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Rao Kolluri has a diverse and extensive work experience in the field of medicinal chemistry. Rao is currently employed at Ambagon Therapeutics as the Director of Medicinal Chemistry. Prior to that, they worked at Nura Bio as an External Chemistry Leader. From 2019 to 2020, Rao held the position of Director of Chemistry at UNITY Biotechnology, where they contributed to lead discovery research activities and advanced the pipeline for various therapeutic projects. Before that, they worked at Rigel Pharmaceuticals for a significant period of time, where they held multiple roles including Staff Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Scientist. Their responsibilities at Rigel Pharmaceuticals included leading the chemistry team and collaborating with other functional leaders to ensure the progress of projects in the autoimmune disease area. Rao also conducted SAR and lead optimization efforts for the development of PKC inhibitors and HCV inhibitors. Rao began their career as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota and later as a Robert Welch Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Houston.

Rao Kolluri has a strong educational background in chemistry. Rao obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Organic Chemistry from the National Chemical Laboratory, University of Pune, India in 1998. Prior to that, they completed a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and a Master of Science (MS) in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad.

In addition to their formal education, Rao has also obtained certifications in Inhalation Product Development from MVIC AB – Medicon Valley Inhalation Consortium in October 2019, and in Molecular Operating Environment from Chemical Computing Group in 2019.