Dr. Raja Rachakatla is the Acting Chair of Anatomy and Associate Professor at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) who works with first-year students in the Fundamentals of Anatomical Sciences course. Dr. Rachakatla received his bachelors in BVSC & AH (DVM equivalent) in India. He obtained his PhD and completed postdoctoral research on stem cells and cancer from Kansas State University. Prior joining at ARCOM, Dr. Rachakatla was Anatomy faculty at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine where he taught Embryology, Histology and Ultrasound.

Dr. Rachakatla has the following research interests:

• Transplantation of stem cells in various cancer disease models to evaluate their selective engraftment and targeted therapeutic potential.
• To develop animal models of various cancer diseases to understand the pathology of those diseases, and to evaluate the potential of various therapeutic agents including stem cells.
• To improve and develop transplantation techniques using sophisticated imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and computed tomography.