Hemachand Tummala

Dr. Hemachand Tummala is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at South Dakota State University (SDSU), holding a faculty position within the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. His research focuses on innovative drug and vaccine delivery systems targeting cancer, infectious diseases, and intestinal health. He leads a laboratory developing biomaterials-based solutions to overcome biological barriers in therapeutics, including the patented Pathogen Mimicking Vaccine Delivery System (PMVDS) and Ora-Curcumin anti-inflammatory polymer.

Dr. Tummala’s academic contributions span teaching pharmaceutics courses to pharmacy students and mentoring 17 undergraduate, five graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. He has secured six pending patents, one issued patent, and has over 50 publications/presentations. His work has been commercialized via licenses to Medgene Labs and Academic Technology Ventures. He serves on editorial boards and reviews for national/international funding agencies.

• Awards:
• 2013 Innovation in Biotechnology Award
• Multiple SDSU Excellence Awards (Teaching/Research)
• F. O. Butler Award for Research (2019)

His lab’s TLR-4 agonist/antagonist technologies exemplify translational research, bridging chemistry, drug delivery, and clinical application. Current efforts emphasize plant-based polymers like inulin acetate for targeted therapies.