FAMU President Elmira Mangum has appointed K. Ken Redda vice
president for research. His appointment was effective June 1.
Redda, a professor of medicinal chemistry in the FAMU
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, served as interim vice
president for research since 2010. He previously served as the associate vice
president for Research from 2004 to 2005 and currently serves as an activity
leader for the Drug Discovery Core Facility, a component of the FAMU Research
Center in Minority Institutions Program. His research focuses on the design and
synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents.
During his 29-year tenure at FAMU, Redda has generated more than $36.5 million in research and training grant awards, garnered multiple patents and has received numerous awards for his outstanding achievements in teaching, research and service, including the prestigious Teaching Incentive Program Award, the Professorial Excellence Program Award and the Special Recognition Award for his exceptional contributions in the area of grantsmanship by former FAMU President Fred Gainous.
He was also named FAMU's “Advanced Teacher of the Year” in
2010 and the “Best Male Faculty Member" at the 2013 Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Awards.
Redda, the author of “Cocaine, Marijuana, Designer Drugs:
Chemistry, Pharmacology and Behavior,” has published approximately 60
scientific peer-reviewed and indexed papers and his research findings have been
presented at nearly 100 national and international scientific meetings
throughout the United States, North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Redda received his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the
Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Alberta (Canada). He joined the FAMU
faculty in 1985 as an associate professor of medicinal chemistry after serving
as an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Puerto
Rico's College of Pharmacy in San Juan from 1980-1984.