Agricultural Sciences

Kuchipudi receives College of Ag Sciences award for research innovation

The Research Innovator of the Year Award, given by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was awarded to Suresh Kuchipudi, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Emerging Infectious Diseases and interim director of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Penn State. Kuchipudi, at right, accepted the award from Blair Siegfried, associate dean for research and graduate education. Credit: Contributed photoAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Suresh Kuchipudi, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Emerging Infectious Diseases, is the 2022 recipient of the Research Innovator of the Year Award, given by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences to recognize faculty and staff who have made notable efforts to commercialize their Penn State research.

He received the award, which includes a stipend, at a celebration of research innovation hosted by the college’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program May 12 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College.

The celebration was designed to recognize researchers in the college who recently have submitted an invention disclosure, have been awarded a patent, or have received a grant from the college’s Research Applications for INnovation, or RAIN, program for their discoveries.

Kuchipudi, clinical professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences and interim director of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Penn State, was honored for his active participation in research commercialization, including multiple invention disclosures, patents and grant awards.

The overall goal of his work is to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of zoonotic viral pathogen emergence and translate this knowledge to develop innovative diagnostics and interventions.

Kuchipudi has pioneered the development of multiple new molecular diagnostic tests to detect animal infectious diseases. These assays, offered through the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System, have played a critical role in protecting animal agriculture through accurate and rapid disease diagnosis.

He developed a prophylactic therapy against SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — that was awarded a U.S. patent in 2021. He is also part of a team that discovered a method for concentrating airborne particles for viral detection.

Kuchipudi also is developing a novel oncolytic viral therapy, which is showing promise against numerous cancers. This work earned him the college’s Motivating Innovation and Seeding Technology award in 2019, a RAIN grant in 2020, and a provisional patent application in 2021.

“The Research Innovator award was created to celebrate faculty engaging in research commercialization efforts, and I can’t think of anyone more engaged and thus deserving of this award than Dr. Kuchipudi,” said Blair Siegfried, associate dean for research and graduate education. “His contributions will have an enduring legacy for the college and positively impact society.”

A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, Kuchipudi earned a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India, a master’s degree in veterinary science from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, India, and a doctorate in virology from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

He also earned a postgraduate certificate in higher education from the University of Nottingham in England, and, more recently, a master’s degree in business administration from Penn State. He also is an American College of Veterinary Microbiologists board-certified specialist in virology and immunology.

Before joining Penn State in 2015, Kuchipudi was an assistant professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, an assistant professor at Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupathi, India, and a veterinary surgeon for the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India.

“I want to acknowledge the contributions of incredibly talented and hardworking members of my lab, both past and present,” Kuchipudi said. “I am immensely pleased and honored for the recognition of our work. I am grateful to the college leadership and the office of entrepreneurship and innovation for building a vibrant culture that nurtures and celebrates innovation in the college.”

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Adam Ruskin. He holds bachelor’s degrees in environmental resource management and in animal biosciences from Penn State, a doctor of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University, and a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in epidemiology, both from Emory University.

As a lead clinical operations and development consultant, Ruskin has led clinical, data management and biostatistics for four successful start-up pharmaceutical, biotech and medical-device companies. Previously, he was a member of an FDA advisory panel, a two-time TEDMED Award nominee for innovation and a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control.

He also developed and managed more than 300 clinical trials, including for the first FDA-approved therapeutic for MRSA, for FDA approval of a novel blood-clotting compound, for the first FDA-cleared leukemia test, and for the first FDA-cleared autism test.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the innovators in our college and hopefully inspire new ones,” said Maria Spencer, the John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence in the college’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program. “I want to thank and congratulate all those who attended, especially those who offered remarks — Drs. Kuchipudi and Ruskin offer wonderful presentations and make me proud to be part of the College of Agricultural Sciences.”

More information about the college’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation program is available online at this link.

Last Updated May 19, 2022

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