Charles v. Paganelli joined the faculty of the University at Buffalo's Department of Physiology in 1958. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Hamilton College (1950) and both his master's degree in physics (1953) and doctoral degree in physiology (1957) from Harvard University. Paganelli was promoted to assistant professor in 1960, associate professor in 1963 and full professor in 1971. He served as associate chair and acting chair of the Department of Physiology multiple times throughout his career at UB. In 1997, Paganelli was named SUNY Distinguished Service Professor.