Jayarama Gunaje

Jayarama Gunaje is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. He has held academic positions since 1993, including roles at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. His research focuses on cancer prevention mechanisms, particularly involving aspirin and flavonoid compounds, with emphasis on signal transduction pathways and cellular targets.

Education: Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indian Institute of Science (1989), followed by postdoctoral training at Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (1991) and ZymoGenetics Corporation (1993).

Research interests include novel pathways for cancer prevention via aspirin and flavonoids, regulation of proto-oncogenes by angiotensin II, and STAT signaling modulation. He has secured grants totaling over $1M from NIH, American Heart Association, and SDSU, supporting studies on chemoprevention mechanisms and cellular signaling.

Awards include multiple teaching excellence awards (Texas Tech, SDSU) and research accolades such as the Shamarao Kaikini Medal (1989) and Excellence in Research (2016). His work spans over 30 peer-reviewed publications, emphasizing molecular targets of aspirin and anti-cancer mechanisms.

Grants include NIH-funded projects on IL-6 signaling and p53 acetylation, along with SDSU seed grants exploring aspirin's role in melanoma and cyclin regulation. He advises pharmacy students in biomedical sciences and pharmacogenomics curricula.