Apurba Dutta named School of Pharmacy associate dean

LAWRENCE – Apurba Dutta has been named associate dean of academic affairs for the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. Dutta has been a faculty member in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the school since 2000 and began his career at KU in 1999 as assistant director of the Drug Discovery Program at the Higuchi Biosciences Center. Since 2007, he has served as associate professor of medicinal chemistry and was graduate studies director of the department for more than a decade.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Apurba Dutta to the administrative team of the School of Pharmacy,” said Ronald Ragan, dean of the pharmacy school. “Dr. Dutta’s experience serving on the school’s curriculum and assessment committees will help him transition to his responsibilities for the Pharm.D. curriculum and assessment of the professional program. He brings a wealth of teaching and research experience combined with a detailed familiarity with our program. Dr. Dutta will help keep the KU School of Pharmacy at the leading edge of academic pharmacy.”

Dutta began his appointment Oct. 16 but will continue teaching responsibilities in medicinal chemistry. He replaces Janelle Ruisinger in the Dean’s Office, who will be moving back to a full-time teaching role in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.

“I am excited to be taking the position of associate dean of academic affairs and look forward to working with the students, faculty and staff in continuing the excellent academic tradition of the school,” Dutta said.

Dutta received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from North-Eastern Hill University in India. He was a doctoral research fellow and postdoctoral research associate for eight years in India. He spent a year at the University of Konstanz in Germany as a postdoctoral fellow before serving as a scientist for several years at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad, India.

At Kansas, he has received the Teaching Excellence Award from the Center for Teaching Excellence and served as a Senior Administrative Fellow. His main teaching interests are in medicinal chemistry and organic chemistry. Much of his academic research has focused on anti-cancer and anti-infective agents. Dutta has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses, has served on more than 40 dissertation committees and has advised both undergraduate and graduate students.

From 2001 to 2014, Dutta was principal investigator or co-investigator on 10 National Institutes of Health research grants in addition to other research projects. He has more than 80 peer-reviewed research publications, reviews, book chapters and patents.