After obtaining his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, Rana did his doctoral work with Michael Barry at Rice University focusing on genetically engineered mammalian viruses for redirected, targeted gene delivery. From there Rana completed his postdoctoral studies under the supervision of Angela Belcher at MIT, where he worked on novel virus-assembled nanoscale materials for molecular imaging of cancer. His interests include following the NBA and enjoying a nice cappuccino.