Vivek Gupta

Dr. Vivek Gupta is a pharmaceutical scientist, educator and innovator whose research focuses on translational pharmaceutics and advanced drug delivery, with an emphasis on developing non-invasive and targeted therapeutic approaches that can move from laboratory discovery toward clinically viable drug products. His research integrates formulation science, nanotechnology, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, drug repurposing, and scalable pharmaceutical manufacturing to address unmet needs in respiratory, pulmonary vascular, neurological and other complex diseases. His laboratory has developed inhaled and intranasal drug products, lipid- and polymer-based nanomedicines, nanoemulsions, in-situ gelling systems and other advanced formulations designed to improve drug targeting, bioavailability, therapeutic efficacy and patient outcomes. Several technologies arising from his research have been patented, licensed and advanced toward commercial translation.

Dr. Gupta has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, attracting more than 7,300 citations, and is an inventor on more than 30 submitted or published patent applications. His research has been supported through federal, foundation, institutional, and industry funding and he has collaborated extensively with academic investigators, biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical partners to advance translational drug-development programs. He is also an entrepreneur and scientific founder of biotechnology ventures focused on translating academic discoveries into new therapeutic products.

Education and mentorship are central to Dr. Gupta's academic career. He has taught extensively across PharmD and graduate programs in pharmaceutics, biopharmaceutics, compounding, pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutical analysis and targeted drug delivery, while mentoring doctoral, master's, professional, undergraduate and postdoctoral researchers. He has also actively incorporated innovation and entrepreneurship into trainee development through NSF I-Corps and related translational programs. Graduate trainees from Dr Gupta’s lab are placed in highly regarded positions in multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Regeneron. His contributions to student development have been recognized through awards including the Faculty Excellence in Student Engagement Award and the Excellence in Mentoring Award.

Dr. Gupta is also actively engaged in scientific and academic service and has held leadership roles in the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), including leadership within the AAPS Formulation & Delivery; and Inhalation & Nasal communities and AACP graduate-education and pharmaceutics initiatives. In recognition of his contributions to pharmaceutical sciences, he was elected a Fellow of AAPS (FAAPS) in 2025, and was also recognized as the 2025 Distinguished Alumni by the Texas Tech HSC. In 2026, AACP honored him with both the Graduate Education Individual Achievement Award and the Pharmaceutics Section Research & Scholarship Award, recognizing two complementary dimensions of his career: developing the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists and advancing impactful pharmaceutical research.

Dr. Gupta received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences with specialization in Pharmaceutics from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and subsequently completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he worked with Professor Samir Mitragotri. Prior to joining Duquesne University, he served as Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at St. John’s University where he also served as Associate Dean of Graduate Education & Research (2021-2025). His overarching goal is to bridge fundamental drug-delivery science, pharmaceutical product development, and translation, creating practical therapeutic technologies with a clear pathway toward meaningful clinical impact.

• Ph.D., Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
• B.S., Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (University), New Delhi, India