A phone call that changed global medicine

How one invitation to Texas A&M set Gary Krishnan on a path to medical breakthroughs

In the fall of 1989, Gary Krishnan, Ph.D., arrived in College Station with a suitcase, a scholarship and an open-ended dream.

Krishnan had left his home in India to join the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Science’s newly formed Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics as a doctoral student, drawn by its growing reputation and a phone call that would shape everything that followed.

Today, Krishnan is known for his pioneering osteoporosis therapy and COVID‑19 treatments, successes he attributes to his experiences on campus.

The personal touch

That initial call came from Tom Baldwin, Ph.D., head of the department at the time. Baldwin didn’t just outline the department’s strengths; he made the case that Texas A&M University was the place where Krishnan could grow as a scientist and a leader.

“That personal touch is rare,” Krishnan said. “I had dozens of other options I was weighing before that phone call, but Dr. Baldwin made me feel like I already belonged before I even got here.”

The welcoming words of Baldwin were matched by action. When a delay in transferring funds left him unable to cover basic deposits, department staff member Becky Grant connected him with the 12th Man Foundation for a stopgap loan.

“It was just a few hundred dollars, but it made all the difference,” Krishnan said. “That kindness told me I was in the right place.”

Immersed in the Aggie spirit

Once he arrived on campus, Krishnan was introduced to a culture that combined high expectations with genuine care. The department’s rigorous coursework pushed him in the lab and classroom, while Aggie traditions pulled him into the campus community.

While many graduate students kept to their labs and classes, Krishnan threw himself into campus life as fully as if he had spent four years as an undergraduate. He went to every Bonfire, midnight yell practice and football game he could.

But why? After all, he was here to earn a doctorate, and attending all these traditions wasn’t part of the curriculum.

“I saw early on that being an Aggie was not just about earning a degree,” he said. “It was about joining a community, and the traditions were where I found that connection. They keep you connected long after you leave. They’re a big part of what makes you a lifelong Aggie.”

The making of a global innovator

Krishnan’s passion for science started in India, where he earned top honors in chemistry during his undergraduate studies. However, his need to understand how life works at the molecular level inspired him to pursue his doctorate.

At Texas A&M, that drive met high academic standards and faculty who invested deeply in student growth. His advisor, Stephen Safe, Ph.D., university distinguished professor, pushed him to refine both his science and his communication.

Safe recorded Krishnan’s presentations so he could hear his own pace, then coached him to slow down, articulate and connect with his audience. He was preparing Krishnan not only to be an excellent scientist, but also an effective communicator whose work could reach beyond colleagues and journals to make an impact on people outside the lab.

“At first it felt harsh, but it changed everything about how I communicate,” Krishnan said.

The same precision applied to writing. Research papers came back covered in edits.

“Every sentence had to add value for the reader,” he said. “That lesson stayed with me my whole career.”

While the department was shaping the way he approached science, it was also shaping his personal life. During his time in the program, Krishnan met his wife, Priya, a prospective doctoral student. A mutual friend introduced them, and he invited her to dinner under the guise of a lab tradition for students exploring research labs.

“Thirty‑five years later, we’re still together,” he said with a smile. “When I think back on my time here, I see more than a Ph.D. I see the people, the relationships and the community that became part of who I am.”

Turning traditions and values into scientific breakthroughs

After earning his doctorate, Krishnan completed postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine, shifting his studies from cancer biology to motor neuron development and regeneration after his father suffered a stroke. He wanted to better understand how nerve cells could repair and regrow.

When faculty positions were limited in the late 1990s, Krishnan found a position in the pharmaceutical industry. In 1998, he joined Eli Lilly as a bench scientist. Over the next 27 years, he advanced to chief scientific officer, leading research teams that delivered 14 clinical candidates and multiple blockbuster medicines in osteoporosis, autoimmune disease, cancer and diabetes.

Among those successes was a pioneering osteoporosis therapy launched in 2004 that changed treatment standards for patients worldwide. Years later, during the COVID‑19 pandemic, Krishnan identified the potential to repurpose an existing therapy for patients hospitalized with severe respiratory illness as a result of COVID.

After convincing company leadership and the National Institutes of Health with compelling data, his team advanced the drug through trials that proved it reduced mortality in critically ill patients. It became the first approved treatment for that purpose.

“We donated large supplies of this medicine to developing countries for free and even waived the license there,” Krishnan said. “That is the kind of impact science should have.”

Krishnan credits the foundation built in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics for preparing him to navigate high-pressure decisions and translate complex findings into global health solutions.

However, his years in Aggieland also left him with something less tangible but equally important: a belief that science is at its best when it serves others. The Aggie value of selfless service became part of how he measures success, whether in mentoring young scientists or ensuring lifesaving medicines reach people who need them most.

The community behind the scientist

Today, Krishnan leads AI‑driven drug discovery in Chicago, aiming to reduce the time between a scientific idea and a medicine in the hands of patients.

“We proved in the pandemic that it is possible to move faster without sacrificing safety,” he said. “AI can help us do that again for other diseases.”

In April, Krishnan returned to campus to receive the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award. Back in the place where his career began, he thought about the phone call that brought him to Aggieland, the kindness that welcomed him and the traditions that tied him to the Aggie family.

For current and prospective students, he shares the advice that guided his own path: “Your time here will shape you in ways you cannot imagine. The relationships you build and the values you carry forward will stay with you long after you leave.”

Looking back, Krishnan said he cherishes the community that surrounded him as much as the education he received. He still remembers the kindness of staff who helped him navigate a new country, the professors who pushed him to think and communicate more clearly and the spirit that filled midnight yell practices and football games. That mix of warmth and high standards, he says, is what has kept him connected to Texas A&M for more than three decades.

“It was already great when I arrived,” he said. “But it only got better. I’m grateful I get to be an Aggie for life.”