Raj R. Rao, Ph.D. is Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He served as Department Head, Biomedical Engineering and as the George M. and Boyce W. Billingsley Endowed Chair in Engineering from 2016-2022. He previously served on the faculty in the Dept of Chemical and Life Science Engineering in Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Engineering with an affiliate appointment in Human and Molecular Genetics, VCU School of Medicine. He received a dual degree in Chemical Engineering [BE(Hons)] and Biology [MSc (Hons)] from the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, India (1993), MS in Biotechnology from the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA) (1996) and a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering (Advisor: Dr. William Kisaalita) from the University of Georgia (UGA) (2001). Following completion of his graduate studies, he conducted postdoctoral research (Advisor: Dr. Steven Stice) at the Regenerative Bioscience Center, The University of Georgia and then joined the faculty at VCU in the Fall of 2005. His research interests are in the area of cellular engineering that utilize interdisciplinary approaches towards better understanding of stem cell fate in the context of regenerative biomedical therapies. With primary support from NIH, NSF and DoD, his research and educational programs have contributed to 70+ journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings; 120+ conference abstracts; and 90 invited lectures. He is committed to integration of research and education and is actively involved in the dissemination of scientific expertise through organization of training workshops and development of educational modules for K-12 students and the public. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Biological Engineering, a BMC-Springer Nature publication, and holds memberships in AAAS, BMES, IBE, ASEE and AIChE. Awards and Honors include the NSF-CAREER, Qimonda Professorship, Billingsley Professorship, VCU Engineering Student Council Outstanding Professor Award & IBE Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service. He was selected to serve as a University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Fellow in 2019; as an ABET Program Evaluator for the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES); and a member of the BMES Education Committee. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and elected Fellow of BMES and served as President of IBE. He currently serves on the AIMBE Board of Directors as Chair of the AIMBE Academic Council.