Rajalingam Raja, PhD
Dr. Raja has over 30 years of experience in studying the basic and clinical aspects of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. During the Ph.D. program in the Department of Transplantation Immunology and Immunogenetics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Raja developed DNA-based HLA typing method and studied the diversity of HLA in Asian Indians, and the association between HLA alleles and infectious diseases. During 6 years of postdoctoral training in the Parham laboratory, Stanford University, Dr. Raja defined the KIR genomic diversity in several non-human species. In 2002, Dr. Raja joined as Associate Director of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Immunogenetics Center, which provides clinical histocompatibility testing. After 11 years of UCLA experience, Dr. Raja became the program director of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Immunogenetics and Transplantation Laboratory (ITL), which facilitates over 800 solid organ and bone marrow transplantations per year. As the CLIA-approved Laboratory Director, Clinical Consultant and Technical Supervisor, Dr. Raja provides leadership to all areas of clinical Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics testing including stem cell transplantation, various solid organ transplantations (kidney, pancreas, liver, heart, lung), testing for HLA-associated diseases, and testing for transfusion services. Dr. Raja's current research is focused on understanding the KIR-HLA genomic differences in human populations and their relevance in therapeutic transplantations and disease association. Dr. Raja involves in teaching and training in histocompatibility, immunogenetics and transplant immunology, and mentors post-doctoral research fellows, residents, and visiting scholars.