Maximizing access to science with Penn Medicine’s Donita Brady
Brady, the 2026 recipient of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science, shares her approach to creating opportunities for all.
2 min. read
In the 10 years since she joined Penn Medicine, Brady has not only successfully run her own research lab, where she leads a team studying what fuels cancer cells as part of the Abramson Cancer Center, but she has also devoted time to giving back, inspired by a pivotal program that kicked off her own career. As a fourth-year chemistry undergraduate, Brady enrolled in a summer fellows program to explore pharmacology as a discipline. “It was my first experience stepping into a lab environment,” she recalls. “I had no idea that research was something I could do as a career.”
Donita Brady (center), Harrison McCrea Dickson, M.D. and Clifford C. Baker, M.D. Presidential Professor.
(Image: Margo Reed)
At Penn Medicine, Brady established and leads the Office of Research Trainee Affairs, as well as multiple training programs for all levels, and has spearheaded efforts to make research recruitment more equitable.
Earlier this month, her commitment was recognized by her peers at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) as she was named the 2026 recipient of the ASBMB Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science. The award, named for the first woman to be appointed director of an institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), honors an outstanding scientist who has shown sustained commitment to breaking down local and/or systemic barriers against scientists and students from historically marginalized or excluded groups.
Several programs that Brady leads are focused on high school and undergraduate students, including the Abramson Cancer Center Summer Healthcare Experience (S/HE) in Oncology Program, for high school rising juniors and seniors, and the Summer Undergraduate Internship Program, an immersive 10-week research program. In the Recruitment Ambassadors Program, Penn faculty members and current trainees visit schools around the country to share insights into research and training opportunities at Penn and tips for succeeding in the application process. More than 350 students—including over 100 high schoolers and 250 undergraduates—have learned from Penn’s world-class scientists through these programs over the past five years.
Reaching this age group is important, Brady explains, because “we have a window of opportunity to lay the right foundation—one that nurtures scientific curiosity, sparks collaboration, and builds a lasting sense of community.” The programs for students who haven’t yet selected a career—or even a major—are designed to get the next generation excited about the scientific method and give them a glimpse of what it’s like to be a researcher.
“Experiments from a classroom textbook work exactly the way they’re supposed to. In the real world, research rarely does,” Brady says.
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