2026

• Congratulations to Abiodun Wahab for being awarded Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (JSPET) Highlighted Trainee Author for February 2026! https://www.aspet.org/aspet/journals/highlighted-trainee-authors
• Kudos to Wahab et al. for their recent publication titled “Naringenin-functionalized polyester nanoparticles improve oral urolithin A delivery and protect against cisplatin-induced kidney injury via heme oxygenase-1 activation and mitochondrial quality control” in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. February 2026
• Congratulations to Babalola et al. for their recent publication titled “Dose optimization of lymph node-targeted cyclosporine-A for lupus-driven vasculopathy” in Journal of Controlled Release. February 2026

2025

• Kudos to Choudhury et al. for their recent article titled “Dual-Ligand Targeted Nanoparticles Enhance In Vitro Delivery and Efficacy of Investigational Drug Candidate GAT211” published in ACS Applied Bio Materials. December 29, 2025
• Congratulations to three of our PhD students who were finalists in the Graduate School’s Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition: Hayagreeva Yirivinti, Bala Vikash Ramesh, and Udita Shiromani. A special congratulations to Udita Shiromani, who won the People’s Choice Award for her project titled “Reimagining Nutrition Delivery.” November 20, 2025
• The DREAM Lab graduate students attended the 16th Annual CCHS Research and Scholarly Activity Day and participated in the 3MT and poster competitions. Congratulations to Bala Vikash Ramesh for placing 1st in the 3MT competition! Congratulations to Kabirat Babalola, Udita Shiromani, and Likhitha Kondapaneni for winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively, in the student poster division! November 13, 2025
• Kudos to Ganugula et al. for their recent article titled “Design and In Vitro Evaluation of Gambogic Acid-Conjugated Stearic Acid Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Transferrin Receptor-Mediated Drug Delivery” published in Pharmaceutical Research. November 2025
• Congratulations to Bailey Berry, a DREAM Lab undergraduate student, on winning 1st place for her poster in the Food, Pharma, and Biotech division at the 2025 AIChE Annual Meeting Boston, MA. November 2025
• Kudos to Hayagreeva Yirivinti and Kabirat Babalola for being selected as the 2025 AAiPS Graduate Award recipients! They will be presented the award at the AAiPS Annual Meeting on November 11, 2025.
• Congratulations to Hayagreeva for being invited to present at an AAPS special poster collection session with his poster titled Engineered Oral Nanoparticle Delivery for Metronomic Chemotherapy in a PTX-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Mouse Model: Investigating the Efficacy and Off-target Effects. October 2025
• The DREAM Lab group will travel to AAPS PharmSci 360 conference in San Antonio, TX Nov. 9-12th. Several abstracts will be presented. Congratulations to Abiodun Wahab on receiving Best Abstract Award! She also received a Merck travelship award!
• Congratulations to Kondapaneni et al. for their recent article titled “Establishing PDE4 as a Novel Target of Urolithin-A in Mitigating LPS-induced Inflammation in Retinal Pigmented Epithelium Cells” published in Pharmaceutical Research. September 2025
• Kudos to Heyns et al. for their recent article titled “Dual-function polyester nanoparticles for amplified anti- inflammatory effects” published in ScienceAdvances. Read more here! Thanks to our collaborator Dr. David Sheikh-Hamad. August 2025
• We welcome Reese Fitzhugh and Reagan Baggett as our incoming undergraduate research students for the fall 2025 semester! August 2025
• Congratulations to Dr. Ravi Kumar for receiving the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAiPS) Distinguished Scientist Award by the AAiPS Executive Committee, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to pharmaceutical sciences, particularly in the field of drug delivery systems. He will be recognized at the annual AAiPS meeting in November.
• Congratulations to Dr. Ravi Kumar for being selected for the Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Award that will allow him to conduct vital research at the National Institute of Nutrition, or NIN, in Hyderabad, India. Read more here. July 2025
• The Kumar Lab had the honor of hosting Professor Abraham (Avi) Domb as a visiting scholar for 2 weeks. We thank Professor Domb for his collaboration. July 2025
• The Department of Translational Science and Medicine at the College of Community Health Sciences hosted “Polymers for Advanced Technologies Symposium: Health, Energy, and Electronics” on June 30. The one-day symposium, held at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus, brought together leading scientists to share research about how polymer science is shaping innovations in health care, energy and electronics. Learn more here. A review of the symposium was posted in the Polymers for Advanced Technologies Journal. June 2025
• Our research article titled “Urolithin A-laden functional nanoparticles alleviate cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice by inhibiting inflammation-induced lymphangiogenesis” was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Congratulations Wahab et.al. June 2025
• Kumar’s article “Illuminating innovation: from test tubes to translational triumphs: a personal journey advancing pharmaceutical innovation” was published in the AAPS Open Journal. June 12, 2025
• Our research article titled “Lymph node-targeted cyclosporine A alleviates myocarditis in lupus mice by inhibiting CD68 + macrophage-driven lymphangiogenesis” was accepted for publication in Materials Today. Congratulations Ganugula et.al. May 2025. Our work has been selected as a front cover. 
• Kumar elected as a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. (EURASC) is a prestigious organization of leading scholars and engineers dedicated to advancing science and technology. EURASC promotes excellence in research and highlights the vital role research plays in social and economic development across Europe. May 2025
• The group welcomes a new postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Prabhakar Busa. April 2025
• Kumar selected as UA’s recipient of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award. The annual SEC Faculty Achievement Awards highlight the vital role educators play in advancing the mission of the SEC and its institutions, as well as their dedication to fostering academic excellence through teaching, innovation and service.
• Kumar is the recipient of the 2025 Alabama Academy of Science’s coveted Wright Gardner Award. The Wright Gardner Award was established and named after the great future-looking scientist and educator by the Alabama Academy of Science in 1984 to honor individuals whose work, during residence in Alabama, has been outstanding.
• Our research article titled “UPLC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Cyclosporine A and Urolithin A in Plasma and Interspecies Analysis Across Mammals Including Humans” was accepted for publication in ACS Omega. Congrats Heyns et.al! January 2025
• We bid farewell to our postdoctoral scholar/biomedical researcher I, Dr. Ingrid Heyns, Time flies! It has been a pleasure working with you, and I truly appreciate all the collaboration and efforts we have shared. Wishing you the very best of luck in all your future endeavors. May success and happiness follow you wherever you go! January 10, 2025
• ​Our review titled “Prospects for the convergence of polyphenols with pharmaceutical drugs in type 2 diabetes: Challenges, risks, and strategies” is just published in Pharmacological Reviews. Congratulations Allamreddy et.al., Thanks to our collaborators, Drs. Friend and Basu, January 2025

2024

• Kumar elected a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine. He was formally inducted the 177th Anniversary Discourse & Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation in New York, on December 9, 2024.
• Heyns is selected to receive ACS Postdoctoral Scholars Recognition for “Leadership in Mentoring” in promoting mentoring, research safety, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect. She will be presented with a certificate of excellence during ACS Fall Meeting in Denver, Colorado, August 18-22. Hearty Congratulations and Well Done, Ingrid.
• The Kumar lab welcomes Bala Vikash Ramesh and Udita Shiromani as this year’s cohort to the Interdisciplinary PhD studies in Advanced Drug Delivery, August 2024.
• Kumar is selected to receive 2024 AAPS Global Leader Award. He will be presented this award during PharmSci 360, in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 20-23, 2024.  UA News Center
• Our research article titled “Lymph node targeting of cyclosporine ameliorates ocular manifestations in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) via PD-L1” is just accepted for publication in Nano Today. Congratulations Ganugula et.al., Thanks to our collaborators, Drs. Agarwal and Mohan, June 2024. Our work has been selected as a front cover . ​
• Our review titled “Nanotechnology-enhanced naloxone and alternative treatments for opioid addiction” is just published in ACS Pharmacol Trans Sci. Congratulations Heyns et.al., Thanks to our collaborators, Ms. Faunce, Dr. Mumba, May 2024. Our work has been selected as a front cover . 
• Our work on understanding the influence of particle topography in improving oral bioavailability is just accepted for publication in ACS Nano. This work also strengthen our ongoing collaboration with Dr. Shah, in further developing PBPK modeling applied to drug-laden nanoparticles. Congratulations Drs. Heyns, Ganugula, Arora et.al. May 2024. Our work has been selected as a front cover . 
• Our long-term collaboration with Dr. Shaodong Guo-TAMU led to a research article titled “ZnPP-laden nanoparticles improve glucose homeostasis and chronic inflammation during obesity” published in British Journal of Pharmacology, April 2024. Congratulations Drs. Yang, Arora et.al.
• Our review titled “Leveraging lymphatic system targeting in systemic lupus erythematosus for improved clinical outcomes” is just published in Pharmacological Reviews. Congratulations Babalola et.al., Thanks to our collaborators, Drs. Agarwal and Mohan, March 2024. Our work has been selected as a front cover . ​
• The group welcomes two new postdoctoral scholars, Drs. James Asenso and Vasanthan Ravichandran, January 2024.

2023

• Kumar elected a Fellow of The National Academy of Inventors. He will be formally inducted at the Fellows Induction Ceremony at the 13th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in Raleigh, North Carolina, in June 2024. 
• Kumar co-founded Peroral Biosciences, Inc., to develop and commercialize next generation of peroral dosage forms of poorly bioavailable peptides, proteins, and other small molecules. Co-inventor on the intellectual property licensed to the company [US Patent No. 11,504,339 and US Patent No. 10,780,175]. The company has raised seed funding through NuFund Venture group members to conduct feasibility studies enabling the development of proprietary products. [CEO: Sami Shihabi]
• Our work on the discovery of small molecule ligand specific to folate receptors for improved delivery across the barriers is just published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Congratulations Drs. Heyns, Ganugula, Arora et.al., Thanks to our collaborators, Varma, Drs. Kumar, Garg (India), October 4, 2023. 
• The group welcomes new postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Neha Choudhury, October 2023.
• Kumar-lab receives NIH funding (R01, NIGMS) September 2023 (PI: Kumar; MPI: Shah).
• The Arora lab welcomes Yirivinti Hayagreeva Dinakar to the Interdisciplinary PhD studies in Advanced Drug Delivery, August 2023.
• The Ganugula lab welcomes Likhithapurna Kondapaneni to the Interdisciplinary PhD studies in Advanced Drug Delivery, August 2023.
• The Kumar lab is participating in the Controlled Release Society Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, USA during July 24-28, 2023. Several abstracts will be presented. Swetha and Ingrid received 3rd and 2nd prize respectively in Oral delivery FG flash talks. Ingrid is invited to make an oral presentation. Congratulations. 
• Our work on gel-trapped particles delivering a combination of anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycemic agents for effective management of diabetes is just published in AAPS J. Congratulations Drs. Heyns, Ganugula, Arora et.al., July 13, 2023. 
• The Kumar lab welcomes visiting PhD student Walter Pula of University of Ferrara. He will spend 4 months with us receiving training in interdisciplinary drug delivery research.
• Garrett Davis wins first prize in Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Award in Health Science Category. Congratulations Garrett, Roll Tide!!. (Garrett closely worked with my colleagues Drs. Meenakshi Arora and Ingrid Heyns)
• Kumar recognized with the President’s Faculty Research Award. He will be honored during a ceremony on April 19, 2023.
• Kumar elected a Foreign Corresponding Member of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy of Science and Letters. He will be formally inducted on May 30, 2023.
• Kumar elected a Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He was formally inducted on May 27, 2023.
• Our work on Systemic anti-inflammatory therapy combined with insulin to treat diabetes eye disease (cataract and retinopathy), just accepted for publication in ACS Nano. Congratulations Drs. Ganugula, Arora et.al., Thanks to collaborators, Drs. Chandrashekar, Varambally, and Scott, March 17, 2023. 
• Garrett Davis been selected to receive the 2023 Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award. He will be recognized at the Randall Research Awards recognition luncheon on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Congratulations Garrett, Roll Tide!!. (Garrett closely worked with my colleagues Drs. Meenakshi Arora and Ingrid Heyns)
• We bid farewell to Dr. Anuhya Gottipati, Assistant Research Scientist, and Dr. Nikhil Nuthalapati, postdoctoral scholar. Thank you for all your contributions to the group. Anu has accepted Staff Fellow/Visiting Scientist, Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at FDA. All the best for your future endeavors.
• Lupus Research Alliance Funds Administrative Supplement to Promote Diversity in Lupus Research (the “Diversity Supplement”), Training the next generation graduate student in lupus research. PI: Kumar, Trainee: Kabirat Babalola (Jan 25, 2023-Jan 24, 2025). Congratulations Kabirat.

2022

• Our work on nanocurcumin combined with insulin alleviates diabetic kidney disease through P38/P53 signaling axis , just accepted for publication in Journal of Controlled Release. Congratulations Drs. Ganugula, Nuthalapati, Dwivedi, Zou, and Arora, Thanks to collaborators, Drs. Sheikh-Hamad, Friend, and Basu, December 05, 2022. [This will appear as a part of the special issue celebrating Professor Vincent Lee’s 70th birthday and his illustrious career. Indeed an honor contributing to the special issue]
• Kumar named Associate Editor of The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, November 02, 2022
• Our work on Oral nanocurcumin alone or in combination with insulin alleviates STZ-induced diabetic neuropathy in rats, just accepted for publication in Molecular Pharmaceutics. Congratulations Drs. Ganugula, Dwivedi, Arora and Gottipati, Thanks to collaborators, Drs. Friend, Osburne, Rodrigues-Hoffman, Basu and Pan, September 15, 2022. Our work has been selected as a front cover. 
• The Kumar lab welcomes its first cohort of PhD students in the Interdisciplinary PhD studies in Advanced Drug Delivery. The first cohort includes candidates from various professional and academic backgrounds, August 2022.
• Our abstract titled, Oral nano-curcumin alone or in combination with insulin alleviates diabetic neuropathy in rats, is selected to receive 2022 AAPS Best Abstract Awards. Our work was ranked in the top 10% of abstracts by the AAPS Abstract Screening Committee.  Dr. Dwivedi will present this work at the upcoming AAPS meeting in Boston, October 16-19, 2022. Dr. Dwivedi also received AAPS Travelship supported by Merck.
• Kumar elected a Foreign Corresponding Member of The French National Academy of Pharmacy.
• Megan, congrats on your acceptance to JHU PhD program. We wish you good luck in your future endeavors.
• Our work on dexamethasone alternatives in the form of Paclitaxel (PTX) and Urolithin A (UA) for neurovascular eye problems, just accepted for publication in ACS Chemical Neuroscience. Our work has been selected as a front cover for a future issue. 
• Kumar elected a Fellow, Controlled Release Society (CRS). Elevation to ‘fellow’ recognizes an exceptional individual in the field of controlled release who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of delivery science and technology over a minimum of 10 years.
• Mini-review on Urolithin A nanoparticle therapy for cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury, just accepted for publication in Nephron.
• Our mini-review in collaboration with Drs. Agarwal and Sheik-Hamad, titled “An overview of nano-encapsulation strategies to circumventing drug-induced kidney injury and targeted nanomedicines to treat kidney diseases” is just accepted in Current Opinion in Toxicology. It was fun working with two talented undergraduates Garret and Anjali on this review. 
• Kumar has been selected to receive McCormick Science Institute Research Award, The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and its Foundation. This award is presented to an investigator conducting clinical, translational, in vitro, and/or ex vivo research, whose scientific contributions have advanced the understanding of the potential health benefits of culinary herbs and spices. This award is endowed by the McCormick Science Institute.
• Kumar has been selected to receive Batsheva de Rothschild Fellow Award, granted annually by the Batsheva de Rothschild Fund at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Israel). The Batsheva Fellows Program facilitates visits of several days of world-renowned scientists from abroad, to hold meetings with young Israeli scientists in Israeli academic institutions, to enhance and broaden their horizons. (Host Professor Dan Peer, Tel Aviv University).

2021

• Kumar has been selected to receive Humboldt Research Award, granted annually by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) to no more than 100 internationally leading researchers of all disciplines outside of Germany in recognition of their academic record. Award winners are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany.
• The group welcomes new research staff, Ms. Megan Murphy, October 2021.
• The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System granted approval for establishing “Center for Convergent Bioscience and Medicine (CCBM)”, Kumar serves as the Founding Director of CCBM. Aired on the WBRC Fox 6 News on October 14, 2021 @ 6PM. 
• The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System granted approval for appointing Kumar as the Distinguished University Research Professor
• Our work on “Oral nano-curcumin in a model of chronic Gulf War Illness alleviates brain dysfunction with modulation of oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, neuroinflammation, neurogenesis, and gene expression” just accepted for publication in Aging and Disease, congratulations S. Attaluri/M. Arora et al., Also this is the first paper with Dr. Shetty, Texas A&M University, longtime collaborator on neurodegenerative/neuroinflammatory diseases.
• The group welcomes new postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Ingrid Heyns, July 2021.
• The group welcomes new research staff, Dr. Anuhya Gottipati, July 2021.
• Kumar elected a foreign member of Academia Europaea, June 2021
• The group welcomes new research staff, Dr. Sushma Pinninti, June 2021.
• The group welcomes new postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Nikhil Nuthalapati, June 2021.
• Kumar-lab receives NIH funding (R01, NIDDK) May 2021 (PI: Kumar; MPI: Arora).
• Kumar features on The Medicine Maker ‘Power List 20 for 2021’.
• The group welcomes new postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Subhash Dwivedi, May 2021.
• Our work on “Nanoparticles that do not compete with endogenous ligands–molecular characterization in vitro, acute safety in canine, and interspecies pharmacokinetics modeling to humans” just accepted for publication in Journal of Controlled Release, congratulations D. Zou/M. Kumar et al., Also this is the first paper with Dr. Shah, The State University of New York at Buffalo, longtime collaborator on PK/PBPK modeling.
• The group moved to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, effective Jan 14, 2021.

2003-2020 Archive​