Name Dr Rajeev Venkayya
Age / How old / Birthday / Date of Birth / DOB As of 2025, he is around 57 years old.
Wedding & Marriage / Wife / Spouse / Partner Check the full bio for relationship details.
Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- Dr Rajeev Venkayya is an Indian-American physician.
- Until February 2022, Dr. Rajeev was the president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ Global Vaccine Business Unit, where he built a global organization of over 500 employees across six countries. Under his leadership, Takeda developed a safe & effective dengue vaccine (Qdenga) that is now licensed around the world.
- He left Takeda in after 10 years to become CEO of Aerium Therapeutics. Currently, he also serves as a board member of several global health organizations.
Personal Life : Parents, Family and Education
- Dr. Rajeev Venkayya was born in Buffalo, New York. His mother, Janaki, is a businesswoman, and his father, Vipperla, was a retired aerospace engineer who passed away in 2018. He also has a younger sister named Arundhati Venkayya.
- Rajeev’s father, Vipperla B Venkayya, joined the SUNY Buffalo State University in 1964 (with green card sponsorship), returned to India in 1965 to marry his wife Janaki Das Tumu, and got connected with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a student advisor. In 1967, he began a long career with the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 2001 as Director of the Multidisciplinary Technology Center at the Air Force Research Laboratory, the top civilian research scientist role!
- Rajeev grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Fairborn High School in Fairborn, Ohio. At his high school graduation ceremony, Rajeev was one of three valedictorians.
- After graduating from high school, Rajeev attended Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. While there, he was part of the Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine programs at the College of Medicine.
- He then attended the University of Michigan, where he did his residency.
- Following that, he had a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
- His wife’s name is Viktoria Wang, and together they have two children (sons). The family relocated from Dayton, Ohio, to the Boston area.
- Rajeev and Viktoria appear to be highly engaged, hands-on parents, actively participating in school activities, campaigns, and community events.
Work : Career, Income, Salary and Net Worth
- Rajeev was an Assistant Professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of California San Francisco from 1999 to 2002.
- He was then a White House Fellow from 2002 to 2003, working with the Department of Energy, the White House Homeland Security Council, and the Biodefense Directorate.
- Rajeev then spent another four years at the White House, working as a director for Biodefense and Health and then as a special assistant to the president and senior director for Biodefense.
- From 2008 to 2011, Rajeev was the director of vaccine delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- In January 2012, Rajeev joined the ranks of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. He was the executive vice president and also the Head of Vaccine Business from 2012 to 2014. From 2014 onwards, he became the president of the Global Vaccine Business Unit.
- Rajeev left Takeda in February 2022 after 10 years to become CEO of Aerium Therapeutics, a venture-capital backed startup developing monoclonal antibodies and antiviral therapeutics.
- Currently, he also serves as a Venture Advisor, holding board positions with CEPI, IAVI, and GHIT.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- Rajeev’s parents are both from India – his mother Janaki is from Hyderabad, and his late father Vipperla was from the East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh.
- Rajeev is an Eagle Scout.
- During his years at the University of California San Francisco (UC San Francisco), Rajeev founded two companies – Neomedicus LLC and Sapient Medical Group Inc.
- He was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical society at Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
- Throughout his career, Rajeev’s research focused mostly on conditions related to the lungs and on asthma in particular. He was the director of the high-risk asthma clinic in San Francisco’s General Hospital.
- Since he has been working at Takeda, Rajeev has overseen vaccine studies for dengue, the norovirus, polio, and Zika.
- Rajeev sits on many boards such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
- He is very passionate about being part of teams developing life-saving cures and treatments and facilitating research for this cause.
- Dr. Venkayya emphasizes creating a comprehensive “vaccine library” – a collection of prototype vaccines covering all 26 known virus families would allow rapid deployment during future pandemics. He highlights the COVID-19 response, noting that developing SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in just 326 days from concept to authorization represents one of the most significant achievements in scientific innovation.