Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, Distinguished University Research Professor with The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, has been 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 a world-renowned voice in the field of translational science for medicine design. His groundbreaking drug delivery systems have been shown to make more efficacious pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.
“Dr. Ravi Kumar’s groundbreaking work in nanomedicine and pharmaceutical sciences has not only advanced global research but also transformed education and innovation at The University of Alabama,” said Dr. Jim Dalton, UA executive vice president and provost. “His leadership in interdisciplinary collaboration, commitment to student success and real-world impact in drug delivery systems make him an outstanding nominee for the 2025 SEC Professor of the Year Award.”
Kumar was the first to propose and demonstrate non-competitive active targeting nanosystems and its application to human health and diseases. Their application to human health and diseases opens a medicines toolbox to combat difficult-to-treat diseases such as cancer, lupus, acute kidney injury, diabetes and complications.
Kumar and his team conduct research through the Laboratory for Drug Research and Engineering for Advanced Medicine, or DREAM, also known as the Kumar Lab.
“SEC institutions have played a major role in my career,” said Kumar. “I was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, then a professor at Texas A&M University and now at The University of Alabama. Receiving the SEC Faculty Achievement Award is a great honor, humbling me and reaffirming my commitment to teaching, research and service.
“This recognition reflects the support of my colleagues, students, and mentors, highlighting the collaborative nature of academia. It motivates me to continue making an impact and inspiring others. I am deeply grateful for this recognition.”
In summer 2024, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the creation of the department of translational science and medicine. The department, which will operate at CCHS with Kumar and three other faculty leading the charge, aims to provide a rich teaching and research infrastructure for conducting preclinical innovation and therapeutic development in immuno-inflammatory diseases to better understand low-grade inflammation, dysfunctional immune systems and co-existing disease conditions.
Kumar’s work has earned him numerous prestigious honors and fellowships, both nationally and internationally, underscoring his exceptional contributions to his field. In 2023, he was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in the U.S. and an International Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Scotland. His notable fellowship achievements also include being named a foreign member of the French National Academy of Pharmacy in 2022, Academia Europaea in 2021 and European Academy of Sciences in 2020.
Kumar’s recognition extends to leading professional societies, with elections to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Controlled Release Society.
Among his many accolades, the most distinguished include the 2024 Global Leader Award from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, which honors role models in pharmaceutical science; 2021 Humboldt Research Prize; and 2022 McCormick Science Institute Research Award. His excellence in leadership and mentorship was also recognized with the T. Nagai Outstanding Researcher Advisor Award in 2018, while the British Pharmaceutical Conference bestowed upon him its Science Medal in 2009.