In announcing the appointment, Executive Vice President for Research Steve Cross said, “I worked closely with Ravi during the strategic planning process of the past year and was pleased to learn of his continued interest in supporting Georgia Tech research on an institutional level. Ravi is a first-rate scientist with excellent intellectual curiosity and temperament, and I am excited about his joining our leadership team.”

A Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar, Bellamkonda directs the Neurological Biomaterials and Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory and a National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 training program in the Rational Design of Biomaterials. He also served as deputy director for research at the Georgia Tech & Emory Center for Regenerative Medicine (GTEC).

Though the appointment is part time, Bellamkonda’s portfolio will be substantial, supporting the EVPR both in terms of oversight and coordination of the Institute’s research strategy as well as in establishment and growth of partnerships that further Tech’s research mission. 

“The breadth of expertise at Georgia Tech, and the associated research converging at the intersection of disciplines, has created a unique opportunity.” Bellamkonda said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have direct involvement in shaping our research program and in helping build an institutional culture that will define the technological research university of the 21st century.”