Dr. Sundar Balasubramanian is a researcher from the Department of Radiation Oncology, at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC, USA currently studying the effects of smoking in cancer radiation therapy. Sundar is a Yoga Biology researcher as well. He published the seminal work connecting Pranayama and salivary biomarkers, and uses Pranayama and other Yoga methods in various clinical and social settings.
Although he has a Ph.D in Biochemistry, Sundar’s passion for Tamil literature is the driving force for his innovations in Yoga research. He is the author of PranaScience: Decoding Yoga Breathing, and has produced several audio albums including Chanting IS Pranayama. Sundar grew up in Karambakkudi, a village in Tamil Nadu, India. He was a speaker of TEDxCharleston 2015, and is an acclaimed researcher in the field of Pranayama. He travels worldwide to teach workshops, immersion programs, and to train other Yoga teachers and academic researchers in the area of integrative health using Yoga methods. Sundar is working on installing an Endowed Chair specifically to research on Yoga. He lives in Mount Pleasant, SC, with his wife and their three children.