University of Washington Provost Mark Richards this week announced the appointment of Jayanth Panyam as the new Dean of the School of Pharmacy beginning August 15, pending approval by the Board of Regents.
Panyam fills the position vacated last year by Sean Sullivan who returned to the faculty after more than eight years in the role. Peggy Odegard has been serving as interim dean.
Panyam comes to the UW from Temple University School of Pharmacy where he has been dean since 2019. Prior to that, he was an endowed professor and head of the Department of Pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota.
“We welcome Jay’s extensive experience in discovering new therapeutics, advancing the pharmaceutical profession, broadening access to students and supporting faculty,” Richards said.
At Temple, Panyam focused on pharmacy education and research. He has extensive experience training pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, supporting faculty in their advancement, and with student recruitment and admissions.
Panyam’s research is primarily focused on investigating the mechanisms of drug delivery with an emphasis on understanding how various biological factors influence the effectiveness of delivery systems. The ultimate goal, Panyam said, is to use the knowledge derived from these studies to devise advanced delivery systems that can be effectively translated to the clinic.
“The UW School of Pharmacy has a long history of leadership in all aspects of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences — education, scholarship and practice,” Panyam said. “I am honored and excited to serve as the next dean.”
In his role as dean, Panyam has been an advocate for pharmacists and has been actively engaged in advancing the profession. His efforts, in collaboration with the deans of the other pharmacy schools in Pennsylvania, led to changes in pharmacy practice regulations in the state, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also been instrumental in exploring and creating new practice sites, shared positions and billing models for pharmacy practice faculty members.
Panyam earned his bachelor’s in pharmacy from The T.N. Dr. MGR Medical University in Chenai, India, and his master’s in pharmacy from Banaras Hindu University in Banaras, India. He earned his doctoral degree in pharmaceutical science from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.