Veeraraghavan Awarded Microscopy Society of America Honor

Rengasayee “Sai” Veeraraghavan, a research assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, became the sixth person in the world to receive the George Palade Award from the Microscopy Society of America.

George Palade, a 1974 Nobel Prize Laureate and pioneer in electron microscopy, was credited as the founding father of the contemporary study of cell biology. The award named in his honor recognizes contributions to the field of microscopy and microanalysis in the life sciences by an early career scientist.

"Dr. Veeraraghavan is an extremely gifted biomedical innovator, particularly in the development and application of sophisticated, next-generation imaging tools for the analysis of biological systems, particularly cardiac tissue in health and disease," said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and Virginia Tech's vice president for health sciences and technology. "It is fitting that his contributions are recognized by the prestigious award named after the renowned cell biologist, George Palade, who also revolutionized our ability to visualize and understand cellular structure with unparalleled resolution."

Veeraragahavan studies the structural mechanisms underlying cardiac conduction in health and disease at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute's Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine in the laboratory of the center's director, Rob Gourdie. Veeraragahavan is building upon the work he conducted as a postdoctoral trainee to investigate how the physical location of the proteins could potentially support or change conductive behavior between heart cells.

The George Palade Award recognizes the translational applicability of Veeraraghavan's analysis technique, as well as the potential for future discoveries in several fields of scientific inquiry.

"[He] has used his diverse background in engineering and mathematics to study a complex biological system in the imaging of cardiac junctions," said Christine Brantner, co-chair of the Microscopy Society of America’s awards committee and a senior research scientist in electron microscopy at the George Washington University Nanofabrication and Imaging Center. "Sai's publications... have been widely cited and will be of great use to many investigators in the field."

The award will be presented on Aug. 7 at the annual Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting, co-sponsored this year by the Microscopy Society of America, the Microanalysis Society and the International Field Emission Society. The meeting will take place in St. Louis.