Pharmaceutical research at State: An overview from the department head

Story written by: Matthew Schmidt

The department’s research efforts started with the hiring of Chandradhar Dwivedi in 1987 as the first research faculty member. His leadership from 1987 to 2013 was instrumental in establishing the research program in pharmaceutical sciences.

The research program has seen significant growth due to growth in the Ph.D. program, increased grant funding, the establishment of endowed faculty positions, and the enhancement of research infrastructure.

Ph.D. program takes root in 2007
The Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical sciences was started in 2007 through the efforts of Dwivedi, Xiangming Guan, associate dean for research; and former Dean Brian Kaatz.

More than 40 students have graduated from the Ph.D. program and are employed at academic institutions, industry and regulatory agencies across the globe. Guan, who served as a coordinator of graduate studies until 2015, provided leadership and played a big part in the program’s growth.

In 2016, the curriculum and learning outcomes of the Ph.D. program were revised, keeping in line with the changes in the profession. This included a new course in biomedical sciences and pharmacogenomics and the development of a co-curricular plan.

In 2018, the department completed a self-study for the institutional review of the Ph.D. program. Based on the recommendations from the external reviewers, a new M.S. program in pharmaceutical sciences was developed, which was recently approved by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Grant funding grows
The department’s average annual grant funding in the last five years has increased from less than $500,000 to $1 million per year.

Guan is one of the few SDSU faculty members who has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than 10 years. Most recently, Joshua Reineke received the college’s first NIH R01 funding. Other faculty successful in securing federal funding include Wenfeng An, Komal Raina and Hemachand Tummala.

Cancer research, which started in the mid-1980s, has evolved into a comprehensive research program covering all aspects of cancer drug development. More than 50% of the department faculty’s research is focused on cancer.

In 2009, cancer research got a big boost through the governor’s 2010 funding program (2009-2015) when the department established a Translation Cancer Research Center in collaboration with Sanford Research. The center is one of the most successful research centers in the state with a 3:1 return on state investment in the form of federal grants, industry and private funding.

Endowed positions created in cancer research
The center’s activities were sustained through the establishment of two endowed faculty positions—the Markl Scholar in Cancer Research, held by Wenfeng An, and the Haarberg Chair in Cancer Research, held by Komal Raina.

The Haarberg endowment was coupled with matching funds from the SDBOR to expand the department’s research space. the research instrumentation for cancer research has also been strengthened through state funding and institutional matching funds.  

From bench to market
Besides generating new knowledge, faculty members also are also actively involved in translating their research from bench to market through intellectual property development and licensing the technology to university spinoffs for commercialization.

Since the establishment of the SDSU Technology Transfer Office in 2008, faculty members have filed 35 invention disclosures. To date, more than 10 patents have been issued and seven technology development licenses have been executed with startup companies. The technologies developed include new drug-delivery systems, vaccine delivery systems and novel biomaterial for corneal implants.

The next big thing
As we reflect on our research accomplishments, we are also looking forward to the next phase of research growth. To this end, we recently received the funding notification ($3.9 million for five years) from the South Dakota Board of Regents to establish a 3D (Drug, Disease and Delivery) research center to advance research commercialization and develop new treatments through academic-industry-clinical partnerships.

This center will leverage the department’s research strength in drug, disease and delivery to develop an integrated framework for repurposing drugs for cancer and other diseases.

By elevating the department’s research effort and graduate education, this center will help the department develop a unique niche in drug repurposing and emerge as a national leader.