Alumni in News

Arun Majumdar, an Indian American has been nominated to be a part of the US government by the US president Barack Obama. Arun would be a Bureaucrat at energy department and hold the post ‘Under Secretary of Energy’.

Two others, Daniel W Yohannes and Gustavo Aranavat, have also been nominated for important administration posts in the department of energy. "These individuals have proven that they will bring skill, dedication and expertise in these important areas to my administration, and I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years," Obama said.

In September 2009, Arun was appointed as the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects. Prior to this Arun worked as a Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He also served as an Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Arun completed his graduation from Indian Institute of Technology, from Bombay and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.                                                                                                                                                                                               ... more

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: INO), which is revolutionizing vaccines to fight cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has promoted Niranjan Y. Sardesai, Ph.D., from Senior Vice President Research and Development to Chief Operating Officer. In his expanded role, Dr. Sardesai will be responsible for corporate and business development for the company in addition to continuing to oversee research and development. Inovio also announced the retirement of Kevin W. Rassas, former Senior Vice President Business Development.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO of Inovio Pharmaceuticals, said, "Niranjan brings to the COO position a strong combination of strategic business, transactional, and technical skills and broad operating experience. He has overseen the integration, development, and growth of Inovio's pipeline through the advancement of its proprietary technology as well as licensing and M&A efforts. We are pleased to have him assume this broader responsibility to help guide and execute Inovio's business plan to develop important new vaccines. Kevin played a vital role in the formative years of our predecessor company, VGX Pharmaceuticals, bringing big Pharma management experience to an entrepreneurial environment, and subsequently in advancing Inovio's key business relationships. We thank him for his contribution and commitment to Inovio and wish him the very best in the future."                                                                                               

Prior to VGX, Dr. Sardesai was the founder and President of NVision Consulting Inc., a strategy consulting firm focused on entrepreneurial life sciences companies, and he served as Director R&D at Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc. At Fujirebio, Dr. Sardesai oversaw R&D and expansion of the oncology portfolio. Products developed under his leadership include new-to-the-world tests for mesothelioma (MESOMARK™), bladder cancer and a multi-marker test for ovarian cancer. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, presented at over 75 invited lectures and presentations, and filed several patents. Dr. Sardesai received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the recipient of the Shils-Zeidman Award in Entrepreneurship. He completed fellowships at Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Sardesai received his bachelors and masters in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.               ... more