LTEN has revealed the winners of the 12th Annual
LTEN Excellence Awards, the life sciences training industry’s only professional
awards program honoring excellence, innovation and performance. The awards, sponsored
by CMR Institute, Red Nucleus and SmartWinnr, were presented at a special evening
gala at the LTEN 2026 annual conference, held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee,
Fla.
Winners in 12 competitive award categories were selected by
a panel of judges that reviewed submissions from LTEN members. Also honored at
the awards gala were recipients of LTEN scholarships and the two 2026 LTEN
Members of the Year.
This year’s awards included a new category, GxP Excellence,
presented in partnership with AGxPE, the Association for GxP Excellence. The
newest award honors professionals who champion GxP learning, elevating
compliance culture, inspiring accountability and driving strategic performance
across the regulated functions in their organizations.
“This year’s record number of nominations is a powerful
reflection of the passion and innovation within our community. Our judges had
an incredibly tough job,” said Lauren Harbert, LTEN executive director. “The
recipients across all 12 categories showcase the exceptional work being done to
advance life sciences learning and performance, reflecting the very best in our
profession.”
This year’s LTEN Members of the Year were announced previously
and were formally recognized onstage at the gala. The members were selected by
the LTEN Board of Directors based on their history of contributing to and
supporting our network. The 2026 LTEN Members of the Year are:
- Mark Butsavage, sales training manager for B. Braun Medical. Mark contributes LTEN Focus on Training magazine articles, attends LTEN events and was one of the original volunteers launching the LTEN Ambassador program for new member orientation.
- Wendy Eicholzer, M.Ed., president and CEO of Whole Systems, a platinum level Preferred Industry Partner. In addition to her company’s ongoing support, Eicholzer serves on the LTEN Editorial Advisory Board and is a frequent speaker at LTEN events, workshops and learning labs.
Scholarships were awarded to three LTEN members in two
different programs. The LTEN Board of Directors selects winners of the Chuck
Pearson Learning Scholarship, named for a late board member and intended to
help continue the professional development of emerging leaders in life sciences
training. The LTEN Field Trainer Committee selects the winners of the LTEN
Field Trainer Scholarships, designed to help field trainers extend their career
development. Recipients of both honors receive credits that can be applied
toward LTEN educational opportunities and event attendance.
The 2026 scholarship recipients are:
- Jake Kotter, area field trainer for Shield Therapeutics, was awarded the 2026 LTEN Field Trainer Scholarship.
- Elizabeth Palmieri, program manager, account management excellence, for Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, and Janet Storey, senior manager, U.S. medical affairs and commercial learning and development, for Jazz Pharmaceuticals, were named the 2026 Chuck Pearson Learning Scholarship recipients.
Here are the 2026 LTEN Excellence Award winners in 12
competitive categories:
- The Emerging Leader category went to Jenna Sciangula, Teva Pharmaceuticals.
- The All Star Team award was given to the AstraZeneca Oncology Learning & Capability Development.
- The All Star Small Team Excellence Award was presented to the Rhythm Pharmaceuticals North America Training Team.
- Taking home the Leadership Advancement honor was BeOne Medicines Commercial Learning and Development.
- The GxP Excellence honor went to a collaboration between Gilead Sciences and Orchestrall.
- The winners of the Innovative Design & Solutions award were Genentech AI Learning Strategy.
- The award for Learning Content award went to Gilead Commercial Learning & Development - Oncology with TiER1 Performance.
- The Measurement and Impact honor was earned by Johnson & Johnson MedTech Surgery Team with SmartWinnr.
- The Technological Innovation award was presented to Pfizer Global Customer Engagement Training Organization.
- Winning the Transformational Enablement award was Ipsen Field Excellence & Innovation.
- The Wellbeing, Community & Culture honor went to Philips Blue Heart Project Team.
- The LTEN Excellence Award for Partnership was the evening’s only tie, with awards going to Vertex Pharmaceuticals & EVERSANA and also to Sun Pharma, SendingCell & ProFusion.
For more information on the awards and/or to view past
winners, please visit www.L-TEN.org/awards.
LTEN congratulates all winners, and thanks all nominees,
finalists, judges and sponsors for their participation in the 12th Annual LTEN Excellence Awards. Nominations for the 13th Annual LTEN
Excellence Awards will open in late 2026.