UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Channa Reddy, distinguished professor of veterinary science since 1991, has been named head of the department of veterinary science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, effective immediately.
"Dr. Reddy has demonstrated outstanding leadership in our college," says Dean Robert Steele. "He is internationally recognized for his research contributions, he is an outstanding educator, and will provide visionary guidance for the department."
Reddy has spent much of his academic career at Penn State, coming to the university as a postdoctoral fellow in the department of chemistry in 1975. His research focuses on determining how antioxidant enzymes protect cells from oxidative damage.
He is an internationally recognized expert on prostaglandins and leukotrienes, compounds that are involved in the pathophysiology of many diseases. He currently is studying the molecular mechanisms that affect the antioxidant functions of vitamin E and selenium. Reddy's research program has attracted more than $10 million in grants, mostly from the National Institutes of Health, over the past 20 years.
"The department of veterinary science is very complex, with major functions involving research, teaching, extension and diagnostics," Reddy says. "It is a challenge to strike a balance and find harmony among all these functions. That is what attracted me to this position."
Reddy was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1992 and received the Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Health for the years 1983 to 1988. He also was named an "Eminent Scientist of Telugu Origin" by Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, in 1993 and received the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Merit Award in 1970.
He teaches graduate courses on pathophysiology of disease mechanisms, cell biology and the biochemistry and physiology of prostaglandins and leukotrienes. He has mentored 20 postdoctoral scholars, hosted eight visiting scientists and advised more than 20 doctoral students. Reddy also advises undergraduate students in the animal bioscience major.
Reddy has served on many advisory boards, including several assignments for National Institutes of Health and assignments for the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Cancer Society and the United States Department of Agriculture. He also is a member of the Penn State Gerontology Center Advisory Board and served on the steering committee for Penn State's Life Sciences Consortium. He is a member of the editorial boards for Biochemical Journal and Biofactors. He also has served on more than 30 committees within the university and the college.
Reddy earned bachelor's degrees in both science and education in chemistry and biology from the Regional College of Education in Mysore, India, in 1969. He earned a master's degree in biochemistry from Mysore University in Mysore in 1971 and received a doctoral degree from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, in 1975.
He was named assistant professor of veterinary science at Penn State in 1981 and was promoted to associate professor in 1985. He spent a sabbatical year studying physiological chemistry at the Institute for Cell Biology in Linkoping, Sweden, from 1988 to 1989. In 1988, he was promoted to full professor and was named distinguished professor in 1991. He also was director of the university's Pathobiology Graduate Program from 1990 to 1995 and served as an interim head of the department of veterinary science from 1994 to 1996. He is currently director of the Center for Molecular Toxicology.
Reddy is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Nutrition, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the International Society of Oxygen Radicals.
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EDITORS: For more information, contact Channa Reddy at 814-863-1625.
Contacts: John Wall jtw3@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax