Workshop: Collaborative Research: The Future of Pharma Supply Chain: Addressing Real-World Challenges; Boston, Massachusetts; 27-29 May 2026

This grant provides funding for a workshop entitled The Future of Pharma Supply Chain: Addressing Real-World Challenges, being held in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, 27-29 May 2026. The goal of the workshop is the progress of science, advance national health and prosperity, and strengthen societal well-being by convening a three-day interdisciplinary workshop addressing the growing scientific and operational complexities of modern pharmaceutical supply chains. These supply chains are critical to national health and economic prosperity, but are increasingly strained by the need to support a diverse portfolio of products, from traditional small-molecule drugs to biologics and personalized therapies. Ensuring that these systems remain efficient, resilient, and responsive is essential for timely access to life-saving medications and sustaining the nation’s capacity for scientific and economic growth. The workshop will convene leading researchers in Operations Research (OR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chemical and Biological Engineering (CME), and Biomedical Engineering (BME), together with industry and regulatory stakeholders, to define the fundamental scientific challenges shaping pharmaceutical supply chains. Through structured dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, the workshop will generate an open-access research roadmap that connects scientific inquiry with real-world implementation. In doing so, it will contribute to the national interest by advancing scientific understanding, improving patient access to therapies, and supporting economic growth through stronger manufacturing and logistics capabilities. The technical goal of the workshop is to develop a forward-looking research roadmap that systematically links real-world pharmaceutical challenges with emerging analytical, computational, and engineering methods. The workshop is structured around five stages of the pharmaceutical value chain: discovery and preclinical development, clinical trials, manufacturing, supply chain logistics and distribution, and market access. Each session follows a challenge-driven format in which speakers present concrete operational problems, followed by complementary perspectives from OR/AI/CBE/BME experts and practitioners. Structured breakout discussions will identify methodological gaps, data needs, and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. Key discussion themes include adaptive trial design, data-driven manufacturing, personalized medicine, rare diseases, cold-chain logistics, and innovative pricing and incentive strategies informed by real-world evidence. The primary outcome of the workshop will be a research roadmap, which will be disseminated in an open-access format to support future interdisciplinary research. Post-workshop activities will be organized to ensure continued collaboration and community building, fostering an open dialogue between research and practice. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2607675 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Michael Lingzhi Li | Institution: Harvard University, CAMBRIDGE, MA | Award Amount: $14,598 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2607675 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2607675.html