Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 9/1/2026 12:00:00 AM
Md Abu Siddique, MS, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
What does being a 2026 Presidential Trainee mean to you?
Being selected as a 2026 Presidential Trainee Award Recipient is one of the most important milestones of my career so far. Growing up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I never imagined that my journey would take me from working as a pharmacist in the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh and Kenya to pursuing cutting-edge research at the University of Florida. This award is a reminder that the unconventional path I took, leaving a stable career after six and a half years in industry to start over as a graduate student in a new country, was worth all the challenges. It also reflects the support of my mentors, lab mates, colleagues, and the ASCPT Community, and it motivates me to continue pushing the boundaries.
Why did you submit your abstract for presentation at the ASCPT 2026 Annual Meeting?
To my understanding, ASCPT sits at the intersection of pharmacology, therapeutics, and translational science, which is exactly where my work lives. Our research uses ensemble machine learning to classify molecular subtypes in normal pancreatic acinar cells, and I believe the ASCPT community would be the ideal audience to engage with this work. The Annual Meeting offers a great platform to share ideas with researchers and clinicians who are passionate about bridging the gap between data-driven discovery and patient care. I also wanted to represent the emerging role of AI in pharmacology and inspire other trainees to explore computational approaches in their own research.
Who has inspired you in your career?
My parents have been my greatest source of inspiration. They gave me the values of perseverance, curiosity, and hard work from a very young age. I learned a great lesson that growth often requires discomfort, and that investing in knowledge is never a risk.
What has been the greatest challenge in your career?
The greatest challenge was transitioning from a six-and-a-half-year career in the pharmaceutical industry to becoming a graduate student in a completely new country. After years of working in Bangladesh and Kenya, I chose to start fresh, pursuing my master's at Tuskegee University in Alabama and eventually my doctoral research at the University of Florida. Adapting to a new academic culture, learning entirely new computational and research methodologies, and rebuilding my professional identity from the ground up were incredibly demanding. But it was exactly what I wanted to do!
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I am a rock vocalist! When I am not analyzing data or training machine learning models, you might find me performing on a stage with a microphone in hand. Music has always been a creative outlet for me, and it gives me energy and a sense of expression that balances that analytical side of my research life. I think both research and music require the same core ingredients: passion, practice, and the courage to put yourself out there.
Md Abu has been a member of ASCPT since 2025.
