Dr. Neeraj Vij
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences and Institute of NanoBiotechnology
Pulmonary Medicine Children Center
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
600 N. Wolfe Street
CMSC 3-122
Baltimore, Maryland 21287
U. S. A.
Journey from Roorkee to Baltimore
I joined Prof. G. S. Randhawa's molecular genetics laboratory in the Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology at Indian
Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) as an M. Sc. student working towards my research thesis. I had my first hands on experience with research in Prof. Randhawa's
laboratory where I not only learned common laboratory techniques but also invaluable principles that greatly helped me over the years in my journey from Roorkee to Baltimore.
When I sit back and think, it was never easy but what matters most is that I was able to make right choices and this was only possible because of
the guidance I have received in very early years of my research career. I strongly believe, Prof. Randhawa provided me both basic research training and values that
allowed me acquire appropriate combination of skills required to set up and run my own laboratory at the prestigious institution in USA.
Noteworthy, to mention Prof. Randhawa is a great teacher and father figure to many of his students providing both personal guidance and motivation.
I greatly appreciate his support and guidance over the years, first as an M. Sc. /Ph.D. mentor and later for personal guidance.
I got my Ph. D. degree under the supervision of Prof. Randhawa from IITR in 2001 and became a recipient of international fellowship at Institute of
Genetics, Biological Research Center (Centre of Excellence of the European Union), Szeged, Hungary in same year. Prof. Randhawa is an alumnus of
Institute of Genetics, BRC and highly respected among the peers in the field that obviously helped me secure the respectful fellowship. Subsequently
I completed postdoctoral research at University of Heidelberg, Germany and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU SOM), USA.
I'm currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences and Institute of NanoBiotechnology, JHU SOM, USA.
I serve on the Editorial Boards of several international Journals and I am regularly invited to help organize several international conferences and seminars.
I'm also frequently invited to serve as a reviewer for various international Journals and grant review study sections including NIH, USA. I'm Life Member of
American Society for Nano Medicine (ASNM) and several other international scientific societies. Over the years I have received several research awards and
recognition for the scientific contributions.
The primary research focus of my laboratory is identification of molecular pathways leading to chronic lung disease pathophysiology, with an aim
to identify novel therapeutic sites. My laboratory is interested in applied and pre-clinical translational research and concentrates on the identification of novel
therapeutic strategies including design and development of nano-based delivery systems for theranostic applications in chronic obstructive lung diseases.
Neeraj Vij