CSIR-CDRI Lucknow

Dr. Radha Rangarajan

Director, CSIR-CDRI

Dr. Radha Rangarajan has been actively involved in translational research and product development in the public health arena for the last two decades. Working closely at the interface between academia, start-ups and industry, her experiences span the drug discovery, diagnostics and medical devices sectors.

Between 2003 and 2009, Dr Rangarajan worked in the Drug Discovery division of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in Hyderabad. She served in multiple roles, successfully developing early stage molecules for various therapeutic areas such as anti-infectives, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Thereafter, she co-founded Vitas Pharma, a drug discovery and development company focused on novel therapies to treat highly resistant infections. She leveraged public-private partnerships to build a highly efficient innovation platform delivering multiple lead optimized candidates, granted patents and companion diagnostics. In 2020, she took on the role of Chief Technology Officer at HealthCubed, a medical devices company focused on affordable diagnostics, where she was responsible for product development, clinical validation, manufacturing and regulatory affairs.

Dr. Rangarajan has served as an expert for CARB-X, a global non-profit that supports antibacterial product innovation. She is on the Board of Governors of the Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation. She is a member of the Hub Governing Body of BITS BioCyTiH Foundation, domain expert for TIFAC in the areas of Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Medical Sciences, member of the selection Committee for DST INSPIRE Faculty Fellows and member of the scientific program committee of iHub-Data, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.

Dr. Rangarajan received the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) Award of Excellence-Women in R&D in 2019. She was selected for the “Champions of Change” initiative of Prime Minister Modi, recognizing India’s emerging entrepreneurs in 2017. She led the Vitas Pharma team that received the Discovery Award of the Longitude Prize Committee, UK in 2016 and was a finalist in the Economic Times Start up Awards (Woman Ahead Category) in 2016.

Dr. Rangarajan obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Stanford University, Master of Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Ph.D. from Rockefeller University. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.