Ashok Venkitaraman - Curriculum Vitae#

CAREER SUMMARY

Venkitaraman trained in clinical medicine in India, identifying previously unrecognized features of the sero-epidemiology of herpesviral infections with T. Jacob John (1982 - 1985). He completed his PhD in immunology with Sir Marc Feldmann in London (1985-88), which led him to undertake postdoctoral work as a Beit Memorial Fellow with Michael Neuberger at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge (1988 - 1991). He then led his independent research group at the MRC LMB until 1998, when he was elected as the inaugural Ursula Zoellner Professor of Cancer Research at the University of Cambridge (1998 - 2020). Venkitaraman co-directed the MRC Cancer Unit at the University of Cambridge with Ron Laskey (2006 - 2010) before becoming the Unit’s director (2010 - 2019). Since 2020, Venkitaraman has been a Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, the Director of the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, and a Research Director at the Singapore Government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). He recently became the Chief Scientist for biomedical research at A*STAR.

SELECTED HONOURS AND AWARDS

• 2001 Fellow, U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences (F.Med.Sci)
  
• 2004 Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  
• 2018 The Basser Global Prize
  

SELECTED ACADEMIC SERVICE APPOINTMENTS

• 2024 - present Executive Director, National Initiative for RNA Biology & Its Applications, National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
  
• 2019 - present Editorial Board, Cell, Boston, MA
  
• 2021 - 2022 Member, Swiss Science Council Review Panel for the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
  
• 2018 - 2019 Member (2018) and Chair (2019), National Centers of Excellence Programme Review Board, SNSF
  
• 2014 - 2017 SystemsX.ch Review Panel, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Bern, Switzerland
  
• 2006 - 2009 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, MGH Cancer Center, Harvard University
  
• 1999 - 2003 Member & Deputy Chair, MRC Molecular & Cellular Medicine Board

SELECTED INDUSTRIAL SERVICE APPOINTMENTS

• 2024 - present Scientific Advisory Board member, Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Roche Group
  
• 2014 - present Company Founder & Scientific Advisor, PhoreMost Ltd., Cambridge
  
• 2006 - present Company Founder & Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Sentinel Oncology Ltd., Cambridge
  
• 2003 - 2011 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Astex Therapeutics Ltd., Cambridge
  
• 2005 - 2009 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Cambridge Antibody Technology/MedImmune