Dr Rajagopalan has been hailed for his extensive research in kidney diseases and transplants.
An alumnus of the Bangalore Medical College and Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, he did a four-year stint at the University of Columbia before joining the Medical University of South Carolina where he is currently working.
Although Dr Rajagopalan has been in the United States for more than four decades, he has also contributed to the Indian medical scenario. He visits Bangalore every year and has helped set up kidney transplant units in Chennai and Hyderabad.