UMSOP Researchers Recognized with MPower Early Scholar Awards

Honorees represent diverse research areas across the School.

By Pam Carder
May 6, 2026

Photos: Daniel Deredge, Jason Sung, Kieran Johnson, Natalya Brown, and Phuong Tran.

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An additional five University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students have received University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State Early Scholars Investment Fund Awards, bringing the School’s total number of awardees in 2026 to seven.

In its first two rounds of funding in 2026, MPower has awarded nearly $1.3 million to 29 early-career researchers across the University of Maryland, Baltimore, supporting scholars whose work was impacted by cuts to federal research funding.

Among the UMSOP awardees are investigators working at the intersection of basic science, drug development, and clinical impact. Their projects span antiviral discovery, immunotherapy, antimicrobial resistance, and mental health – underscoring the range of challenges being addressed within UMSOP research.

One of the recipients, Daniel Deredge, PhD, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences (PSC), studies how proteins change shape and how those structural shifts can be leveraged to treat disease. His research integrates advanced laboratory techniques with computational tools, including machine learning, to better understand protein behavior and identify drug targets such as a key protein used by the dengue virus.

“MPower’s support allows us to push the boundaries of how we study protein dynamics while accelerating the search for new antiviral therapies,” Deredge said. “By combining advanced analytical techniques with computational approaches, we hope to uncover new strategies to target challenging viral proteins.”

Building on similar translational goals, Jason Junsik Sung, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in PSC, is developing nanoparticle-based therapies to treat severe inflammatory diseases such as sepsis. His work focuses on engineering bioactive and biomimetic systems designed to improve immune regulation and drug delivery.

“MPower’s funding is incredibly meaningful at a pivotal stage in my career,” Sung said. “It allows me to sustain momentum in a research program focused on developing innovative therapies while building the foundation for research independence.”

While some projects focus on novel therapeutic platforms, others target urgent public health threats such as antibiotic resistance. Kieran Johnson, a PhD in PSC student, is studying new treatments for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a drug-resistant pathogen that presents serious risks in hospital settings.

“We are very grateful for the funding the MPower award has provided us as it will allow us to continue this crucial work during a time when research funding has been heavily impacted,” Johnson said.

Similarly focused on addressing antimicrobial resistance, Natalya Brown, another PhD in PSC student, is developing a “Trojan horse” strategy to deliver antibacterial agents directly into Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells, with the goal of improving treatment effectiveness while limiting resistance development.

“Receiving the MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund Award is both an honor and a meaningful source of support,” Brown said. “It helps alleviate financial barriers and provides stability as I continue my academic training.”

Phuong Tran, a PhD student in pharmaceutical health services research (PHSR), is working to improve mental health outcomes among young people. Her research examines antidepressant dosing strategies aimed at reducing suicide risk among children and adolescents with depression using large-scale data and advanced analytical methods.

“I am so happy and deeply grateful to be selected as a recipient of the MPower Early Scholar Award,” Tran said. “This support allows me to focus on my dissertation and is a significant help as an early-career scholar.”

Across UMB, 15 graduate student awards were distributed across five schools totaling $487,500, along with four postdoctoral fellow awards totaling $300,000 and 10 junior faculty awards totaling $500,000.

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