Rate My Professor Jayandharan Rao

Jayandharan G. Rao is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, a position he has held since December 2019, after serving as Associate Professor in the same department from October 2014 to December 2019. Prior to IIT Kanpur, he held positions as Associate Professor from September 2013 to September 2014 and Assistant Professor from 2008 to 2013 in the Department of Hematology at Christian Medical College, Vellore. He also served as Lecturer for the MSc program in Hematology at Christian Medical College from 2001 to 2006. Additionally, Rao was Associate Dean of Research and Development at IIT Kanpur from August 2021 to October 2024. His academic qualifications include a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Biology from Christian Medical College, Vellore (2003-2008), postdoctoral fellowship at the Powell Gene Therapy Center, University of Florida, Gainesville (2007-2009), and an MSc in Microbiology from Madras University, Chennai (1997-1999).

Rao's research centers on gene therapy and human molecular genetics, with a focus on engineering adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to treat monogenic diseases such as hemophilia and retinal degeneration, as well as cancers like hepatocellular carcinoma and leukemia. His laboratory has developed indigenous gene therapy vectors, including those licensed to Reliance Life Sciences for hereditary eye diseases and hemophilia B. Key publications include the edited volume "Gene and Cell Therapy: Biology and Applications" (Springer, 2018), "AAV-mediated combination gene therapy of inducible Caspase 9 and miR-199a-5p is therapeutic in hepatocellular carcinoma" (Cancer Gene Therapy, 2024), "Development of an Optimized Promoter System for Exosomal and Naked AAV Vector-Based Suicide Gene Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma" (ACS Omega, 2024), and "Suppressing microtubule detyrosination augments AAV2 endosomal escape and gene delivery" (Journal of Cell Science, 2025). Among his numerous honors are the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship (2017-2022), B.M. Birla Science Prize in Biology (2015), Swarnajayanti Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (2012-2017), Senior Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award from the Department of Biotechnology (2014-2017), Bayer Hemophilia Early Career Investigator Award (2010), and Joy Gill Chair Professorship at IIT Kanpur (2015-2018). Rao serves on editorial boards of journals including Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Human Gene Therapy, and Cancer Gene Therapy, and has chaired global outreach and training committees for the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis.