August 25, 2025 | Abigail Baier

Na Li to Receive Named Recipient of Renowned NIPTE Award

Na Li (Ph.D.) has been awarded the 2025 NIPTE Rising Star Scholarship Award for their outstanding performance and contributions in the pharmaceutical field. The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE) is a non-profit scientific and research and development organization with members of leading institutes in pharmaceutical technology area. This NIPTE Award is the highest recognition every two years presented to a senior faculty member at a NIPTE member institution.

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics, Na Li working with her graduate students in her lab at the School of Pharmacy. Jan. 24, 2022. (Sean Flynn)

Na Li working with her graduate students in her lab (Sean Flynn)

 

Na Li on Aug. 29, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Headshot of Na Li (UConn Photo)

Arriving at UConn in the Fall of 2019, Na Li experienced the adversity of the COVID pandemic. Despite these challenges, she quickly established a productive research team, making remarkable research progress while receiving $2.5 million in research support from various external and internal funders. In developing research collaborations with scientists in academia and the pharmaceutical industry, she has received several prestigious awards. The latest award, the NIPTE Rising Star Scholarship, is awarded by NIPTE on an annual basis and is given to an early career investigator for their outstanding scientific achievements in pharmaceutical science and technology. She has also received the 2022 PhRMA Research Starter Grant and the 2021 International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council (IPEC) Foundation Patrick DeLuca Emerging Researcher Award. Li’s research interests include permeability and bioavailability of oral drug delivery systems and interactions with the gut microbiome. 

Serving UConn as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as an Assistant Professor (adjunct) in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Li continues to inspire UConn students with her passion and dedication to research. Her research interests include permeability and bioavailability of oral drug delivery systems and interactions with the gut microbiome. Li shares these passions not only through her research publications but also through many invited talks across the United States.  

Li will use this prestigious award and its research funds to further her passion for investigations within the world of pharmaceutical science and technology, helping the pharmaceutical community at UConn and beyond.