In the Spotlight: Dr. Rakesh Kukreja

Rakesh Kukreja, PhD, joined the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center faculty in 1984, and is now Eric Lipman professor and the center’s scientific director since 2010. Kukreja’s research on cardioprotection has resulted in more than $22 million in grants and many accolades, including the NIH’s most prestigious MERIT Award in 2006, the Faculty Award for Distinguished Research for 2008/2009, VCU’s Distinguished Scholarship Award in 2009, and Virginia’s Outstanding Scientist of the Year award in 2010.  He also received international honors, including the Norman Alpert Award for established investigator in Cardiovascular Sciences and Ken Bowman Research Achievement Award from Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manitoba in 2013.

In addition, “Dr. Kukreja is an outstanding mentor who is generous with his time, knowledge, and long-standing experience and wisdom in scientific research,” says Fadi Salloum, PhD, who has worked alongside the scientist for 18 years.

Kukreja helped Anindita Das, PhD transition from an exclusively cancer researcher to a highly competitive investigator in cardiology.

Dr. Kukreja’s depth in scientific vision, integrity, and intrinsic motivation inspires me to expand my research into new frontiers,” says Das.

“He is an example of a successful mentor who continuously encourages me to see the potential inside of myself.”