Awards
This page highlights the professional milestones, industry accolades, and scientific achievements earned by our multi-institutional leadership team and core investigators. By tracking these benchmarks, we celebrate the innovators who are actively elevating the safety, efficacy, and quality standards of contemporary botanical drug development.
Center Leadership Honored with Prestigious Nutrition Business Journal Award
Dr. Ikhlas Khan Receives the 25th Annual Nutrition Business Journal Education Award
June 2026
R3CR proudly celebrates Multi-Principal Investigator (MPI) and Regulatory Guidance Core Lead, Dr. Ikhlas Khan, on receiving the highly regarded Education Award from the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ). Marking the 25th anniversary of the NBJ Awards, this milestone honors outstanding leaders and innovators who have made a profound, science-backed impact on the botanical and natural products industry.
“Education, education, education. Everyone needs more education. Whether we are scientists, regulators or consumers, everybody should have the right information.”
Dr. Ikhlas Khan
A Legacy of Scientific Rigor and Mentorship
For decades, Dr. Khan has served as a pivotal figure in natural products science. As the Director of the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi, his work has focused entirely on improving human health through scientific discovery, robust data, and the establishment of international quality and safety standards.
The NBJ Education Award recognizes Dr. Khan’s lifetime commitment to breaking down institutional silos. By fostering open, transparent dialogue among academic researchers, federal regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders, he has spent his career translating complex laboratory science into accessible, actionable standards that protect public health and elevate industry integrity.
Driving the R3CR Mission Forward
This same passion for rigorous education and transparent policy communication serves as the operational blueprint for the R3CR. Within the center, Dr. Khan brings his extensive institutional expertise to lead our Regulatory Guidance Core. Under his direction, the core works to demystify complex, evolving regulatory frameworks, creating the exact educational resources and clearinghouses that cannabis and cannabinoid investigators need to conduct compliant, highly reproducible clinical and non-clinical studies.
Please join the R3CR team – alongside our collaborating partners at the University of Mississippi, Washington State University, and the United States Pharmacopeia —in congratulating Dr. Khan on this well-deserved professional honor.
▶️ Read the Full Story: To explore the complete profiles of this year’s honorees and see how scientific innovation is shaping the future of the industry, download your complimentary copy of the NBJ Awards Issue.