Invitrogen Taps Renowned Stem Cell Expert Mahendra Rao to Lead new Research Area
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Invitrogen Corporation has announced it has named former NIH stem cell section chief Mahendra Rao, MD, Ph.D. Vice President, Research, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.
In this role, Dr. Rao will lead the research efforts for Invitrogen's recently formed Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine business. Invitrogen's efforts in regenerative medicine provide support technologies for applications across the range of nearly all forms of stem cell research.
"Adding a researcher of Dr. Rao's caliber creates a significant new dimension to our already robust stem cell efforts," explained Claude Benchimol, Ph.D., Invitrogen's Senior Vice President of Research and Development.
"Dr. Rao's leadership will enable our company's technology portfolio to grow and adapt as stem cell therapies become more prevalent in modern medicine."
Dr. Rao has published more than 100 papers on stem cell research in his time as both scientist and educator. Most recently, he served as Section Chief for Stem Cells and Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Neuroscience for the National Institute on Aging--a division of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Rao also has an extensive background teaching medical and graduate students, as well as postdoctorate fellows at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India and the University of Utah School of Medicine. He holds an M.D. from Bombay University in India and a Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology from the California Institute of Technology.
"I am truly excited about the opportunity to help shape Invitrogen's role in the field of regenerative medicine," said Dr. Rao. "The company has a firm foundation in supporting research and has enabled many of the advances made to this point. As the discipline progresses, it will continue to provide the keys that move scientists closer to the promise of these cellular therapies."
"Invitrogen has been a catalyst for some of the most significant advances in life science," concluded Gregory T. Lucier, Invitrogen's Chairman and CEO. "Now, stem cell medicine stands poised to make the next impact on the human condition and Invitrogen will once again provide the way to discovery."
