DR. DUANE D. MILLER SELECTED AS TOP PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF THE DECADE BY IAOTP

The International Association of Top Professionals will honor Dr. Duane D. Miller at their annual red carpet awards gala

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dr. Duane D. Miller was selected as Top Professor Emeritus of the Decade 2026 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for his determination, integrity, and commitment to his field.

While inclusion with the International Association of Top Professionals is an honor in itself, only one Professor Emeritus is selected for this distinction. Dr. Duane Miller is being recognized for having over four decades of experience dedicated to the field. Dr. Miller will receive this recognition at IAOTP's Award Gala this December 2026 at the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York City.
www.iaotp.com/award-gala

With over four decades of exceptional experience in academia, Dr. Miller has proven himself to be an expert in the field. As a purposeful and accomplished leader, he has held several significant roles, including serving as an NIH Fellow at the University of Washington, a faculty member at Ohio State University, and Professor and Chairman of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology. Dr. Miller later became the Endowed Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2001, he also assumed the role of departmental head for the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

His areas of expertise include research on anticancer drugs, the development of conformationally restricted analogs of ephedrine, and investigations into the steric interactions of imidazolines, catecholamines, and tetrahydroisoquinolines as they interact with adrenoceptors.

Dr. Miller has authored more than 480 scientific papers and contributed to sixteen book chapters. He has delivered over four hundred presentations at national and international conferences. He also holds an extensive portfolio of patents and patent applications, totaling more than one hundred. Dr. Miller's research is intensely focused on discovering and developing new medicinal compounds, particularly pharmaceuticals for regions with limited treatment options for cancer, as well as creating medications that minimize side effects.

In 1998, Dr. Miller and Dr. Jim Dalton, now the Provost at The University of Alabama, discovered the first nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators, known as SARMs. GTx later acquired the licensing rights for these compounds and conducted clinical studies to evaluate their use in treating muscle wasting in cancer patients and osteoporosis. SARMs are orally available and demonstrate a significantly reduced risk of side effects, including a lower potential for liver damage compared to traditional muscle-building drugs. These compounds have shown promise in supporting older men with decreased testosterone levels, a condition commonly referred to as ADAM or andropause. SARMs progressed through Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III clinical trials for cancer-related cachexia, although the Food and Drug Administration did not ultimately approve them. They are now being evaluated for potential use in AR-positive breast cancer and as complementary therapies to help preserve muscle during weight loss treatment.

Dr. Miller also collaborated with Dr. Ramesh Narayanan on the discovery of an innovative class of drugs known as selective androgen receptor degraders, or SARDs. This groundbreaking work revealed the ability of SARDs to degrade the androgen receptor, offering a promising therapeutic approach for castration-resistant prostate cancer. One of these drugs is currently undergoing clinical trials for prostate cancer through the company Oncternal and has been granted FDA fast-track status. Their goal is to address cases in which traditional androgen receptor antagonists have not been effective. Dr. Miller and Dr. Narayanan recently discovered selective androgen receptor covalent antagonists, known as SARCAs, which also show strong potential in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Dr. Miller has maintained an extensive record of collaboration across disciplines. He worked with Dr. Gabor Tigyi on the development of radiation mitigators, which were later licensed to RxBio. He partnered with Dr. Ryan Yates on anti-inflammatory medications, also licensed to RxBio. In addition, he collaborated with Dr. Elden Geisert to advance brain cancer therapeutics, resulting in the discovery of promising compounds licensed by RxBio.

Before embarking on his career path, Dr. Miller was born in 1943 on a farm in Larned, Kansas. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas in 1966 and later earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Washington.

Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Duane Miller has received numerous awards and accolades and has been recognized worldwide for his outstanding accomplishments. Dr. Miller's academic career includes receiving the University of Tennessee National Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award in 1994. He was honored with the Student Government Association Executive Council (SGAEC) Excellence in Teaching Award in 1995, 2001, and 2005 for his exceptional teaching at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's College of Pharmacy. In 2006, he received the University of Tennessee Pharmacy Class Teacher of the Year award. He has provided guidance to twenty-nine graduate students and thirty-five postdoctoral fellows. In 2023, he was honored with a place in Marquis Who's Who. In 2024, he was named IAOTP's Top Professor Emeritus of the Year and received the Lifetime Achievement Award. He will receive the Top Professor Emeritus of the Decade award at IAOTP's Annual Awards Gala at the iconic Plaza Hotel in NYC, December 2026.

In addition to his successful career, Dr. Miller has been recognized with numerous prestigious honors for his contributions to the field of pharmaceutical sciences and medicinal chemistry. In 1990, he was named a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. In 2001, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in recognition of his groundbreaking work on the structural and stereochemical requirements of adrenergic medications and their interactions with both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

In 2008, the University of Washington College of Pharmacy honored him as "Alumni of the Year." That same year, he received the American Chemical Society's Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award at the National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium. This distinguished award, given every two years, recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to medicinal chemistry through research, mentorship, and service. Later in 2008, he was inducted into the Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame of the American Chemical Society during the National ACS Meeting in Philadelphia.

In 2009, Dr. Miller received the Volwiler Research Achievement Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy for his outstanding research in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. In 2015, he was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The University of Tennessee Research Foundation later recognized him in 2019 as the university's leading inventor, holding a remarkable total of one hundred United States patents. Also in 2015, Dr. Miller was honored with the title of Professor Emeritus.

Today, Dr. Miller remains actively engaged in research with external funding support, focusing on the development, evaluation, and advancement of innovative pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, he continues to pursue new patents and publications related to therapies for prostate cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and glioblastoma. His work involves close collaboration with esteemed colleagues, including Drs. Ramesh Narayanan, Wei Li, and Lawrence Pfeffer.

Dr. Miller's long-standing partnership with Dr. Wei Li has spanned over a decade, focusing on the development of tubulin inhibitors. Their collaboration led to the creation of Sabizabulin, a compound licensed by Veru that is currently in Phase I/II clinical trials for treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Sabizabulin is also under investigation for its potential use in treating respiratory distress syndrome caused by SARS-CoV-2 in adult patients. Dr. Miller's most recent NIH-funded project, conducted with Dr. Lawrence Pfeffer in the College of Medicine, focuses on identifying therapeutic enhancing drugs for the treatment of glioblastoma.

Looking back, Dr. Miller attributes his success to his perseverance, work ethic, and the mentors he has had, as well as the outstanding faculty and student collaborators who have worked on various research projects in the areas of cancer and androgen drug development. In the future, he hopes to inspire and influence those getting into the field.

For more information on Dr. Duane Miller, please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/

Watch his video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2lLtZcovTw&t=1s


About IAOTP

The International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) is an international boutique networking organization that handpicks the world's finest and most prestigious top professionals from various industries. These top professionals are given the opportunity to collaborate, share their ideas, serve as keynote speakers, and help influence others in their fields. This organization is not a membership that anyone can join. You must be asked by the President or be nominated by a distinguished honorary member after a brief interview.

IAOTP's experts have given thousands of top, prestigious professionals worldwide the recognition and credibility they deserve, helping to build their branding empires. IAOTP prides itself on being a one-of-a-kind boutique networking organization that handpicks only the best of the best and creates a networking platform that connects and brings these top professionals to one place.

For more information on IAOTP, please visit: www.iaotp.com

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