Khan receives Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award

Mansoor Khan, RPh, PhD, has been announced as the 2023 Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award recipient, the highest honor given by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS).

The AAPS Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award is a lifetime achievement intended to recognize an individual who has made substantial contributions to the pharmaceutical sciences that have a had a lasting impact. The focus of those achievements is research and advancement of science.

Khan is Regents Professor, vice dean and the director of the formulations design and development core laboratory at the Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy. He is recognized for his wide-ranging and international impact on the pharmaceutical sciences. His work is broad, spanning education, research and development and other areas. He is also recognized for working closely with regulatory authorities.

“Dr. Khan has made remarkable contributions to drug product development, quality research and regulatory approvals,” said Indra Reddy, PhD, founding dean of the Texas A&M School of Pharmacy. “His expertise in pediatric dosage forms, 3D printing, complex generics and drug delivery is commendable. Texas A&M University and the School of Pharmacy take pride in his impressive trajectory of accomplishments. Undoubtedly, he is the most deserving recipient of the highest recognition bestowed by the AAPS.”

Khan is a Fellow of the AAPS and recently earned the 2023 Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award by National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Technology (NIPTE) in Pharmaceutical Processing. Khan also received the 2022 International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council’s highest recognition, the Ralph Shangraw Memorial Award. Most recently he was voted the 2023 Graduate Faculty of the Year by doctoral students at the School of Pharmacy.

“I am pleasantly surprised and humbled to be among those who I always dreamed to emulate,” Khan said. “While I receive this award as a ‘cheerleader,’ I know deep down that there are many who contributed to this success. Our research on emerging technologies with 3D printing of medications, complex generics, and Quality by Design with Process Analytical Technologies required us to train our students and junior scientists, and to collaborate with engineers, medical and life scientists, chemists, biostaticians and veterinarians. I feel fortunate to have availability of these collaborators who helped us achieve the award.”

This is first time someone from Texas A&M University has earned this distinction. It is also the first time a pharmacy school professor in the state of Texas wins this award.

Khan says he will continue to focus on training students and ramping up the efforts of junior scientists and collaborators.

“We also want our patients to benefit from our discoveries. Research shouldn’t be just about grants and publications. It should prepare the next generation of scientists that learn to work in a multidisciplinary environment and solve the real-world problems by providing the right medications in the right delivery systems at the right time,” Khan added.

Khan will be recognized during the 2023 PharmSci 360, Oct. 22-25, in Orlando, FL.