The university has been searching for a professor to fill the role since 2015 when the grant funded a specialist play research center (PEDAL).
Ramchandani presently leads the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research Unit at Imperial College and has spent 15 years specializing in child development research.
His new role at Cambridge will have him focus on examining the importance of play in education globally and working with his team to devise and evaluate play-based teaching approaches.
Ramchandani and PEDAL will also analyze how playing with Lego bricks can ensure "children are equipped with 21st century skills like problem-solving, team work and self-control."
In addition the university will develop a long-term study investigating the effects of children being encouraged to play at home and school.
"Everyone has an opinion about what role play should have in early education and there is some wonderful research, but there are also big gaps in our knowledge," Ramchandani said. "We need the best evidence possible in order to inform the vital decisions that are made about children's education and development and I look forward to taking that work forward together with colleagues at Cambridge."
