Vijay Ramakrishnan’s journey to becoming a physician began with his father, a doctor trained in India, who arrived in the United States in 1975 with little more than a pocketful of coins. His father eventually established a radiology practice in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, the small town where Vijay was born and raised. Growing up surrounded by medicine, Vijay absorbed both the science and the spirit of service that defined his father’s work. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 2001 before completing medical school, a residency in diagnostic radiology, and a fellowship in interventional radiology, following his father’s footsteps with remarkable precision. His two brothers also became physicians, making medicine not just a career but a family calling. Praveena, who grew up in Dubai, joined Vijay in building their life together in rural Virginia, and today she is well accustomed to small town life, bringing her own warmth and steadiness to every chapter of their shared journey.

Vijay now practices as a radiologist in Abingdon, Virginia, where he reads imaging studies and performs image-guided procedures. His connection to Duke University has remained one of the most enduring threads of his professional identity. Together, Vijay and Praveena have built a life grounded in the conviction that medicine is more than a profession,  it is a vehicle for community service and intergenerational responsibility.

That conviction recently found its fullest expression in a landmark act of generosity. In April 2026,Vijay and Praveena committed $3 million to support patient care and physician training through Duke’s radiology programs, including a $2 million innovation fund for advanced imaging equipment and a $1 million endowment for resident education in the Department of Radiology.

In recognition of their support, the Radiology Suite on the first floor of Duke Medical Pavilion has been named in their honor. For the Ramakrishnans, the gift is deeply personal,  an expression of gratitude to those who shaped them, and a message to their three children about what it means to live a life of purpose.