The Ohio State University College of Medicine’s Office of Physician Scientist Education and Training recently bestowed the annual 2026 Research Innovation Career Development Award (RICDA) to Angela Collins, MD, PhD, assistant clinical professor of Orthopaedics; Kevin Ho, MD, assistant clinical professor of Internal Medicine; Nancy Lundin, PhD, assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health; John Odackal, MD, assistant clinical professor of Internal Medicine in the Ohio State College of Medicine; and Arjun Mittra, MD, associate professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).
The award includes $75,000 that each recipient can use to create critical support as they individually delve into research-protected time to maintain momentum of these ongoing scientific investigations:
- Dr. Collins: “Age-Modified Neuroimmune and Clinical Responses to Transverse Bone Transport for Limb Salvage.”
- Dr. Ho: “Evaluating Biomarkers for Lung Injury Following Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy.”
- Dr. Lundin: “Identifying Mechanisms of Thought Disorder in Psychosis With Semantic Foraging Models.”
- Dr. Mittra: “A Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Bidirectional Chemotherapy in Patients With Colorectal Cancer and Peritoneal Metastasis.”
- Dr. Odackal: “A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Early Access to Sarcoidosis Specialty Care.”
Those in leadership roles at the college are all committed to strengthening the physician-scientist educational program, in order to retain and increase the number of physician-scientists/researchers working in the United States.
The next call for applications for the RICDA will be in the early spring of 2027, and information will be posted on the Physician Scientist Education & Training page. You can also email casey.henceroth@osumc.edu for more information. Congratulations to this year’s winners.
