Adjunct Associate Professor
Research Interests: Precision and personalized oncology, Nanomedicine, Trasnlational science
Office Hours: By appointment only
Education:
- B.A., Computer Science, Economics, and Business, Coe College, IA
- MSBME, Biomedical Engineering, UAB
- Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Nanomedicine, UAB and UA
- DLA (h), Liberal Arts, Coe College, IA
Dr. Budhwani’s nanomedicine research spans in vitro, ex vivo and in silico platforms for cancer disease modeling, drug discovery, diagnostics, and precision and personalized oncology. This includes biomimetic tissue-engineered platforms including active perfusion based microphysiological systems (MPS), active and passive lab-chip systems, high-resolution additive manufacturing, lab-on-a-brane (patented), and a first-of-its-kind solid tumor biopsy chip multiplexer ChipMux (patented), bioprinted organoid tumor (BOT), and electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) based targeted and on-demand therapy delivery.
Dr. Budhwani is CEO-Scientist at CerFlux, a cancer biotech company that he co-founded in 2018 to #CrushCancer by developing personalized medicine technology using advances in micro and nanomedicine. He also serves as Visiting Scientist in the Dept. of Physics at Coe College and on various industry, academic, and organizational boards. He has also served as Ambassador of Trade for the State of Alabama and as Chair of the Ismail Professionals Network which spans over 20 countries on 5 continents. He is well published in business and peer-reviewed journals. His scientific research is well funded including prestigious grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Budhwani has combined his passion for innovation, socioeconomic development, and scientific discoveries to shape the impact of innovation and new knowledge (INK) in advancing the economy and the broader human society. He received his BA in Computer Science, Economics, and Business from Coe College, IA (1993), MS in Biomedical Engineering from UAB (2015), and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (Nanomedicine) from UAB and UA in 2018. For decades of leadership in advancing innovation, excellence, service, and his vision for undergirding the new knowledge society, Coe College conferred upon him an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Liberal Arts (DLA), in 2018. Dr. Budhwani has won numerous awards and honors but among his most cherished honors is the title of #CancerKiller bestowed upon him by friends of his then 8-year-old sons
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Select Publications
- Budhwani, KI*; Patel, ZH; Guenter, RE; Charania, AA. A hitchhiker’s guide to cancer models. Trends Biotechnol. 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.04.003.
- Bollenbecker, SE; Patel, ZH; Punjani, Z; Charania, AA; Patel, HK; Saleh, MN; Budhwani, KI*. Simultaneous rapid preclinical therapeutic evaluation in a novel ex vivo bioreactor. ESMO Open, 7(6), 100729. doi: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2022.100729. 2022.
- Bollenbecker, SE; Patel, ZH; Punjani, Z; Charania, AA; Patel, HK; Abott A; Kunkle, K; Sewell-Loftin, MK; Grossman, G; Budhwani, KI*. Predictive efficacy biomarker for chemotherapy agents against triple-negative breast cancer bioprinted organoid tumors (BOTs) using solid tumor biopsy-on-a-chip. Cancer Research, 83(5_Supplement). doi: 10.1158/1538-7445.SABCS22-P6-01-38. 2022.
- Patel, HK; Punjani, Z; Charania, AA; Patel, ZH; Papachristou, G; Contreras, CM; Tsung, A; Budhwani, KI*. Evaluating efficacy on tumor biopsy tissue ex vivo before treatment for equitable cancer care. J Clin Oncol. 2022;40. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.e13502. 2022.
- Charania, AA; Patel, HK; Punjani, Z; Patel, ZH; Bollenbecker, SE; Papachristou, G; Contreras, CM; Tsung, A; Budhwani, KI*. Preanalytical protocols for improving access to live tissue diagnostics in remote and low resource settings. J Clin Oncol. 2022;40. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.e13501. 2022.
- Charania, AA; Patel, HK; Punjani, Z; Patel, ZH; Bollenbecker, SE; Papachristou, G; Contreras, CM; Tsung, A; Budhwani, KI*. Preanalytical protocols for improving access to live tissue diagnostics in remote and low resource settings. J Clin Oncol. 2022
- Budhwani KI*; Budhwani H; Podbielski B. Evaluating Population Density as a Parameter for Optimizing COVID-19 Testing: Statistical Analysis. JMIRx Med. 2021;2(1). doi: 10.2196/22195.
- Budhwani, KI*; Pierce, AT; Arora, N. Attenuating Pandemic Supply Shocks with 3D Printed Emergency Use Equipment. (preprint & NIH 3D Exchange). doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1229836/v1. 2020.
- Budhwani, KI*; Pekmezi, GM; Selim, MM. Measuring surface and interfacial tension in situ in Microdripping Mode for electrohydrodynamic applications. Micromachines. 2020, 11 (7), 687.
- 11. Saleh, MN; Naik, G; Mwirigi, A; Shaikh,AJ; Sayani, S; Ghesani, M; Asaria, S; Sohani, AR; Sayed, S; Moloo, Z; Budhwani, KI; Talib, Z. Bridging the Gap in training and clinical practice in Sub Saharan Africa. Curr. Breast Cancer Rep., 2019.
- Budhwani, KI*; Oliver, PG; Buchsbaum, DJ; Thomas, V. Novel biomimetic microphysiological systems for tissue regeneration and disease modeling. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (series) : Novel Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine. 2018.
- Budhwani, KI*; Thomas, V; Dettmann, MA; Saleh, MN. Nano and microbubble drug delivery systems for targeted cancer treatment. J. Curr. Nanosci. 2017, 13.
- Vaidya, U; Budhwani, KI; Janney, M. Vibration Evaluation of Recycled Carbon Fiber Thermoplastics Through Multiple Process-Shred Steps. SAMPE J. 2017, 53 (5), 42-46.
- Budhwani, KI*; Wood, AT; Gangrade, A; Sethu, P; Thomas, V. Nanofiber and Stem Cell Enabled Biomimetic Systems and Regenerative Medicine. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2016, 16, 8923-34.
- Wood, AT; Everett, D; Budhwani, KI; Dickinson, B; Thomas, V. Wet-Laid Soyfiber Reinforced Hydrogel Scaffold: Fabrication & Mechano-Morphological and Cell Studies. Mater. Sci. Eng. C. 2016, 63, 308-16.
- Budhwani, KI*; Thomas, V; Sethu, P. Lab-On-A-Brane: Nanofibrous Polymer Scaffolds to Recreate Organ-Capillary Interfaces. J. Micromechanics Microengineering. 2016, 26(3), 035013.
- Budhwani, KI*; Vaidya, U; Janney, M. Vibration Based Nondestructive Evaluation to Determine Viability of Parts Produced with Recycled Thermoplastic Composites. Mater. Eval. 2016, 181-193.
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Academic Distinctions & Professional Societies
- Tech Education Advisory Board, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate (2023–present)
- Advisory Board, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, UAB (2023–present)
- Scientist, Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at UAB (2022–present)
- Mentor, Prosper Race/Place/Gender Inclusive Health Technology Accelerator (2022–present)
- Medical Advisory Council, Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (2021–present)
- Servant Leadership Vulcan, Birmingham Community Leadership Awards (2020)
- Healthcare Hero, Birmingham Business Journal (2020)
- Board of Directors, BIO Alabama (2020–present)
- Mentor, gener8tor gBeta DEI Accelerator (2020–present)
- Advisory Board, American Cancer Society (2019–present)
- Advisory Board, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB (2019–present)
- Leadership Trust, The Business Journals (2019)
- Executive of Influence, Birmingham Business Journal (2019)
- Social Impact Startup Champion, IPN USA (2018)
- Freedom from Cancer Startup Innovation, Center for Advancing Innovation (2018)
- Alabama Innovation Award, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (2018)
- The A-List: A Better World, B-Metro (2017)
- CEO of the Year, Birmingham Business Journal (2016)
- Visiting Scientist, Dept. of Physics, Coe College (2010–present)