Ashish Kulkarni Selected for Edward S. Price Chemical Engineering Faculty Fellowship

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Ashish Kulkarni in his laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Associate professor Ashish Kulkarni of the UMass Amherst Chemical Engineering Department has been appointed as the recipient of the Edward S. Price Chemical Engineering Faculty Fellowship for a three-year term that began on September 1. 

The fellowship is based on a generous endowment established by UMass alumnus Edward S. Price ‘90, the former president and CEO of PCI Synthesis. 

Under Price’s leadership, PCI Synthesis grew from a basic chemical manufacturer into a leading contract manufacturing organization (CMO) and the largest small molecule drug substance manufacturer in the New England area. PCI Synthesis was eventually acquired by Novacap, a global player in pharmaceutical synthesis headquartered near Lyon, France.

As an industry thought-leader, Price has served on the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) Board of Governors, served as a co-chair of the New England CRO/CMO Council, and currently sits on both the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Dean’s Advisory Council for the UMass Amherst College of Engineering.

Ashish Kulkarni’s research focuses on developing platform technologies for immunotherapy applications, namely nanoparticle-based systems that can improve cancer immunotherapy responses. With an emphasis on aggressive cancers that don’t respond to traditional treatment, such as bladder cancer, Kulkarni hopes to see his work ultimately translate into clinical practice and address an unmet need for effective, targeted therapies with fewer harmful side effects. 

Since joining UMass Amherst in 2017, Kulkarni has earned many distinctions, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Young Innovator Award, the American Association for Cancer Research NextGen Star in Cancer Research Award, the Cancer Research Institute Technology Impact Award, the Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator Award, the National Institutes of Health MIRA Outstanding Investigator Award, and a UMass Amherst Manning/IALS Innovation Award.

Most recently, Kulkarni was named to the National Academy of Inventors’ 2024 Class of Senior Members, an honor awarded to researchers who have developed innovative technologies with a meaningful impact on the welfare of society. He also received the 2024 Langer Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence, as presented by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, in support of his groundbreaking work on a new biomarker for detecting ovarian cancer in its initial stages.

In addition to being an associate professor of chemical engineering, Kulkarni serves as the graduate program director of the department, an adjunct associate professor of biomedical engineering, an adjunct associate professor of chemistry, and a faculty member for the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) Center for Bioactive Delivery as well as the molecular and cellular biology graduate program. From 2021 to 2023, he was a UMass ADVANCE Faculty Fellow—a program that promotes faculty equity and inclusion across campus—and he previously served as the chair of the Chemical Engineering Department’s DEI committee.

Kulkarni earned his BTech from the Institute of Chemical Technology in India and his PhD from the University of Cincinnati.

The previous holder of the Edward S. Price Chemical Engineering Faculty Fellowship was Professor Wei Fan.