Chaitan Khosla is the Wells H. Rauser and Harold M. Petiprin Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and (by courtesy) Biochemistry at Stanford University. He received his B.S. degree from IIT, Bombay in 1985 and his PhD from Caltech in 1990. Following a two-year postdoctoral stay in the UK, he joined Stanford in 1992, where he has been ever since. Professor Khosla’s research lies at the interface of chemistry and medicine, including bio-catalysis, heterologous production of biomolecules, genetically reprogrammed biosynthesis, and chemo-biosynthesis of new polyketides. More recently, he has investigated the pathogenesis of Celiac Sprue, an autoimmune disease of the small intestine that is induced by exposure to gluten from food grains. He has authored over 200 papers and holds several patents related to his discoveries.
Professor Khosla has been recognized with many awards and named lectureships, most notably the Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Investigator Award, the NSF Young Investigator Award, the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship, the Linus Pauling Medal Lecturer, the Allan P. Colburn Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University.