Quinoa, made affordable.
Through his Dr. Quinoa brand he partnered with farmers in India and Bolivia and put complete-protein quinoa on South-Indian supermarket shelves at about half the price of imports.
Biomedical scientist · Food as medicine
Your body is a machine of a million molecules. The right food keeps it running.
Dr. Srinivasa K. Rao is a biomedical scientist — PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Paris V, with research at Columbia and Albert Einstein, 40 peer-reviewed papers, and 3 U.S. patents. After four decades at the lab bench, he turned to a simpler question: can everyday food prevent disease? Today he makes evidence-based nutrition accessible — and mentors students into published authors through Path to Nobel.
Dr. Srinivasa K. Rao, Ph.D.
Mission
Food as medicine, backed by evidence.
For four decades Dr. Rao worked where biology gets technical — molecular genetics, protease biology, vaccine science. Powerful tools, but reactive ones: they treat disease after it arrives. The harder problem is preventing it. His answer is food as medicine — using whole foods, dietary diversity, and nutritional biochemistry to protect health before medicine is ever needed, and to extend not just lifespan, but health span.
The lab
A lesson he never forgot.
In 1982, as a young fellow at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, Dr. Rao isolated the first active fraction of an enzyme that recycles the body's own proteins. He was told to purify it completely before publishing. He did — and the moment it was pure, it stopped working. The ‘contaminant’ he had been told to strip away turned out to be essential to the reaction. Years later, other scientists mapped that same pathway — work recognised with the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Take a living system apart into perfect, isolated pieces, and it dies. Health lives in the whole.
For Dr. Rao it became a lifelong principle, not a regret — why he trusts whole foods over isolated supplements, and why he built Path to Nobel to mentor young scientists past the very gates that once slowed him.
The journey
The journey.
- Where it began
Bobbili, Andhra Pradesh
Where it began.
- Early studies
AVN College & Andhra University
B.Sc., then M.Sc. in Marine Biology.
- 1981 – 1984
CCMB Hyderabad
Junior Research Fellow.
- PhD, 1988
University of Paris V
Molecular genetics, as a French Government Scholar — Very Honorable Mention.
- 1988 – 1993
Columbia & Albert Einstein
Molecular genetics; invited by Charles Cantor.
- 1993 – 2007
Faculty & vaccine science
Albert Einstein / LIJ, CUNY; Shantha Biotech.
- 2000 – present
Food as medicine
Quinoa, edible-plant science, and nutrition education.
- Ongoing
Path to Nobel
Mentoring the next generation of authors.
Credentials & recognition
Four decades, on the record.
Education
- Ph.D., Molecular Genetics — University of Paris V, 1988 (Very Honorable Mention)
- M.Sc., Marine Biology — Andhra University
- B.Sc. — AVN College, Visakhapatnam
- Continuing certifications in nutrition & health — Harvard, Stanford & the American Society for Nutrition (see below)
Research & roles
- Columbia University & Albert Einstein College of Medicine — molecular genetics (invited by Charles Cantor)
- Faculty, CUNY; Junior Research Fellow, CCMB Hyderabad
- Vaccine science at Shantha Biotech
- Advisor — Microbiome Superhero
Recognition
- 40 peer-reviewed publications
- 3 U.S. patents — 6,017,723 · 6,350,586 · 6,197,537
- 200+ nutrition talks & 100+ scientific presentations
- TEDx speaker — “Freedom from Rice? Yes, I Quinoa”
Certifications
- Evidence-Based Optimal Nutrition — Harvardview ↗
- Food & Health — Stanford Universityview ↗
- Rebuilding Your Relationship with Food — Stanford Universityview ↗
- Essentials of Nutrition — American Society for Nutritionview ↗
- Contact Tracing & Beyond — University of Houstonview ↗
- Cardiometabolic Healthview ↗
- Gut Healthview ↗
- Foundations of Ayurvedaview ↗
- Meditationview ↗
Speaks on — across India, Europe & the USA
- Food as medicine
- Ubiquitin & its biology
- Molecular genetics of aging
- Telomeres & telomerase
- Pathobiology of elastase
- Gene discovery: methods & meaning
- Drug discovery — scientists who saved millions
- Quinoa: health & nutritional benefits
- Metabolomics & Ayurveda
- Evidence-based & Indian traditional medicine
- India's nutritional security
- Vaccines in psychiatry
- The future of biotechnology
Selected publications
40+ peer-reviewed papers.
Across journals including Nucleic Acids Research, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Blood, Clinical Chemistry, Matrix Biology, and the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
- 2013Tota K., Rayabarapu N., Moosa S., Talla V., Bhyravbhatla B., Srinivasa K. Rao. InDiaMed: A Comprehensive Database of Indian Medicinal Plants for Diabetes. Bioinformation 9(7):378–380. (2013). doi:10.6026/97320630009378. link ↗
- 2013Avinash S. Vaidya, Goutham Makkena, V. Srihari, M.B. Srinivas, and Srinivasa K. Rao. A Sustainable Solution for Monitoring Malnutrition in Children in Developing Countries. IEEE GHTC-SAS, Cochin, India. (2013). link ↗
- 2013Sujoy Bhattacharya, Priyanka P., Srinivasa K. Rao, T. Longvah. Poshak – An Application to Manage Nutrient Intake In India. 10th International Food Data Conference, Granada, Spain. (2013).
- 2012Balaram Gajra, Saurabh S. Pandya, G. Vidyasagar, Haribhai Rabari, Ronak R. Dedania, Srinivasa Rao. Polyvinyl alcohol Hydrogel and its Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications: A Review. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 4(2):20–26. (2012). link ↗
- 2002Halpern V.J., Mathrumbutham M., LaGraize C., Rao S.K., Faust G.R., and Cohen J.R. Reduced Protease Inhibitory Capacity in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Patients Is Reversed With Surgical Repair. Journal of Vascular Surgery 35(4):792–797. (2002). link ↗
- 2001Mathrubutham M. and Rao S.K. Single microassay for matrix-degrading enzymes. Frontiers in Bioscience 6:a13–16. (2001). link ↗
- 2001Jim Mason, Hao-Peng Xu, Rao S.K., and Siamak Tabibzadeh, et al. Lefty contributes to the remodeling of extracellular matrix by inhibition of CTGF and collagen mRNA expression and increased proteolytic activity in a fibrosarcoma model. Journal of Biological Chemistry 276(1):407–415. (2001). link ↗
- 2001Mathrubutham M., Wilson D., Rao M., Singh B., Valentine L., Go C., Rambarat K., Faust G.R., and Rao S.K. A novel human neutrophil elastase inhibitor: isolation and characterization. Journal of Surgical Research (Surgical Forum) 52:372–374. (2001).
Path to Nobel
Path to Nobel.
A publishing program that turns students into published co-authors. Volumes 1 and 2 chronicled Nobel laureates — fourteen student co-authors each, from the USA, Qatar, and India; Volume 3, 108 Pioneers: Food as Medicine, is on its way to print. Volume 4 is now open for enrollment.
The Mirror Model
Every cover carries a mirror — so a student opening a book about Nobel winners sees their own face looking back.
The work
The work.
A library of 1,000+ edible plants.
His Poshak database catalogues 1,000+ edible plants, helping families eat a wider, more climate-resilient range than the usual hundred-odd foods.
Green Salt.
A plant-derived salt that keeps the flavour and loses the cardiovascular risk.
8 books, 15+ learning tools.
From 100 Food Rules for Health & Longevity to the 365 Food Rhymes for children — plus 100+ popular articles on food, nutrition, and Ayurveda.
The pantry
Food as medicine, on your plate.
The science leaves the lab as food you can actually buy — affordable, nutrient-dense and made for everyday Indian and diaspora kitchens.
Freeze-dried fruit
Whole fruit, nothing added.
Strawberry
Mango
Jamun
Sapota
Pink guava
+ more to come…
Dr. Quinoa
Complete-protein quinoa, made affordable. Many had the seed but few pursued making it cheap — Dr. Rao partnered with farmers in India and Bolivia to put quinoa on South-Indian shelves at about half the price of imports, at a third of the water rice needs.
Dr. Rice
Fortified, high-protein rice under Granova Naturals — the everyday staple, made to keep you nourished. “Eat fortified rice for better health.”
Coming to food123.ai
Quinoa Khakhra
A crunchy, high-protein quinoa Khakhra — a wholesome snack that turns a teatime habit into nutrition.
Green Salt
A plant-derived salt extracted from halophytes — sodium, potassium and magnesium in a natural matrix, so you keep the flavour and lose the cardiovascular risk.
In development
Essential Flour
A fortified, nutrient-dense everyday flour — the humble staple, upgraded for better health.
Coming to food123.ai
The “Food as Medicine” chart
200 foods with their nutrition at a glance — Dr. Rao's reference chart, free to view.
Behind the pantry:Poshak, Dr. Rao's database of 1,000+ edible plants — surfacing nutritious, climate-resilient foods beyond the everyday few.
Recent speaking
On stage & on screen.
- ‘Food as Medicine Using Metabolomics’ — webinar, 2022
- ‘Debunking Anti-Aging Myths’ — 34th NIAASC Conference, Florida, 2023
- 39 global diets — Barcelona · Precision Food Nutrition — Sweden
Recent talks on video
- Aahaar Kranti — anniversary panelYouTube
- Exclusive interview (Telugu)TeluguOne
- Editing Lifefeaturelink soon
- NCERTfeaturelink soon
- Guinness World Recordsfeaturelink soon
Connect
Connect.
For collaborations, talks, and student-mentorship inquiries — reach out and start a conversation about food as medicine. Write directly to rao@food123.ai.
Let's talk about food as medicine.