Columbia, Missouri, USA: An Indian-origin scientist specializing in cancer nanotechnology has been recognized among ten faculty members honored this year at the University of Missouri (MU). The university’s Board of Curators has conferred its highest academic recognition — Curators’ Distinguished Professor — on Professor Raghuraman Kannan.

Dr. Kannan has been part of MU’s School of Medicine since 2005, where he serves as a professor of radiology.

He currently holds the Michael J. and Sharon R. Bukstein Chair in Cancer Research and leads the Cancer Nanotechnology Laboratory. His research addresses some of the most pressing challenges in oncology, including drug resistance, immune system evasion, and precision-based drug delivery.

Under his leadership, the lab has created a wide range of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems designed to specifically attack tumors while sparing normal tissue. These innovations are being tested for potential use in treating ovarian, breast, pancreatic, and liver cancers.

In addition to his academic work, Kannan has co-founded four start-ups at MU. Two of these ventures — Nanoparticle Biochem Inc. and Shasun-NBI, LLC — have already received multi-million-dollar funding. In 2012, Nanoparticle Biochem Inc. won the prestigious Tibbetts Award for innovation and economic development, presented at the White House.

His contributions to science are reflected in more than 55 research articles published in top-tier journals such as Advanced Materials and ACS Nano. Seven technologies developed by his lab have been patented and hold promise for future medical applications.

Kannan’s academic journey began in India, where he obtained a master’s degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in 1993. He later completed his PhD in chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 1999, earning a gold medal. His doctoral work was recognized with the J.C. Ghosh Medal and a cash award for best thesis at IISc.