Principle Investigator: Dr. Venigalla Rao

Professor: Department of Biology

Founding Director: Bacteriophage Medical Research Center

Director: The Center for Advanced Training in Cell and Molecular Biology

Education and Training:

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 1980

Postdoctoral Research, Molecular Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine. 1980-89

Honors:

· Avant Garde Awardee, Director’s Award for HIV and Substance Use Disorder Research, NIDA, NIH, 2024

· Fellow, of American Academy of Microbiology, 2021

· Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, 2021

· Fellow of International Association of Advanced Materials, 2022

· Inaugural Faculty Research Achievement Award, The Catholic University of America, 2009

· Inaugural James Youniss Research Award in Natural and Empirical Sciences, The Catholic University of America, 2021

· Inaugural Newton-Bennett Award for Exceptional Achievement, The Catholic University of America, 2024

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Venigalla B. Rao is a professor of biology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, since 1989. He obtained his Ph. D. in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India in 1980, and received a post-doctoral research fellowship in the University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD, to study bacteriophage T4 assembly. In 1989, he joined the faculty of Biology at The Catholic University of America and got promoted to Associate Professor in 1994 and to full professor in 2000. He served as chair of Biology for 18-years (2001-2019), as chair of biology graduate programs for 24-years (1995-2019), and as director of the Center for advanced Training in Cell and Molecular Biology (1997-current). In 2021, with a mission to take the basic discoveries from bench to bedside, Dr. Rao founded the Bacteriophage Medical Research Center to create future therapies and cures for human genetic diseases including HIV and cancer.