is a non-profit organization that funds early career investigators so that they can pursue innovative cancer research. Megan joined the Foundation in 2022 and oversees the scientific award programs portfolio, research symposia, and STEM educational and outreach efforts. In addition, Megan designs regular evaluations to measure the impact and success of the organization’s eight distinct award programs. She also works with the Scientific Committee of the Board of Directors and senior staff to establish mission-driven goals and policies. Prior to Damon Runyon, Megan was the Assistant Director of Grants and Educational Programs and Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Megan received her BA from Temple University, Philadelphia, and earned her PhD in Cell and Molecular Neuroscience from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Following graduate school, she trained as a postdoctoral researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York.

• Tammy Collins, PhD – Program Officer, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  In 2022, Dr. Tammy Collins joined the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF), a nonprofit philanthropic organization whose mission is to nurture a diverse group of leaders in biomedical sciences to improve human health. At BWF, Dr. Collins serves as a Program Officer where she directs the Career Awards at the Scientific Interface (CASI) program and the Innovations in Regulatory Science Awards (IRSA). Prior to joining BWF, Dr. Tammy Collins served as Training Director at the National Institutes of Health | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH | NIEHS), where she was Chair-Elect of the NIH-wide Training Director’s Committee. Beyond providing professional development, Dr. Collins was also focused on making career outcomes of graduate and postdoctoral scholars transparent. To this end, she has published on the career outcomes of NIEHS postdoctoral scholars in Nature Biotechnology and has led a national collaboration as part of the Graduate Career Consortium to review career outcome classification and visualization methodologies in North America. She hopes the tools and resources developed will advance national and international efforts to report on graduate-level career outcomes, which will also help the community better understand factors that influence career decisions. Dr. Collins received her bachelor’s in chemistry from Appalachian State University (ASU), where she became ASU’s first Goldwater Scholar, and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University. After a brief postdoc at Duke, she joined NIEHS as a postdoc in 2009 where she developed her passion for helping foster scientific leaders.

• Beryl Leach, MPH – Manager for Scientific Programs, Foundation For Physical Therapy Research
  Beryl Leach is the Manager for Scientific Programs at the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research. She is responsible for the application, peer review, and post-award requirements and for the grant management processes for the Foundation’s competitive research grants, academic doctoral scholarships, and postdoctoral fellowship. She has decades of experience in strengthening research systems and research capacities and increasing evidence-based decision making and research evidence use in a number of countries in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was a Global Excellence and Stature Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Beryl has a MSc in International Public Health (Distinction) from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She has been a featured speaker, moderated panels, or facilitated workshops at more than 30 international conferences.

• Clare Thibodeaux, PhD – Vice President of Scientific Affairs, Cures Within Reach
  Clare Thibodeaux, PhD is the Vice President, Scientific Affairs with Cures Within Reach and has over 20 years of scientific research and philanthropic experience. Clare joined the Cures Within Reach team in November 2015, collaborating with a variety of repurposing stakeholders to catalyze repurposing research opportunities. Clare engages with key opinion leaders, research institution partners, industry representatives, and patient advocates from any disease areas globally to identify, centralize, and vet clinical repurposing research for funding. She is responsible for leading new scientific initiatives at Cures Within Reach, managing Cures Within Reach’s scientific grant outreach and review process, leading the Science Advisory Board, and developing educational events. Clare also serves as a grant/program reviewer for a variety of organizations, presents at numerous conferences and events, and was an Advisory Board member for the Critical Path Institute’s CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory. She has led various committees and boards through her previous volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. Clare has advocated with state and federal elected officials concerning cancer related issues and educated the general public through community outreach. Prior to her involvement in the biomedical field, Clare was a market research professional. She holds a PhD in Tumor Biology from Georgetown University and an MBA from George Mason University.