Santosh Kumar, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Q: When did you join the faculty here at UTHSC and what drew you to the position?
A: I joined the faculty at UTHSC in June 2014. There are so many possibilities here and the environment is very strong for research.
Q: What advice do you have for your students?
A: The main thing I tell my students is to work hard, there is no substitute for working hard, but the second thing I always tell them is to work smart. There are a lot of people who work hard but don’t go anywhere. You have to be smart and make a strategic plan for every day. Think about that plan all the time and do it. That is working smart not just hard.
Q: What do you love most about working with students?
A: Interaction with the students is very satisfying for me is because one of my strengths is talking to them one-on-one and bringing the best out of my students. When I interact with them, I try my best to know about them individually so I can mentor them appropriately. I love working with the students and trying to help them as best I can.
Q: What is your current research on?
A: My current research is working with HIV and drug abuse. HIV is not the deadly disease that it used to be, it has become more of a chronic management disease. But a lot of people that are infected are also taking drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. That is effecting their brain a lot. Now these people are also aging. The goal is figuring out ways to help these people effectively manage their disease.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I love to spend time with my daughters. They both play tennis, my older daughter is playing Division I tennis and now I am playing with younger daughter. We travel to a lot of tennis tournaments. The second thing I do is I love to read books.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
A: There is always a price for everything, nothing is free. Either you pay the price now and play later or you play now and pay the price later. We have to choose. I always choose to pay the price first and play later.