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Anjana Rao awarded Harvard's 2026 Centennial Medal
She was honored for discoveries that advanced understanding of gene regulation and immune cell function.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 30, May 2026
- 16:31 EDT
- 39
Anjana Rao wil the modell Medal / Anjana Rao awarded Harvard's 2026 Centennial Medal
Indian-American biologist Anjana Rao has been awarded Harvard University's 2026 Centennial Medal in recognition of discoveries that reshaped research in cell biology, immunology and epigenetics.
The 2026 Centennial Medal is the highest honor awarded by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to its alumni. It recognizes graduates who have made "fundamental and lasting contributions to knowledge, their disciplines, their colleagues, and society."
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According to the award citation, Rao solved "some of the most challenging, fundamental mysteries in human cell biology" and opened "new fields of inquiry–and new therapeutic pathways–in so many promising directions."
Over the course of her career, she has made discoveries spanning immune signaling, epigenetic regulation and cellular metabolism, helping researchers better understand diseases ranging from immune disorders to cancer.
Her work has also explored how cancer cells evade the immune system, research that could contribute to the development of new immunotherapies.
Rao has been named multiple times to Clarivate's Highly Cited Researchers list, which recognizes scientists whose publications rank among the most cited in their fields.
In addition to her academic research, Rao co-founded the biotechnology company Calcimedica with collaborator Patrick Hogan and has served on advisory boards supporting cancer research and immunotherapy, including the Cancer Research Institute and the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research.
Rao joined the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in 2010, where she established the Division of Signaling and Gene Expression. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of California San Diego.
Previously, she spent 30 years on the faculty of Harvard Medical School as a professor of pathology and was elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in India, Rao earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Osmania University before receiving a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University in 1978. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
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