Jacqueline B. Tiley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She obtained her MSc in Pharmacy and PhD from the University of Basel in Switzerland. Dr. Tiley completed her postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research program focuses on disease- and drug-mediated alterations in hepatic and placental transport proteins and its impact on drug disposition and toxicity.

Dr. Joanne Wang is a Professor of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in Seattle. She earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on membrane transporters and their roles in xenobiotic and nutrient disposition, pharmacokinetics, and drug-induced toxicity. Her current work examines placental transporters in fetal nutrient uptake and drug exposure and applies systems pharmacology and PBPK modeling to predict transporter-mediated drug exposure during pregnancy and lactation.

Dr. Samuel Arnold joined the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor in 2023, and his research predominantly focuses on characterizing exposure-response relationships for therapeutic treatment of infectious diarrhea. This work includes the development of novel in vitro and in vivo models for enteric pathogens such as Shigella and clinical pharmacology support for clinical trials investigating novel treatments for enteric infections. In addition to his work on enteric infections, Dr. Arnold is the director of the Bioanalysis and Pharmacokinetics Lab at the University of Washington. This lab supports a variety of internal and external projects using mass spectrometry to quantify small molecules and proteins in complex tissue samples.

Donglu earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry under Professor C. Dale Poulter at the University of Utah in 1990, studying the biosynthesis of archaebacterial membrane lipids. He continued his postdoctoral work at Utah, refining his skills in cloning and purification techniques, and then joined the FDA, where he first explored drug metabolism in microbial systems. Throughout his career, Donglu has combined scientific rigor with creativity, co-inventing mass defect filtering, a tool that revolutionized metabolite identification and has been widely adopted across mass spectrometry platforms.

Donglu’s achievements span decades and have had global impact. He was a key scientific lead in the development of Eliquis (apixaban), one of the top-selling drugs in the U.S., and contributed to the development of Polivy, an antibody-drug conjugate. His work on gemfibrozil glucuronide and atazanavir led the FDA to adopt these compounds as standard probes in clinical drug-drug interaction studies, directly shaping regulatory guidance. He has published more than 136 papers, authored numerous book chapters, and holds patents that have advanced the science of drug metabolism.

At both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech, Donglu has been recognized for his ability to bridge discovery and development. He is known internationally for his expertise, invited as a keynote speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Drug Metabolism, and has inspired countless colleagues with his commitment to “Science without Borders.”

Chen Chen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics at Genentech, Inc. He earned his Ph.D. from the Tri-Institutional Chemical Biology program, a joint offering from Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and The Rockefeller University. His research focuses on the mechanistic understanding of drug clearance pathways, as well as nanoparticle drug assembly and tumor-targeted delivery.

Murali Subramanian is a director of research in DMPK at Gilead Sciences where he is a project leader and DMPK representative for multiple programs in discovery and development across several therapeutic areas. Prior to this, he worked in Janssen Pharmaceutica and Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb Research Center. He obtained his PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Iowa State University and was a postdoctoral and research fellow under Professor Timothy S Tracy and Professor Rory Remmel at the University of Minnesota. His interests lie in the mechanistic understanding and translation of DMPK and ADME principles.

Xinning Yang is a Policy Lead in Guidance & Policy team (GPT) under the Office of Clinical Pharmacology (OCP), CDER of FDA. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from University at Buffalo, mentored by Dr. Marilyn Morris. In the past, as a clinical pharmacology reviewer, he reviewed a number of IND/NDA submissions contributing to the benefit/risk assessment of neurology drug products. His current primary focus is guidance and policy development and implementation in various areas, focusing on drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and drug-drug interactions related Clinical Pharmacology issues. He is active in research and led or co-led multiple research projects funded internally. He served as the Chair of Transporter Scientific Interest Group of OCP from 2014 to 2015. He has received a number of individual and team awards from CDER which recognized his contribution to regulatory science and research. He is the Co-Chair of Transporter Focus Group of ISSX and a member of International Transporter Consortium (ITC) committee. He is participating in the International Council Harmonization (ICH) M12 DDI guidance working group. He has been an invited speaker for multiple conferences and workshops and organized symposia at several meetings.

Dr. Obach’s distinguished career at Pfizer Global Research and Development exemplifies the award’s spirit. Rising from Research Scientist to Vice President of Scientific Research, he has advanced global understanding of drug metabolism, enzyme kinetics, bioactivation, and drug-drug interactions. His work has profoundly influenced drug discovery and development, improving the prediction of human pharmacokinetics across therapeutic areas.

A prolific scientist, Dr. Obach has authored more than 240 publications, achieved an H-Index of 76, and garnered over 12,000 citations. His groundbreaking research and mentorship have earned him a global reputation as the “godfather of applied ADME sciences.

Dr. Obach’s contributions extend beyond research. A committed leader within ISSX, he has served as President (2022–2023), President-Elect (2020–2021), and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board (2016–2020), as well as a journal editor for Drug Metabolism and Disposition and Xenobiotica.

This year’s award marks a historic milestone, as Dr. Obach becomes the first industry scientist to receive the R.T. Williams Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award. His career stands as a testament to the excellence, innovation, and dedication that define the ISSX community.

Upendra Dahal is currently a Scientific Director in Pharmacokinetic and Drug Metabolism (PKDM) Department at Amgen. He represents PKDM in multi-disciplinary teams from discovery to development, oversees small molecule projects and outsourcing of ADME studies, and supervises scientists and PTRs. Proficient in designing in vitro and in vivo studies to characterize/understand PKDM properties of the drug candidates, provides recommendations to the teams to design better compounds with minimal metabolic and DDI liabilities. Leading the biotransformation group for small molecule drugs, Upendra reviews data, monitors studies, and addresses PKDM challenges to mitigate risks. His role involves preparing as well as reviewing regulatory documents for IND and NDA submissions. Previously worked at Celgene and Pfizer, Upendra boasts diverse research interests, evidenced by a strong track record of peer-reviewed publications across various domains. Upendra received his PhD focusing on enzyme kinetics and drug metabolism from Washington State University under supervision of Prof. Jeff Jones.

Xin Chen, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Translational Medicine, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Basic Pharmacy from China Pharmaceutical University (CPU) in 2019 and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Washington (UW) in 2025. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on pregnancy pharmacology, drug transporters, cannabinoids, and quantitative modeling and simulation. He has authored nine peer-reviewed publications, including five as first author, and has received several fellowships and awards during his graduate training.

Aditya (Adi) R. Kumar, Ph.D., is a Principal Scientist at Genentech. He earned his B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Washington in 2017 and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Washington in 2023, under the mentorship of Dr. Jashvant Unadkat. His research expertise lies in DMPK, specifically in leading IND-enabling strategies and translational modeling to inform drug discovery and development. His work focuses on uncovering mechanistic drivers of pharmacokinetic processes, including the use of PBPK modeling to predict human efficacious doses and assess clinical liabilities. He has also conducted extensive research into pregnancy pharmacokinetics, cannabinoid disposition, and tumor microenvironment modeling. He has authored nine publications in journals such as Nature Communications and Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Jashvant (Jash) Unadkat, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Dept. of Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle.   He received his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) from the University of London (1977), his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester and his postdoctoral training at the University of California at San Francisco.  He held the Milo Gibaldi Endowed Professorship in the Department from 2016-21. Dr. Unadkat’s research interests are on mechanisms of transport and metabolism of drugs during pregnancy, and transport of drugs across the placental, hepatic, intestinal and blood-brain barrier.  Dr. Unadkat has published more than 250 peer-reviewed research papers.  He is a fellow of AAAS, AAPS, JSSX, and the founding co-chair (1999-2001) of the focus group of AAPS on Drug Transport and Uptake.  Dr. Unadkat received the AAPS Research Achievement Award in 2012 and the ISSX Scientific Achievement Award in 2023.  Dr.  Unadkat created and led the UW Research Affiliates Program on Transporters (UWRAPT), a cooperative effort between the UW School of Pharmacy and pharmaceutical companies, for 10 years. He also leads UWPKDAP, a NIDA funded Program Project grant (P01) on drug disposition during pregnancy and co-leads UW Transporter Elucidation Center (https://depts.washington.edu/uwtec/) funded by NICHD to identify and characterize novel transporters in the placenta and the developing intestine.  Dr. Unadkat has been an Associate Editor for the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, an Editor of AAPS Journal, and a member of the NIH Pharmacology study section (2000-3).  Dr. Unadkat has organized or co-organized numerous national and international conferences on the role of transporters and pregnancy in the disposition of drugs.   

With over 25 years of experience in drug metabolism, Tashinga graduated with a BSc (Hons) Biochemistry and DPhil from the University of Zimbabwe followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at AstraZeneca, Sweden and research associateship at the Cancer Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. He is currently senior scientist in the Oncology DMPK Department at AstraZeneca Cambridge, UK and his role focuses on contributing to a deep understanding of the metabolism and disposition of the AstraZeneca oncology small molecule portfolio and some of this work is exemplified by the publications: Drug Metab Dispos 51:892–901, 2023 and Drug Metab Dispos 46:1268-1276, 2018.

Udoamaka (Amaka) Ezuruike is a Senior PBPK Consultant in the Consultancy team at Certara UK (Simcyp Division). She obtained a Pharmacy degree from the University of Benin in Nigeria, an MSc in Pharmacology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the School of Pharmacy, University College London for her research investigating pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions amongst diabetic patients. She joined Simcyp in 2015 after completing her PhD and has been involved in the expansion of the capabilities of the Simcyp simulator, including the development and verification of population files and small molecule compound files, and the prediction of clinical drug-drug interactions.  She currently works directly with clients to develop and apply PBPK models to particular projects of interest.

Yuichi Sugiyama has been serving as Special Professor Emeritus at Josai International University since April 1, 2021. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Tokyo in 1978. After retiring from the University of Tokyo in 2012, he continued his research as the head of the Sugiyama Laboratory at the RIKEN Innovation Center.

Dr. Sugiyama’s pioneering work in physiologically based pharmacokinetics has significantly advanced quantitative in vitro–in vivo extrapolation, particularly in developing predictive models for drug clearance and the extent of drug-drug interactions in humans. His research on membrane transporters—including their functional and kinetic characterization and the influence of genetic variations—has been fundamental to understanding their role in drug disposition.

He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Award in 2003, the Host-Madsen Gold Medal from the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) in 2009, the B.B. Brodie Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) in 2012, the R.T. Williams Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from ISSX in 2013, the Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Award from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) in 2014, and The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Government of Japan in 2020.

In addition to his scientific contributions, Dr. Sugiyama has held key leadership roles, including Chair of the Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPS) of FIP, and President of both the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX) and the Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (JSSX), where he has actively promoted global research in drug metabolism, disposition, and transporters.

Hiroyuki Kusuhara received his BSc, MSc and PhD (Pharmaceutical Sciences) from the University of Tokyo (Japan). Hiroyuki started his carrier as an academic scientist in The University of Tokyo as Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (1998). He was promoted to Associate Professor (2004) and Professor (2012) of Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo. He is currently professor and chair of Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacokinetics at Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Hiroyuki’s major research interests encompass interindividual variability in human drug disposition, specifically focusing on the identification of drug transporters involved in tissue distribution and clearance, pharmacokinetics, modeling and simulation, in vitro-in vivo extrapolation, and drug-drug interactions, including biomarker studies. Currently, he is also investigating the mechanisms underlying drug-induced gut toxicity using intestinal crypt-derived cells. He is the author of 276 research papers in these areas.

 Hiroyuki has experience as Council and Director in Japanese societies; JSSX Council (2004-present), Director (2014-2017, 2021-2022), Vice-president (2023-present, President-elect); APSTJ Council (2010-present), Director (2017-2018), Vice-president (2021-2023), President (2024-present). Editorial Board membership: Drug Metabolism & Disposition; Biopharmaceutics and Drug Disposition. Society membership: ISSX, AAPS, ASPET and Japanese Societies; JSCPT, APSTJ, JPS, JSDDS. International Society: ISSX since 2013 Scientific Affairs Committee (2014-2016), and Nominations Committee (2014-2016, 2021-present). 

Dr. Bhagwat Prasad serves as Division Director of Translational and Clinical Pharmacology Cincinnati Children's and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati. Previously, Dr. Prasad was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University (WSU) in Spokane, WA. Prior to WSU, Dr. Prasad was an assistant professor at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle and was affiliated with the UW research affiliate program on transporters (UWRAPT) as a co-director. Dr. Prasad has published 75 peer-reviewed articles and 100 conference abstracts and delivered over 60 invited talks at various conferences such as ASPET (EB), ISSX, and ACCP. Dr. Prasad is the recipient of 2018 ISSX North American New Investigator Award. Dr. Prasad's work was selected for the Early Career Faculty Showcase at the 2018 ASPET meeting. Dr. Prasad also serves as a Secretary of the Drug Metabolism and Disposition Division of ASPET. He co-organized 2018 ISSX workshop on quantitative proteomics and was a member of organizing committee for the 12th international ISSX meeting, 2019 held in Portland, OR. Dr. Prasad is a member of editorial board of Drug Metabolism and Disposition. Dr. Prasad obtained his MS in 2006 and Ph.D. in 2010 in Pharmaceutical Sciences from NIPER, Mohali, India and he was a postdoc in the UW Seattle from 2011-2014.

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and Biochemistry (2016) and a Master’s (2018) and Ph.D. (2022) in Sciences from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. During my graduate training, I completed research traineeships at Leiden University (Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, the Netherlands) in 2018 and at the University of Washington (Department of Pharmaceutics, Seattle, USA) in 2022, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington (2022–2024). I am currently a faculty member in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of São Paulo (FCF-USP). My work focuses on Pharmacotherapy and Clinical Pharmacology, with emphasis on pharmacokinetics, pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK–PD) relationships, and drug–disease interactions.

Dr. Reiya Yamashita is an Assistant Professor in the faculty pharmacy, Kanazawa University. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Kanazawa University in 2025 under the supervision of Prof. Kato. His research focuses on pharmacokinetics and neuropharmacology, particularly on ergothioneine (ERGO)—a food-derived compound that reaches the brain via its membrane transporter OCTN1—and examines actions of ERGO in OCTN1-expressing brain cells, including neural stem cells and microglia.

Dr. Saki Noguchi is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmaceutics at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University. Her research focuses on pharmacokinetics, specifically the role of transporters in drug and endogenous metabolite disposition across key biological barriers like the placenta, blood-brain barrier, and renal proximal tubules. She earned her BS from Keio University and worked as a hospital pharmacist for one year before returning to complete her Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Masatoshi Tomi and Professor Emi Nakashima. She has been an assistant professor in Professor Tomi's laboratory since 2017. Currently, she is one of the Caretakers for the Transporter Director’s Initiative Session (DIS) of the Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (JSSX).

Dr. Yukio Kato graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and received a Ph.D. in 1998. He was appointed Research Associate at the University of Tokyo in 1993, Visiting Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, the USA in 2001, Associate Professor at Kanazawa University in 2002, and Full Professor at Kanazawa University in 2008 (Department of Molecular Pharmacotherapeutics). He has also been assigned as a Chair of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Kanazawa University in 2022 and President of JSSX (The Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics) in 2023. His major research interests are pharmacokinetics and mathematical modeling of drug disposition, transporter-mediated drug efficacy/toxicity, and prophylactic pharmacology focusing on neurogenesis and brain cognitive function. He published 234 original research articles including 6 Nature journal series papers and 20 review articles.