Dr Raviraja earned his M.Sc. in Biosciences in 1993 and Ph.D. in Biosciences (Microbiology) in 1997 from Mangalore University. He also completed an MBA in Operations Management. His academic journey includes postdoctoral training at Mount Allison University, Canada, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA, where he subsequently served as faculty until 2008. Following this, he joined Montefiore Medical Centre/Albert Einstein Cancer Centre in New York City until 2010 as a faculty.
Dr Raviraja returned from the United States in March 2010 and joined Stempeutics Research Pvt. Ltd., part of the Manipal Group, serving as Centre Head until March 2020. His leadership was pivotal in innovation, stem cell manufacturing for clinical applications, and business development, fostering significant out-licensing deals. Since 2010, he has been a PhD guide and, from 2012-2020, an Adjunct Faculty at Manipal School of Life Sciences.
He joined MAHE as founding Director of Corporate Relations in 2020 and subsequently was appointed Professor and Coordinator at Manipal Centre for Biotherapeutics Research (MCBR). He also holds Dr TMA Pai Endowment Chair in Stem Cell Research and Therapeutics. Within two years, he has developed MCBR as one of the top-notch research centres under MAHE and in the country. He was appointed as the Director - Planning & Monitoring, MAHE, Manipal in March 2023. In this role, he has worked closely with the leadership in developing and monitoring vital university strategies.
Dr Raviraja is a devoted scientist with more than 27 years of post-PhD research experience in diverse areas of biology. During his doctoral and postdoctoral periods, he worked in various research areas, including microbiology, cell and molecular biology, nano-biotechnology, cancer biology and regenerative medicine. He has published more than 75 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals of repute, holds 6 patents and presented the research findings at various national and international conferences. He was also the Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator for many research projects funded by the American Lung Association, USA, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, USA and Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. He is a life member of the Mycological Society of India (MSI) and a member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), USA. He has been a reviewer of many reputed journals.
Contact: -
Phone: 0820-2922004
Email: raviraja.ns@manipal.edu