Neelakanta Ravindranath (Ravi) is the Director for Preimplantation Genetics and Development Program within the Reproductive Sciences Branch (RSB). He is responsible for the portfolio of grants related to oocytes, sperm, fertilization, preimplantation embryo development, embryonic stem cells, and germ cell development in the embryo. In addition, his portfolio also consists of grants related to cloning and reprogramming, preimplantation genetic diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Following his doctorate in veterinary medicine and a M.S. in microbiology, Ravi obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh and at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Canada, before becoming a faculty member in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. He was also an adjunct scientist in the Laboratory of Clinical and Developmental Genomics at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His research background is in reproductive biology and endocrinology of rodents and nonhuman primates. He came to the NIH in 2004 where he initially was a Scientific Review Officer at the Center for Scientific Review, overseeing the Development-2 (DEV2) Study Section.