The University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) Research Assistant Professor Rashim Singh, Ph.D. (’10), M.Pharm., B.Pharm., was honored with the inaugural 2026 American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research (AAISCR)-Madhabi Ganguly Memorial Award for Entrepreneur-Scientists in Cancer Research at the 33rd AAISCR Annual Meeting April 20 in San Diego.
The national award recognizes an Indian American entrepreneur-scientist who has successfully established a company relevant to cancer research through technology, product development, research services, patient education, care or survivorship.
In addition to her role in UHCOP’s Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Singh serves as co-founder, president and CEO of Sanarentero LLC. The start-up company was founded in 2019 to commercialize technologies developed in the lab of UHCOP’s Ming Hu, Ph.D., Diana S-L. Chow Endowed Professor of Drug Discovery and Development. Singh also serves as a K12 Scholar with the Consortium of Translational and Precision Health at Baylor College of Medicine and UH, and as an adjunct assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
The AAISCR award recognizes Singh’s work at the intersection of pharmacokinetics, translational pharmacology, colon cancer prevention and cancer treatment-related side effect management. Her research focuses on modulating drug and toxin exposure at the site of action or toxicity, particularly in the gut and oral cavity, to prevent inflammation-mediated diseases and improve therapeutic outcomes and quality of life during cancer treatment.
Singh’s work has produced 22 peer-reviewed publications, three patent applications, multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards, and a translational pipeline spanning preclinical efficacy models, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling, physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling and first-in-human testing.
Through Sanarentero, Singh is working to convert academic discoveries into commercial assets aimed at improving care for patients facing cancer treatment-related toxicities and colorectal cancer risk. The company’s mission is to improve lower gastrointestinal health by preventing chemotherapy-induced toxicities and inflammation caused by dietary, xenobiotic and genetic factors.
Singh has secured three NIH Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I awards totaling approximately $1.25 million to support the development of therapies to prevent chemotherapy-induced gut injury. Under her leadership, Sanarentero has advanced two major product platforms: Prowoz™, a colon-targeted microparticle therapy designed to prevent irinotecan-induced delayed-onset diarrhea, and Afairo™, a patent-pending functional chewing gum designed to scavenge chemotherapeutic and opioid-related toxins from saliva.
Her entrepreneurial portfolio also includes work with collaborators at the University of North Texas to develop recombinant drug-detoxifying bacteria expressing plant UGT enzymes, as well as a genetic biocontainment system designed to address safety concerns related to recombinant live organisms.
Singh has received additional recognition for entrepreneurial leadership, including selection as an Innov8 Hub Pitch Competition winner, participation as an NIH panelist for the Success in I-Corps Program and selection for the NIH Angel Capital Association Summit Investor Showcase.