Dr. Reena Kartha named a winner of NIH-NCATS Translational Sciences Challenge Competition

Dr. Reena Kartha, associate professor in the Department of Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology, is a 2025 winner of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Translational Science Education and Training Challenge. Kartha’s submission, entitled “Rare Diseases: What It Takes to Be a Medical Orphan,” is one of four to receive this recognition this year. This award recognizes innovative educational opportunities that increase awareness of translational science and its broad applicability across disease conditions and research programs.

According to the NCATS website, “participants will have already designed and implemented exemplary translational science education and training opportunities. These may take any form, including but not restricted to courses, workshops, seminar series, consulting, coaching, certificate programs, and badging programs.”

Kartha says the course she submitted is, “designed to deliver experiential learning by partnering with the rare disease community, for whose collaborations I am grateful.”

“This national recognition is deeply meaningful, and I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for the tremendous support I continue to receive from the College of Pharmacy, the Department of Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology, and the Center for Orphan Drug Research,” said Kartha. “Their encouragement and the environment they foster have made it possible for me to reach this milestone and to serve as an ambassador for the college at the national level.”

Kartha adds that recognition of the undergraduate course she developed, “reinforces the importance of the work we are doing in rare disease education and outreach.”