Rate My Professor Rajaraman Eri

Professor Rajaraman Eri serves as Head of Department and Associate Dean Biology in the School of Science at RMIT University, Bundoora West campus. He is a Professor of Biological Sciences with more than two decades of expertise in biomedical research, academic leadership, and institutional development. Eri holds a DVM, a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Queensland awarded in 2001, and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning. Prior to joining RMIT in November 2022 as Associate Dean for Biology and Biosciences and Food Technology, he was Head of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Tasmania from December 2010 to November 2022. Earlier roles include Research Officer at Mater Research Institute in Mucosal Biology from 2006 to 2010 and postdoctoral positions in Australia and the USA focused on gut inflammation and immunology.

His research focuses on translational biomedical research in gut health and nutrition, including mucosal inflammation in conditions like IBD, IBS, gut-brain interactions, and dietary intervention studies. Key research areas include clinical microbiology, immunology, food sciences, and clinical nutrition. Eri has published over 189 peer-reviewed articles, with 81 in the past five years, achieving an H-index of 51 and approximately 15,000 citations. Notable publications include "Aberrant mucin assembly in mice causes endoplasmic reticulum stress and spontaneous inflammation resembling ulcerative colitis" (2008), "Intestinal barrier dysfunction in inflammatory bowel diseases" (2009), "Toll-like receptor-4 is required for intestinal response to epithelial injury and limiting bacterial translocation in a murine model of acute colitis" (2005), "Endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress: a vicious nexus implicated in bowel disease pathophysiology" (2017), and "Role of oxidative stress in the pathology and management of human tuberculosis" (2018). He has led over 24 competitive grants totaling around $4.8 million from sources like NHMRC and Cancer Council, holds patents, and serves on editorial boards. Eri has supervised 19 PhD students to completion and currently supervises nine in gut health, inflammation, and translational immunology.