John Patani
Graduate Student
John Patani is a master’s student in Pharmaceutics at the University of Minnesota. He joined the Sury Lab in the summer of 2025, where his thesis research focuses on understanding the effect of solvent concentration on nucleation and crystallization behavior in solvent-evaporated amorphous solid dispersions. In addition to his thesis work, John has been involved in collaborative academic and industrial projects centered on the stability of amorphous systems, lyophilization process science, and solid-state characterization. He received his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, where he graduated with a gold medal. Outside the lab, John enjoys playing cricket and traveling.
N.S. Krishna Kumar, PhD
Researcher 6
N.S. Krishna Kumar obtained his bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Kerala and master's degree in Physics from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. In 2018, he received his PhD in Physics from Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India. Experiment and modeling of dielectric relaxation of various disordered systems were objectives of his doctoral studies. He has worked as a Research Associate in the Solid-State Chemistry Division of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, India. He joined the Sury Lab in 2017 as a Research Specialist and became a Postdoctoral Associate in 2018. Dr. Kumar is specifically involved in diverse collaborative industrial and academic projects related to pharmaceutical formulations and drug delivery applications. His current research involves predicting the stability of amorphous pharmaceutical systems and optimization of drug-excipient composition based on molecular mobility and chemical thermodynamics.
Bhushan Munjal, PhD
Researcher 6
Bhushan Munjal joined the Sury Lab in June 2019 as a Postdoctoral Associate. Prior to this, he has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in formulation development research for six years, translating knowledge from bench to manufacturing. His last association was with Fresenius Kabi Oncology Limited (India) as an Assistant Manager. He completed his PhD and master's from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (India). His current area of interest includes lyophilization of small and large molecules and utilization of material science approaches for solving formulation and process challenges. He has authored publications in the areas of lyophilization, drug delivery, and solid state pharmaceutics. He received the Ranbaxy Science Scholar Award 2014 for his PhD dissertation titled "Effect of Formulation and Processing variables on the solid form of APIs during lyophilization."