Ranjith Kumar Chellian, PhD

Biography

Education and Training

Ph.D., Pharmacology; University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

M. Pharm., Pharmacology; The Erode College of Pharmacy and Research Institute, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India

B. Pharm., Pharmaceutical Sciences; Adhiparasakthi College of Pharmacy, Melmaruvathur, Tamil Nadu, India

Career History

October 2025- Present: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College of Dentistry, U.S.A.

May 2024 – September 2025: Biological Scientist, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, U.S.A.

Aug 2018 – July 2023: Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, U.S.A.

Nov 2013 – Jun 2016: Research Assistant, Department of Pharmacology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mar 2012 – Nov 2013: Research Executive, Department of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery Research; Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Research Interests

Dr. Chellian is a leader in nicotine and pain research projects. He has developed animal models of nicotine addiction using intravenous nicotine self-administration and intracranial self-stimulation procedures. He is studying the pharmacological effects of compounds on intravenous nicotine self-administration models in rats and is investigating the neurobiology of nicotine addiction in nicotine-dependent rats. In addition, Dr. Chellian is studying the pharmacological effects of compounds on operant pain models in rats using Orofacial Pain Assessment Device (OPAD) and conducting survival surgeries and intracerebral injections in rats.

Selected Publications

Bruijnzeel AW, Behnood-Rod A, Chellian R, Malphurs W, Caudle RM, Febo M, Setlow B, Murphy NP, Neubert JK. Cannabidiol Reduces Oxycodone Self-Administration While Preserving Its Analgesic Efficacy in a Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain. bioRxiv. 2025 Apr 25:2025-04.

Chellian R, Behnood-Rod A, Bruijnzeel AW. Persistent Anhedonia After Intermittent Long-Access Nicotine Self-Administration in Rats. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 19.