India West
Rakesh Jain, 65, an Indian American professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the tumor biology lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, is scheduled to receive the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama May 19. (Twitter photo)
Dr. Rakesh K. Jain, an Indian American professor of tumor biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the E.L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is scheduled to receive the ‘National Medal of Science’ award from President Barack Obama May 19.
The award ceremony, which will also include another 16 recipients of the National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation, had originally been scheduled for Jan. 22 (I-WJan. 19, 2016 http://bit.ly/1TXHfZm) but was postponed due to a major snow storm.
The National Medal of Science recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science, engineering and mathematics. The technology and innovation medal recognizes people who have made lasting contributions to the country’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen nation's technological workforce.
Jain, 65, is a graduate of IIT Kanpur, earning a B. Tech degree in chemical engineering. He later received his master’s and doctorate degrees, both in chemical engineering, from the University of Delaware.
He has earned a number of awards for his work, particularly his research on the link between tumor blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
The Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation.