Dr. Simi Gunaseelan received her PhD degree in Chemistry in 2002 from North-Eastern Hill University, India and extensive postdoctoral research training on Novel Drug Delivery Systems for HIV Therapeutics & HIV Prevention and Cancer Therapeutics from Rutgers University School of Pharmacy, New Jersey. Dr. Gunaseelan joined the Texas A&M University School of Engineering Medicine in June 2025 as the Assistant Dean of Evaluation & Assessment and Instructional Professor. Prior to her joining the Texas A&M University School of Engineering Medicine, she worked at the Texas A&M University College of Pharmacy for eight years since 2017 as the Director of Assessment and Instructional Associate Professor where she led the development and implementation of best assessment practices and strategies aligned with accreditation requirements from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). She has been actively involved with pharmacy curricular & programmatic assessment efforts, pharmacy accreditation initiatives along with curricular, co-curricular and interprofessional education development for PharmD programs. She has previously served as a founding faculty member both at the University of Texas at Tyler College of Pharmacy and West Coast University School of Pharmacy in Los Angeles, California where she led both the new pharmacy programs’ assessment-related accreditation initiatives. Dr. Gunaseelan is a recipient of several awards and recognitions at the College-level and at the University-level. She got her formal leadership training from the highly prestigious and competitive year-long 2019-2020 Cohort 16 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Academic Leadership Fellows Program (AACP ALFP Cohort 16) through which she further enriched her leadership skills. She is a trained ACPE site-team evaluator for comprehensive evaluation of the accreditation status of US pharmacy schools’ PharmD programs which is a role comparable to evaluating medical schools under LCME standards.
Research Interests
Health Professions Educational Research
- Health Professions Educational Research
- Academic and Non-Academic Predictors/Indicators of Student Success
- Curricular Assessment
- Programmatic Assessment
- Curricular Innovation
- Co-Curricular Innovation
- Interprofessional Education & Research
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
- Team-Based Learning (TBL)
- Transformational Learning
- Dimensions of Wellbeing
- Leadership Development
- Professional Development and Professional Identity Formation of Health Profession Students
Novel Drug Delivery Systems for HIV Therapeutics & HIV Prevention and Cancer Therapeutics
Patents
Nanocarrier and Nanogel Compositions
Patrick J. Sinko, Stanley Stein, Hilliard Kutscher, Manjeet Deshmukh, Anupa Menjoge, Yashveer Singh, Simi Gunaseelan, “Nanocarrier and Nanogel Compositions”, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [Patent No.: US 9,517,201; Date of Patent: December 13, 2016].
Nanocarrier Compositions and Methods
Patrick J. Sinko, Stanley Stein, Simi Gunaseelan, Shahriar Pooyan, Matthew Palombo and Xiaoping Zhang, “Nanocarrier Compositions and Methods”, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [Patent No.: US 9,421,272; Date of Patent: August 23, 2016].
Degradable Hydrogel Compositions and Methods
Patrick J. Sinko, Manjeet Deshmukh, Yashveer Singh, Simi Gunaseelan, “Degradable Hydrogel Compositions and Methods”, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [Patent No.: US 9,345,662; Date of Patent: May 24, 2016].
Dressing Compositions and Methods
Patrick Sinko, Stanley Stein, Anupa Menjoge, Simi Gunaseelan, Siva Anumolu and Raghavangra Navath. “Dressing Compositions and Methods”. United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [Patent No.: US 9,211,358; Date of Patent: December 15, 2015].
Drug-Polymer Conjugates Coupled To A Peptidic Carrier”
Patrick J. Sinko, Stanley Stein, Simi Gunaseelan, Shahriar Pooyan, Li Wan and Xiaoping Zhang, “Drug-Polymer Conjugates Coupled To A Peptidic Carrier”, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [Patent No.: US 7,846,893; Date of Patent: December 7, 2010].
Publications
Simi Gunaseelan, Elaine Demps, Amanda M. Galvan, Asim Abu-Baker, Kim Tanzer, Indra K. Reddy. “A Qualitative Study of Underrepresented Minority (URM) Student Pharmacists’ Intersectionality and Professional Identity Formation”. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE), July 2023.
Rucha Bond, Karen M.S. Bastianelli, Simi Gunaseelan, Kevin W. Chamberlin, Kayce M. Shealy. “How Debate Could Facilitate Group Function in Pharmacy Schools”. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE), December 2022; Volume 86, Issue 10.
Elizabeth Buckley, Simi Gunaseelan, Benjamin D. Aronson, Heidi N. Anksorus, Victoria Belousova, Tram B. Cat, Kristine M. Cline, Stacey D. Curtis, Christina E. DeRemer, David Fuentes, McKenzie S. Grinalds, Seena L. Haines, Hannah E. Johnson, Karen Kopacek, Jessica M. Louie, Nkem P. Nonyel, Natasha Petry, Shawn Riser Taylor, Suzanne C. Harris, Cheryl A Sadowski, Anandi V. Law. “Well-Being Content Inclusion in Pharmacy Education Across the US and Canada”. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE), December 2022; Volume 86, Issue 10.
Sharon K. Park, Kimberly K. Daugherty, Srikanth Kolluru, Lisa Lebovitz, Simi Gunaseelan, Beth K. Janetski, Rosalyn Padiyara Vellurattil, Justine Gortney. “Rethinking the Pharmacy Workforce Crisis by Exploring Unconventional and Emerging Career Pathways and Training”. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE), August 2022; Volume 86, Issue 6, Pages 660-667.
Mohammed Islam, Seher Khan, Simi Gunaseelan and Rahmat Talukder. Physician Perceptions of Integrating Pharmacists into Healthcare in Bangladesh. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, 2018; Volume 48, Issue 4, Pages 328-333.
Shih-Feng Chou, Simi Gunaseelan, Mhd Hussam Hijazi Kiellani, Venkata Vamsi Krishna Thottempudi, Pierre Neuenschwander and Huarong Nie. A review of injectable and implantable biomaterials for treatment and repair of soft tissues in wound healing. Journal of Nanotechnology, 2017; 1-15.
Mahta Samizadeh, Xiaoping Zhang, Simi Gunaseelan, Antoinette Nelson, Matthew Palombo, Daniel Myers, Yashveer Singh, Usha Ganapathi, Zoltan Szekely and Patrick Sinko. Colorectal delivery and retention of PEG-Amprenavir-Bac7 nanoconjugates-proof of concept for HIV mucosal pre-exposure prophylaxis. Drug Delivery and Translational Research, 2016; 6, 1-16.
Simi Gunaseelan, Philippe Gallay, Michael Bobardt, Charlene S. Dezzutti, Timothy Esch and Richard Maskiewicz. Sustained local delivery of structurally diverse HIV-1 microbicides released from sublimation enthalpy controlled matrices. Pharmaceutical Research, 2012; 29, 3156-3168.
Richard Maskiewicz, Michael Bobardt, Udayan Chatterji, Simi Gunaseelan, Charlene S. Dezzutti, Francois Penin and Philippe A. Gallay. Sublimable C5A delivery provides sustained and prolonged anti-HIV microbicidal activities. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2012; 56, 3336-3343.
Simi Gunaseelan, K. Gunaseelan, Manjeet Deshmukh, Xiaoping Zhang and Patrick J. Sinko. Surface modifications of nanocarriers for effective intracellular delivery of anti-HIV drugs. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2010; 62, 518-531.
Simi Gunaseelan, Shahriar Pooyan, Peiming Chen, Mahta Samizadeh, Matthew S. Palombo, Stanley Stein, Xiaoping Zhang and Patrick J. Sinko. Multimeric peptide-based PEG nanocarriers with programmable elimination properties. Biomaterials, 2009; 30, 5649-5659.
Simi Gunaseelan, Olivia Debrah, Li Wan, Michael J. Leibowitz, Arnold B. Rabson, Stanley Stein and Patrick J. Sinko. Synthesis of poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG)- based saquinavir prodrug conjugates and assessment of release and anti-HIV-1 bioactivity using a novel protease inhibition assay, Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2004; 15; 1322-1333.