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thePeorian.com
One part of the success is a
patent on a process discovered
by Rao and his team that, in a
nutshell, inhibits the growth of
tumors and kills cancer cells.
The drug isn’t ready for human
trials yet but an Indian company
has the license from the school
to begin testing its toxicity and
determine if clinical trials are
possible.
He now has more than 20
cancer research associates at the
center. Medical doctors are on the
research faculty and the culture
at the school has changed from
being strictly medical practice
oriented to also include research.
He has been the catalyst in
bringing more than $26 million in
research grants to the school and
more than 150 of the 250 articles
he has authored have been since
he arrived in Peoria in the winter
of 2001.
So respected is the work being
done by Rao and his group the
new $13 million Cancer Research
Center was built, opening late
last year. It was funded with
money raised through a con-
sortium of Peoria businesses,
business leaders and local, state
and federal elected officials.
Rao was instrumental in getting
the consortium started and he
worked closely with its co-chairs,
Glen Barton, former chairman of
Caterpillar Inc., and Ray LaHood,
at the time a member of Congress
and now U.S. Secretary of Trans-
portation.
Another key person in get-
ting the Research Center going,
he said, was former State Sen.
George Shadid, whose son died
from a brain tumor several years
ago.
Rao said it was cancer in his
own family and among friends
that got him started in research-
ing the second leading cause of
death in the country. Before that
he’d worked in neurobiology,
which had given him the knowl-
edge of how the brain functions.
Rao earned his bachelor in sci-
ence degree as well as his masters
in science from the University of
Andhra-India and his Ph.D. in
biochemistry from the University
of Madras-India in 1982. He ar-
rived in the United States in April
1982 when he was recruited by
the Medical College of Virginia
to teach in its Department of
Surgery.
He was a research associate in
the Department of Neurology at
the University of Kansas Medical
Center in Kansas City, Kan., and
later a research physiologist for
eight years at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center
in Kansas City. He was at the
University of Texas MD An-
derson Cancer Center 15 years,
serving in various professional
positions, before being recruited
to Peoria.
Rao is now senior associate
dean for research as well as head
of the Department for Cancer
Biology and Pharmacology at
UICOMP.
Dr. Sara Rusch, regional dean
at the College of Medicine,
referred to Rao in nominating
him for The Peorian of the Year as
“a caring mentor” and said “his
professional success serves as an
inspiration to many. He puts into
active practice many character-
istics of an exceptional leader.
He is a man of high integrity and
exemplary character, a dedicated
and passionate scientific re-
searcher, a confident and inspir-
ing mentor, steadfast and focused
in purpose, and committed to
excellence in all he does.”
Community service is con-
sidered an important part of
The Peorian of the Year Award
and while Rao doesn’t serve on
boards of civic organizations or
not for profit agencies, Dr. Rusch
said his community service ex-
tends well beyond central Illinois.
Continued on page 32
Nominees
One of the work spaces at the new Cancer Research Center
at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria,
which Dr. Jasti Rao was instrumental in bringing to fruition.