​

Antonio Orengo was born on May 6, 1931 in Naples, Italy. He spent much of his early childhood on the small nearby island of Ischia, escaping the war zone in Naples during World War 2. Even with the chaos of war, a strong emphasis was always placed on education in his family, and he went on to complete medical school. He enjoyed the stimulation that scientific investigation provides and he decided to uproot the travel across the Atlantic to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Upon its completion, he returned to Naples for a few years and then decided to move back to the states permanently. He accepted a faculty position at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas where he remained for the next twenty years. At M.D. Anderson he was able to satisfy his scientific creativity, make an impact on understanding and treating disease, and mentor numerous young scientists. Also it was there where he met a life-long colleague and friend, Dr. Rao. Eventually, the desire for more patient contact and independence drove him to enter private practice, where he enjoyed a large and successful practice until the time of his retirement at the age of 73. Dr. Orengo made an impact on society not only as a physician-scientist but also through the friends and family he touched personally. Sadly, he passed away during the inception of this foundation. He left behind his wife Cristina and six children, all professionals. The same enthusiasm for scientific investigation and discovery, impeccable work ethic, the quest for positively impacting society, and compassion were passed on to the next generations through his passion of education.

Dr. Antonio Orengo

Potu N. Rao born on July 1, 1930 in a small, poor farming village in south India’s Guntur district. He earned a BSc in 1952 and a MS in Genetics in 1955. He married in 1957, and after the birth of his first child, he went to the United States in 1960 to pursue his higher education. After a long and arduous journey, he finally arrived and began his graduate work. In 1963 he earned a PhD in Cytogenetic from the University of Kentucky. He next moved to Denver, Colorado in 1968. While at the Roosevelt Cancer Institute, in 1970 he published two seminal papers in the journal Nature that served as major milestones in understanding cell regulation and cell division.

Dr. Rao was recruited to join M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he worked for many years on the faculty, training many students and continuing his research. He retired as a professor of cell biology in 1991.

Dr Rao’s third child was born with a rare congenital disease that left her legally blind and confined to a wheelchair. Despite her handicaps, she has always been encouraged to pursue her educational goals. She earned a BA from Rice University and a law degree from Stanford University. Dr Rao retired early so that he could accompany her to California, where he helped her to read volumes of law books that are not in Braille. His early retirement serves as an example of his belief and commitment to the pursuit of higher education. The Rao Orengo Foundation is based on this commitment to education of our youth.

Dr. Potu N. Rao