SOMANATH SHENOY

Somanath Shenoay is the Kenneth L. Waters Pharmacy Professor and Assistant Department Head for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Georgia's College of Pharmacy. He serves as Graduate Coordinator and leads research programs focused on vascular biology, diabetes complications, and translational drug discovery. His work integrates clinical pharmacy with molecular mechanisms underlying diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, lung injury, and cancer metastasis.

Dr. Shenoay's research emphasizes barrier dysfunction in vascular and neural systems, leveraging drug discovery approaches to target enzymes like SMOX and pathways involving PAK1. He collaborates with the UGA Center for Drug Discovery and UGA Drug Discovery Group to advance therapies for conditions like retinal neurodegeneration and pulmonary hypertension. His studies often employ preclinical models, including spontaneously hypertensive rats and diabetic mice, to evaluate novel compounds.

Key contributions include identifying Claudin-17's role in lung injury, demonstrating SMOX inhibition's neuroprotective effects in diabetes, and analyzing biomarkers in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). His work bridges basic science with clinical applications, addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular, pulmonary, and ophthalmic medicine.

Awarded the Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA), Dr. Shenoay has secured grant support for projects targeting vascular permeability, cancer metastasis, and drug delivery systems. He actively mentors trainees in pharmacist clinician-scientist pathways and contributes to interprofessional education initiatives.