Dr. Dhandayuthapani (Pani) is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Oncology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Texas, USA. Dr. Pani. earned his PhD from the University of Madras in India. Shortly after completing his doctorate, Dr. Pani accepted a position as a Research Scientist at the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute (CLTRI) in Chengalpattu, India, where he researched the humoral and cell-mediated immune responses associated with leprosy.
In 1991, he moved to the National Institute of Leprosy Research (NILR) in Tokyo, Japan, as a Science and Technology Agency Fellow to gain training in molecular medicine. Subsequently, he relocated to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, as a postdoctoral fellow, where he studied the oxidative stress response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He then advanced to the positions of Assistant and Associate Professor at the same university and continued his studies on tuberculosis pathogenesis. Before joining the UTRGV School of Medicine, Dr. Pani held tenured Associate Professor and Full Professor positions at the Center of Emphasis in Infectious Diseases and the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, TX.
Dr. Pani is an accomplished molecular geneticist and immunologist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of tuberculosis pathogenesis. He has received several awards from the NIH and private foundations for research on tuberculosis. His laboratory currently focuses on developing novel vaccines against tuberculosis (TB), particularly by deleting specific genes in the chromosomes of BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Additionally, his lab focuses on developing bacteria-based therapeutic vaccines for various types of cancer. It is noteworthy that both TB and cancer are significant problems in the Rio Grande Valley area; hence, his research will have a direct impact on the South Texas community. Dr. Pani also has considerable expertise in teaching, having instructed graduate students in microbiology, cell biology, and molecular genetics for approximately two decades.
