Dr. Rengaswami "Raj" Rajaraman

Dr. Rengaswami “Raj” Rajaraman, age 83 years of Halifax, NS passed away April 12, 2017 at the Halifax Infirmary Hospital. Born in Cuddalore, India on Nov 15, 1933. He was the son of Mr. Kaliaperumal Rengaswami and Mrs. Rengaswami Muthulakshmi.

He left India to attend Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS in 1965. After studying in India, Nova Scotia and California to ultimately obtain post-doctoral training in Cancer Cell Biology, Dr. R. Rajaraman returned to Dalhousie as a Research Associate in 1973. He later joined the Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology. After this, he was focused in various aspects of Cancer Biology. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1998, during which year he made the most important discovery of his career, a novel phenomenon where cancer cells seem to escape cell death or give rise to a new generation of tumour cells before they die, a process which he termed Neosis. He was founding scientific officer of OncoDynamics Inc. established to further explore Neosis. Dubbed as “the professor who refuses to retire,” he held a post-retirement appointment in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Dalhousie University.

He is loved, admired and survived by his wife Kausalya (Madhavan) Rajaraman; Sons, Selva (Windsor, ON; Anju Kukreti) and Murali (Halifax, NS; Sharon Andrews) Brothers: KR Ramakrishnan of Chennai, R Venkataraman of Bangalore, R Jayaraman of Chennai, and R Mohanram of Chennai and five grandchildren that he loved dearly. Predeceased by his father and mother and his sister K Rengaswami, R Muthulakshmi, and AK Prema.

Visitation will be held Sunday April 16, 2017, 7 to 9 PM, Cruikshank’s Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St, Halifax. A service will be held on Monday, April 17, 2017 at 12 noon at the same location. Cremation will follow immediately thereafter. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to AIM Program Nova Scotia Rehabilitation c/o the QEII Health Centre Foundation. Online condolences may be sent to: www.cruikshankhalifaxfuneralhome.com