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Dr. Preetha Rajaraman currently serves as Vice Chair and Executive Director at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. She has more than 25 years of experience in research and international science policy.

Following receipt of her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, USA), Dr. Rajaraman joined the Radiation Epidemiology Branch at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, where her research focused on the interaction of environmental and genetic factors in cancer risk. She co-led the U.S. Radiologic Technologists Study, an occupational cohort of more than 100,000 technologists exposed to low-to-moderate doses of fractionated radiation, and also examined cancer risk following early life exposure to radiation in diagnostic and therapeutic settings. In addition to her work on radiation, Dr. Rajaraman designed and led one of the first genome-wide association studies of brain tumors, and worked closely with international collaborators to design, analyze, and publish the first large genome-wide association study of gallbladder cancer, which identified several new risk loci. Dr. Rajaraman’s subsequent work as South Asia Director at the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Global Health leading the development, oversight, and evaluation of regional programs for cancer research and training was recognized by the NCI Director’s Award for exceptional leadership in marshaling trans-NCI collaboration to foster cooperation in cancer research.

Most recently, as U.S. Health Attaché and Regional Representative for South Asia, Dr. Rajaraman was responsible for in-country representation, monitoring and coordination of the research, program, and policy interests of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. In this role she coordinated key aspects of the regional COVID-19 pandemic response, finalized a variety of agreements advancing joint biomedical research, and implemented high-level health initiatives at multilateral fora including the G-20, QUAD, and the World Health Assembly.

Dr. Rajaraman is currently an expert member of Committee 1 (Biological Effects) of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and has served on advisory committees for the International Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium, the U.S. Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, the World Health Organization, The Lancet Oncology, and the United States–India Educational Foundation program.