Professor Rana grew up in a small village near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. After his A-Level he decided to attend a career as medical officer in the German armed forces. After his duty and finishing his studies, he was trained in Aachen, Hannover and Hamburg.

One key moment in his life was the surgery of a small boy with craniosynostosis. He and his colleagues used 3D computer assisted design and additive manufacturing to develop and use a patient individual implant made of lactose. With this process he realized what potential is within this combination of methods.

Currently he is he senior physician and deputy head of the department for Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at university hospital Düsseldorf. His main points of efforts in research are the computer assisted development of resorbable patient individual implants made of new alloys. Also, the quality of life of cancer patients and the implementation of workflows for intraoperative 3D mapping within midface and cranium base tumour surgeries are valuable research fields. Dr. Rana serves as the Education Officer for the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS).