Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Outstanding Guest Lecture by Mr. Seth Thayumanavan on Biotech in My Humanitarian Logistics Class

Last Thursday, I was delighted to welcome Mr. Seth Thayumanavan to my Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare class at the Isenberg School of Management. His guest lecture was on the biotech industry, with a focus on background for the oncology startup that he co-founded with his father, Distinguished University Professor Thai Thayumanavan.  The name of the company is Nalam Technologies. 

The guest lecture was of great interest to my students in the class, who come from the Isenberg School, the Riccio College of Engineering at UMass Amherst, and also its School of Public Health.

His  presentation demonstrated the great passion that he has for the very important work of Nalam Therapeutics and its team. The students were captivated by the presentation that discussed the story of pharmaceutical cancer therapy and, in particular, targeted delivery systems to make cancer treatment safer and more effective plus the importance of the 4Ps: patients, payers, providers, and policy makers and the challenges associated with clinical trials and venture capital. The students appreciated Mr. Thayumanavan sharing his experiences from the valuable coursework at UPenn to the various positions that he has held. He highlighted that a career path need not be “linear” as well as the great value of networking, which I very much appreciated and agree with!

His presentation generated so many questions – always a sign of immense interest from the audience. I continue to receive comments from students who were both educated and very impressed by the guest lecture and work. We presented Mr. Thayumanavan with a framed Professor for a Day certificate, which had been signed by the Isenberg Dean Anne P. Massey!

Having expert practitioners speak to students provides for a very enriching educational experience.

I wish Nalam Technologies much success in their important work for humanity.