Ajit Varki

Ajit Varki received basic training in physiology, medicine, biology, and biochemistry at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, The University of Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis. He also has formal training and certification in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology. He is currently a distinguished professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine, Co-director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center at UCSD and executive editor of the textbook Essentials of Glycobiology. He is also Executive Co-director for the UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, and an Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dr. Varki is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians.

Dr. Varki is recipient of a MERIT award from the NIH, an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, and two highest honors in the field, the Karl Meyer Award of the Society for Glycobiology and the International Glycoconjugate Organization (IGO) Award (2007). He is also recognized for creating the first major open access research journal (JCI, 1996) as well as the first major open access textbook (Essentials of Glycobiology, 2008). He is a member of the Faculty of 1000 and a specialist advisor to the Human Gene Nomenclature Committee and the Vertebrate Gene Nomenclature Committee. He was honored with the Old Cottonian of Eminence Award at the 150th Anniversary of Bishop Cotton Boy's School, Bangalore, India, (2015) as well as the Annual Research Day Distinguished Faculty Medal and Oration at his medical school alma mater, the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Significant past appointments include: Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Training at UCSD (2003-10); co-head, UCSD Division of Hematology/Oncology (1987-89): president of the Society for Glycobiology (1996); editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (1992-97); interim directorship of the UCSD Cancer Center (1996-97); president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (1998-99); consulting editor for the Journal of Clinical Investigation (1998-2006), and PLoS Medicine (2004-2008); scientific advisor to the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (University of Georgia) and the Yerkes Primate Center (Emory University); member of the National Advisory Committee of PubMed Central (NLM/NIH); and coordinator for the multidisciplinary UCSD Project for Explaining the Origins of Humans (1996-2007). His interests in human evolution also led him to propose a novel Mind over Reality Transition theory about human origins, in the book, DENIAL.