Southern Miss Professor Awarded Prestigious Bennett Endowed Professorship
Tue, 09/09/2025 - 09:37am | By: Dr. David Tisdale
Dr. Vijay Rangachari
Dr. Vijay Rangachari, professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at The University of 麻豆传媒, has been awarded the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� prestigious T.W. Bennett Jr. Endowed Professorship in the Sciences for 2025-27.
Supported by the T.W. Bennett Endowment, the professorship was established through the Southern Miss Foundation by Mr. and Mrs. T.W. Bennett Sr., to honor their son and his passion for the sciences. He was declared missing in action on Dec. 22, 1972, while serving in the U.S. Air Force. The endowment supports the Bennett professor鈥檚 research activities and the sponsorship of the Biennial Bennett Symposium, a research conference featuring a keynote talk.
Rangachari joined the university鈥檚 faculty in 2008. His research interests and expertise include understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that form biomolecular condensates and contribute to amyloid aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚. His research laboratory, The Rangachari Lab, is a widely recognized leader in protein biophysics and biomolecular condensates, and has earned competitive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dr. Chris Winstead hailed Dr. Rangachari as 鈥渁n internationally respected scholar whose prolific research is advancing our molecular-level understanding of the role certain proteins play in neurological diseases.鈥�
鈥淗is work on the mechanisms of these diseases is vital to learning how to prevent and treat them in the future鈥攁nd provides exceptional preparation for our students aspiring to pursue careers in this field,鈥� Winstead further noted.
Rangachari said he is 鈥渢ruly humbled to receive this prestigious professorship鈥� and is grateful to those who nominated him and the selection committee for 鈥渞ecognizing the contributions my lab has made in the past.鈥� He also credited his parents for 鈥減ushing me to be what I am today, and I am glad I can give them something back in return,鈥� while also thanking his wife and children, 鈥渨ho have supported me during times of frustration and shared in my joy equally.鈥�
Rangachari credited his training in organic chemistry, structural biology and molecular biophysics for providing him with the tools necessary to investigate mechanisms of protein aggregation and phase transitions, which are the primary interests of his laboratory.
鈥淧roteins are intriguing biomacromolecules, and even after a century of research, they continue to reveal new secrets,鈥� Rangachari explained. 鈥淭he conventional view that the 3D structure of a protein is essential for its biological function has been challenged by recent developments in the field. Such proteins form a new class of molecules called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). IDPs are prone to form aggregate 鈥榗lumps鈥� called amyloids, which are the root cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer鈥檚, Parkinson鈥檚, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and more.鈥�
Some IDPs undergo a process called 鈥渓iquid-liquid phase separation鈥� by which they form vinaigrette-type demixed solutions in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, manifesting in the form of membraneless organelles, also called biomolecular condensates, in cells. These are increasingly recognized as ubiquitous in both physiological and pathological processes.
鈥淢y lab is interested in understanding the molecular processes that govern amyloid formation and the formation of biomolecular condensates,鈥� Rangachari said. 鈥淚 am also interested in designing artificial proteins as viscoelastic biomaterials for a variety of biotechnological applications, such as therapeutic delivery and tissue engineering.鈥�
Near the conclusion of his term as the Bennett professor, Rangachari will organize the T.W. Bennett Symposium to be titled 鈥淪elf-assembly, Sensors and Soft Matter.鈥� The event will bring together researchers from across campus and beyond to share their research endeavors on molecular self-assembly, sensors or soft matter design, showcasing a multidisciplinary perspective on the symposium's theme.
Rangachari has published more than 60 research papers, 44 while at Southern Miss, and has more than 3,500 citations of his work in other publications. He has participated in prestigious peer review study sections that include those with the NIH and NSF, the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), among many others, and has been invited to give more than 45 presentations at national and international conferences and universities on his research. He has secured more than $3.5 million in external funding to date from various federal agencies, including the NIH and NSF, as well as from private foundations.
Service to the university and student mentorship are also priorities for Rangachari, and his record is a testament to that fact. He was the faculty lead for chemistry and biochemistry in the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (2018-19); interim chair of the former Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2017-18); and, since 2011, has served as chair of the Graduate 麻豆传媒 Committee. He has also served on multiple ad hoc committees, including the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� Dean Search Committee, the Office of Research Administration鈥檚 Assistant Director Search Committee and the NSF ART Culture Shift Committee, among others. He has advised multiple graduate and undergraduate student researchers at Southern Miss, serving as a committee member for 40 doctoral and master鈥檚 degree candidates.
In addition to the Bennett Professorship, Rangachari鈥檚 other honors from Southern Miss include the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� Applied Research Award (2019), the Donald Drapeau Undergraduate Mentorship Award (2017) and the Multidisciplinary Research Innovation Award (2017).
One of Rangachari鈥檚 former students, Dr. Dexter Dean, currently serves as instructional laboratory manager for the Georgia Institute of Technology. He first met Rangachari when he participated in an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Southern Miss in the summer of 2012. At the time, Dean was a rising senior at Huntingdon College and was interested in pursuing a doctorate in the field of biochemistry but had little research experience.
During his summer working with Rangachari, he studied how metal ions influenced the aggregation of the Alzheimer's-associated peptide amyloid-beta. The experience influenced his decision to come to Southern Miss in 2013 to pursue his doctorate and research the aggregation of amyloid-beta in Rangachari鈥檚 lab. That decision paid great dividends for Dean, who published 10 research articles and was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under Rangachari鈥檚 leadership. He completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry in the spring of 2018.
鈥淚 attribute much of my scientific success to Vijay鈥檚 mentorship, for being patient with me, believing in me as a research scientist and challenging me to think deeper and reach higher than what I thought possible,鈥� Dean said. 鈥淪outhern Miss is extremely blessed to have Vijay, and I鈥檓 very happy to hear he has been awarded this prestigious distinction as a T.W. Bennett Professor.鈥�
Rangachari said that 鈥淪outhern Miss has been a special place to me,鈥� providing him with 鈥渁ll the infrastructure and support necessary to conduct my research, enabling me to reach my current position in little more than a decade.鈥�
鈥淲hat has impressed me the most here at Southern Miss is that the university has always found a way to provide the best possible support for researchers,鈥� he further noted, 鈥渁nd we see the positive results of that support in our research enterprise every day.鈥�