Coordinators

Amit Kumar

Founder and Executive Director

Dr. Amit Kumar is a Program Director in the Nutrition Science Research Group (NSRG) of the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Amit Kumar was born in Allahabad, Utter Pradesh, India. He has a bachelor’s and master’s from the University of Allahabad and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Currently, he lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife and 2 kids ages 20 and 14. He enjoys teaching Math and Science and engages kids in STEM and Social activities in Frederick, Maryland. He has been organizing community activities for the last 20 years for STEM and other partner organizations such as EKAL Foundation of USA, Nothsouth Foundation, Recycle My Battery, and First Robotics to name a few. For his volunteer work, he received a Governor’s citation (Maryland) and a lifetime achievement award from Americorp/Point of Light in 2023.

Raman Murali, Ph.D.

Dr. Raman Murali is a Senior Pharmaceutical Scientist with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to joining FDA, he worked in R&D at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals and Lonza. Dr. Murali received PhD from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and conducted Postdoctoral research at the University of California, Riverside.

Raman Murali and his wife have lived in the Villages of Urbana (VOU) for 20 years. They have two grown-up children; a married daughter and a son. He is involved in several community and volunteer activities. He is the founding member of the Sivagiri Foundation of Washington DC and a member of the VOU Social Committee. Raman Murali is also a fitness and yoga enthusiast, and a regular participant and volunteer of the VOU Yoga Group

Arunakumar Gangaplara, Ph.D

Dr. Arunakumar Gangaplara currently working as Senior Scientist at Miltenyi Biotec, Gaithersburg. His current specialization is cancer immunology and cell therapy. Prior to his current job, he worked as a Staff Scientist at National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and as a postdoctoral fellow at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Gangaplara received his PhD in Immunology from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska. Arun and his family have lived in Stone Barn Villages since 2020. Arun is actively involved in the Urbana STEMM program since 2021, as a coordinator, and as an active volunteer in many of the activities under the STEMM program.