Umesh Desai's Biography

Umesh Desai, Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Desai is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Director of Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development in the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. He received his baccalaureate from the M. S. University of Baroda, and his doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. Following short experiences at University of Iowa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois, Chicago, he moved to VCU in 1998 as an assistant professor. He specializes in rational drug design with emphasis on anti-thrombotics and anti-cancer agents. He has received an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association (2006) and Distinguished Scholarship Award from VCU (2013).