About Me
I obtained my PhD from the University of Madras and completed my postdoctoral research at the University of Alabama and at Clemson University. After the postdoctoral work, I joined the Medicinal Chemistry division of the Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering at UAB in 1997 and worked as a Staff Scientist through 2004. I have also held a joined appointment in the UAB Chemistry department as a Research Assistant Professor during this period. I joined the Chemistry department as a tenure track Assistant Professor in 2004, tenured and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2010 and later on got promoted to the rank of Full Professor Rank in 2020.
Education
MSc, University of Calicut, India, Chemistry.
PhD, University of Madras, India, Organic Synthesis.
Positions and Employment
2020 – Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2020 – Co-Director, Undergraduate Program in Cancer Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2010 – 2020 Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2004 – 2010 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2002 – 2004 Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2020 – Co-Director, Undergraduate Program in Cancer Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2011 – Faculty, Graduate Biomedical Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
2004 – Graduate faculty, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL
1997 – 2004 Senior Staff Chemist, Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, UAB, Birmingham, AL
1994 – 1997 Research Associate, Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, SC
Honors
National Award for Excellence in Teaching: Dr. Velu's Organic Chemistry course was identified as an example of Best Practices in a National Study of Chemistry courses conducted by the Center for Educational Policy Research (CEPR) on behalf of the College Board. A total of 166 courses from across the nation were reviewed in this study.
Affiliations
Senior Scientist, UWIRC Microbiome Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Senior Scientist, Global Center for Craniofacial Oral and Dental Disorders (GC-CODED), UAB, Birmingham
Associate Scientist, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Scientist, Experimental Therapeutics Program, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB
Associate Scientist, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Scientist, Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Scientist, Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Scientist, Center for Free Radical Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Grant Reviewer
NIH/NIDCR (National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research).
NIH/NCI (National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute).
NIH/NIAID (National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).
AHA (American Heart Association).
MRC/UK (Medical Research Council / United Kingdom).
ACS/PRF (American Chemical Society / Petroleum Research Foundation).
BMRC (Biomedical Research Council / Singapore).
ITF (Innovation and Technology Fund / Hong Kong.
ISF/DIPI (Indonesian Science Fund / Dana Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia).
IUSSTF (Indo-US Science and Technology Forum).
ADDA (Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance).
Memberships
American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR)
International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (IADR)
AADOCR Alabama Section.
American Chemical Society (ACS).
ACS Alabama Section.
American Chemical Society, Organic Chemistry division
American Chemical Society, Medicinal Chemistry division
American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)
American Heart Association (AHA).
AHA Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences
AHA Functional Genomics and Translational Biology
AHA Stroke Council