Deepak Kumar
Dr. Deepak Kumar serves as the associate provost and dean of Research and Sponsored Programs at NCCU and is also a professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In this capacity, he functions as the university’s chief research officer, providing vision, strategy, and leadership for NCCU’s expanding research enterprise. He oversees the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI), the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), the university’s animal research complex, research compliance, technology transfer, and sponsored programs administration. Under his leadership, NCCU has modernized its research infrastructure, significantly expanded annual extramural funding, and launched the Office of Research Development to enhance faculty success across disciplines.
A cancer biologist by training, Dr. Kumar has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than 20 years. He has authored over 135 peer-reviewed publications and 10 patents. His research focuses on molecular biomarkers of cancer progression, with a particular emphasis on prostate cancer, and extends into genomics, epigenomics, cell signaling, environmental health, and implementation science. A hallmark of his work is its community-engaged orientation, building bridges between biomedical discovery and the health needs of underserved populations. He has mentored dozens of trainees from underrepresented backgrounds, many of whom have gone on to successful research and leadership careers.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Kumar has secured more than $75 million in competitive funding as a principal investigator or co-investigator. At NCCU, he directs several signature initiatives, including the NIH/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research, the Duke–NCCU Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) partnership, NCCU’s mobile health units, clinical research education initiatives across North Carolina, and the NC Collaboratory–supported opioid abatement project. He also spearheaded a transformative $10.5 million New Market Tax Credit investment, which established a Rural Health Hub in Enfield, NC — a cornerstone for research and health engagement in rural eastern North Carolina.
Dr. Kumar has positioned NCCU as a state and national leader in community-engaged research, forging sustained partnerships with community-based organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and county health departments. These collaborations have advanced health services and community-engaged research, chronic disease prevention, and solutions-oriented health disparities interventions, ensuring that discoveries translate into meaningful outcomes for the communities NCCU serves.
His contributions to science, leadership, and service to North Carolinians have earned wide recognition. He was elected to the North Carolina Institute of Medicine in 2022 and named an NIMHD History Maker in 2019. He has also served on the NC Department of Environmental Quality Advisory Board and contributed nationally through NIH review panels and policy groups.
Dr. Kumar’s career integrates scientific excellence, strategic leadership, mentorship, and community engagement, through which he has advanced both the research enterprise at NCCU and the broader goal of ensuring that innovation in science and health research benefits diverse communities across North Carolina and beyond.