Rao to head work in hematology and thrombosis

Rao

A. Koneti Rao, professor of medicine, thrombosis research and pharmacology, has been named head of hematology and the Sol Sherry Thrombosis Research Center at the School of Medicine.

Thrombosis, one of the leading causes of death, occurs when a blood clot obstructs a blood vessel.

Rao succeeds Robert W. Colman, who has led the section and center since 1979 and will continue his research at Temple.

A pioneer in the field, Colman has published more than 600 scientific articles and edits the leading thrombosis textbook, Hemostasis and Thrombosis: Basic Principles And Clinical Practice.

Under his leadership, Temple became one of the premier thrombosis research centers in the world.

Researchers at the center have been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health since the 1970s.

Rao has been a faculty member at Temple since 1979, having most recently served as the associate dean for the school’s M.D.-Ph.D. program.

His primary research focus is on the molecular mechanisms of inherited defects in blood platelet function. He’s also studying alterations in blood coagulation mechanisms in arterial diseases, diabetes mellitus, sickle cell anemia and other disorders.

Rao has published more than 100 scientific articles, with his findings appearing in such journals as the New England Journal of Medicine.

He has been honored with the Investigator Recognition Award of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (1997) and a Temple University Faculty Research Award (2001).

Principal editor of Platelets, Rao has served as guest editor and/or editorial board member of publications such as the Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis and Hematology/Oncology Today.

- By Eryn Jelesiewicz