Indian-origin scientist Raghuraman Kannan among two professors named NAI fellows

When Raghuraman Kannan walks into his lab at the University of Missouri, the focus is rarely on titles or honours. It is on patients—those waiting for treatments that are not just effective, but kinder to the body. This year, that quiet, patient-first approach has earned the Indian-origin cancer researcher one of the highest recognitions for academic innovators in the United States: election as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

A Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Kannan holds the Michael J. and Sharon R. Bukstein Chair in Cancer Research and straddles the worlds of medicine and engineering with joint appointments at the university’s School of Medicine and College of Engineering. He also serves as associate director of the Immuno-oncology and Therapeutics Programme at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. Colleagues describe him as someone who is as comfortable discussing molecular pathways as he is mentoring young researchers at the lab bench.

At the heart of Kannan’s work is a simple but powerful idea: cancer treatment should target tumours precisely, without devastating healthy cells. His team has developed advanced nanoparticle-based drug delivery platforms that do exactly that—acting like guided missiles rather than blunt instruments. These technologies are now being advanced for some of the most challenging cancers, including lung, ovarian, breast, pancreatic and liver cancers.

The scale of his innovation is reflected in his intellectual property record: 65 issued patents, with 12 active patents in the United States alone. Yet, for Kannan, the recognition is deeply collective. “Being named an NAI Fellow is a profound honour,” he said, adding that the achievement belongs equally to his colleagues, collaborators and students who have shaped the work over the years.

His fellow inductee, Henry Nguyen, brings a different but equally vital focus. A professor of plant genetics and biotechnology, Nguyen uses genomic tools to strengthen crops against environmental stress, holding five issued patents, including one active US patent.

Both scientists will be formally inducted at the NAI’s annual conference in Los Angeles this summer—a moment that celebrates not just individual brilliance, but the power of research to quietly, steadily change lives.