Medical Sciences Archives

Siddhant Pratap

Siddhant Pratap is a 2024 graduate of the University of California (UC), Irvine, where he earned a BS in biological sciences cum laude. His academic interests lie in neuromuscular medicine, a field where therapeutic options remain limited and clinical understanding is constantly evolving. These interests stem from his two years as a clinical researcher at the UC Irvine ALS and Neuromuscular Division. In this role, Siddhant coordinated trials across the full spectrum of rare and ultra-rare neuromuscular disease, including muscular dystrophies, peripheral neuropathies, myositis, myasthenia gravis, and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). His portfolio spans interventional trials, including some of the first approved therapies for these conditions, and natural history studies that characterize disease progression.

Beyond his trial work, Siddhant helped establish the UC Irvine Biobank, an institution-wide translational research repository housed under the university’s Institute for Clinical & Translational Science. The biobank supports investigators across UCI’s clinical and basic science departments and has enrolled over 1,100 participants across 74 sub-investigators since its launch. Siddhant is committed to bridging clinical care and research, with the goal of becoming an academic neuromuscular physician-scientist dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with rare and underserved diseases.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease that causes loss of muscle function, mobility, and ultimately the ability to breathe. Siddhant’s Fulbright-Nehru project is establishing a comprehensive ALS registry at AIIMS, New Delhi, under the mentorship of Dr. V.Y. Vishnu. For this, he is developing and deploying a smartphone application that allows ALS patients across India to complete monthly assessments from home, as increasing immobility and travel costs make in-person follow-up difficult. The registry will generate longitudinal data on disease progression, help characterize ALS in India, and position India to host future ALS clinical trials.

Nikita Muthakana

Nikita Muthakana is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a graduate of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, where she earned a BS in quantitative biology. During her time at UNC, she became deeply interested in both scientific research and education, interests that continue to shape her academic and professional goals. As an undergraduate researcher, Nikita worked in developmental lung biology, studying the role of extracellular matrix proteins in alveolar development through computational approaches. She presented this work in a proteomics-focused talk at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Through these experiences, she has developed a strong appreciation for research and scientific communication.

Outside of research at UNC, Nikita served as an orientation leader for incoming students, coached coed volleyball, and worked as a teaching assistant for calculus, physics, and biology courses. Working closely with students from different backgrounds fueled her passion for teaching and mentorship, thereby strengthening her long-term goal of becoming a professor in higher education. In her free time, Nikita enjoys playing volleyball, making pizza from scratch, and volunteering with a local healthy lifestyle clinic for children. She values all opportunities to form meaningful connections with others.

Nikita’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is investigating apoptosis inhibitor 5 (Api5) as a potential chemoresistance biomarker in Indian patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). She is conducting the project at IISER Pune under the mentorship of Dr. Mayurika Lahiri. The project is analyzing clinical samples to determine whether Api5 overexpression correlates with poor chemotherapy response. By generating one of the first Indian TNBC datasets for Api5, the research aims to support the development of more personalized and genomic-based treatment strategies.

Ritikraj Arya

Ritikraj Arya is a 2023 graduate of Brown University, where he majored in biology. During his time at Brown, he was an avid volunteer with Camp Kesem, a nonprofit organization that provides free summer camps for children whose parents have been diagnosed with cancer. Through this work, he helped create a supportive environment for children navigating some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

Ritikraj’s passion for working with and supporting children shaped his postgraduate work as a researcher in pediatric end-of-life care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At UAB, he contributed to projects funded by organizations such as the Children’s Oncology Group, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Cancer Society. His work spanned a wide range of pediatric end-of-life care initiatives, including studies evaluating novel quality measures for pediatric end-of-life care and qualitative research involving bereaved parent interviews. His experiences conducting qualitative research in end-of-life care helped shape the direction of his Fulbright project studying pediatric palliative care in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Outside of his academic and professional work, Ritikraj enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with his family.

Though home to only 3 percent of India’s population, the state of Kerala delivers nearly 90 percent of the nation’s palliative services by supplementing care with the efforts of local volunteers – an approach known as the “Kerala Model” of palliative care. Partnering with Loyola College of Social Sciences and Pallium India, Ritikraj’s Fulbright-Nehru project is conducting an ethnographic study examining how this model mobilizes community volunteers to provide high-quality pediatric palliative care. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews with volunteers, parents, and others, the project aims to generate insights that can inform global efforts to expand volunteer integration in pediatric palliative care amid critical physician shortages.

Jesse Jokerst

Dr. Jesse Jokerst is a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). He graduated cum laude from Truman State University (Kirksville, MO) in 2003 with a BS in Chemistry and completed a PhD in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 (adviser: John T. McDevitt). He was a postdoc with the late Prof. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir at Stanford Radiology from 2009 to 2013, and was an instructor in the same department from 2013 to 2015. Dr. Jokerst joined UCSD in July 2015 where he leads a research program that integrates three distinct yet interdependent pillars: synthesis of nanoparticles, peptides, and small molecules; engineering of custom acoustic hardware and software tools; and human subjects research. Imaging (ultrasound, photoacoustics, and optical imaging) is the “glue” that binds these research areas together. His lab has active human subjects trials in wound care, COVID, arthritis, anticoagulation, and dentistry.

Dr. Jokerst has raised over USD 20 million to support his work, and has published over 180 manuscripts. His former trainees are at top universities and companies, including MIT, Harvard, Apple, and Intel. Dr. Jokerst has received the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Stanford Radiology Alumni of the Year Award; he is also a Truman State Distinguished Alumni Fellow. Further, he is an associate editor at ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and former chair of the NIH study section on imaging probes and contrast agents.

Dr. Jokerst’s Fulbright-Nehru project is developing a fast, inexpensive test for active TB in rural and resource-limited settings in India. This project will generate materials science and biotechnology tools with applications beyond TB, and thus benefit U.S. taxpayers with new assays for flu, colds, and foodborne illness. For Indian citizens, it will deliver a portable, rugged TB diagnostic usable in both urban and remote settings.

Rajkumar Sevak

Dr. Rajkumar Sevak is an accomplished academic and clinical researcher with expertise in psychiatric pharmacotherapy and pharmacy education. He is currently serving as an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of the Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy. Dr. Sevak has built a career integrating rigorous research with hands-on clinical and teaching practice. His educational background includes a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, followed by PGY1 residency from Auburn University, and postdoctoral fellowship training from East Tennessee State University. He is a licensed pharmacist in four U.S. states and holds specialized certifications in psychiatric pharmacy, informatics, and biostatistics.

Dr. Sevak’s research portfolio reflects a sustained focus on neuropsychiatric therapeutics and students’ mental health. He has served as principal or coinvestigator on several funded grants, including projects supported by the National Institutes of Health, examining pharmacotherapies for substance-use disorders and intervening to improve mental health outcomes. His scholarly output shows over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and 70 national conference presentations. He is also an active peer reviewer for leading journals and grant agencies, and has received multiple awards, including the CPNP Foundation Strategic Goals Award and the Sudhir Gupta Young Scientist Award.

As an educator, Dr. Sevak coordinates and teaches core courses in neuropsychiatric therapeutics, biostatistics, and research design at the University of the Pacific. He guides pharmacy students, residents, and fellows in research projects, presentations, and professional development. Outside of academics, he has provided clinical services in outpatient and inpatient psychiatric pharmacy, ambulatory care, and community pharmacy settings. His professional service also extends to committee roles within his institution and professional organizations such as the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Through his interdisciplinary work in research, teaching, and practice, Dr. Sevak continues to contribute significantly to the fields of psychiatric pharmacy and pharmacotherapy education.

Dr. Sevak’s Fulbright-Nehru project is working on establishing a Indo-US collaborative system to enhance neuropsychiatric pharmacy education. Toward this, he is delivering a core therapeutics course and codeveloping culturally relevant patient cases with Indian faculty colleagues for a case-based course. The project is also fostering cross-cultural pedagogical exchange and improving mental healthcare by training pharmacy students to provide evidence-based care. Expected outcomes include a sustainable case library, strengthened institutional ties, and a model for global pharmacy education.

Praveen Arany

Dr. Praveen Arany is a trained dentist, oral pathologist, and biomedical engineer. He served as an assistant clinical investigator at NIDCR/NIH, Bethesda, and is currently an associate professor with tenure at the University at Buffalo, New York. He has six patents, over 150 scientific publications with over 12,000 citations, and an h-index of 43. His research has been featured in many mainstream media highlights in over 70 countries. He has also received numerous awards recognizing his research contributions, such as the Excellence in Research award from the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (WALT), the Young Investigator award from the National Cancer Institute/NIH, the Young Investigator Award from the Wound Healing Society, the Horace Furumoto Young Investigator award from the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the Theodore Maiman Award from the Academy of Laser Dentistry. He is the chair of the photobiomodulation (PBM) group in Optica and the former president of WALT, NAALT (North American Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy), and the Lasers & Bio-photonics Group of the International Association of Dental Research.

Dr. Arany has been a key figure in organizing the field of PBM. As an intramural investigator at NIDCR/NIH and in a leadership position at WALT and NAALT, he was instrumental in the adoption of the nomenclature for PBM as an MeSH term for PubMed. Among his other achievements are the demonstration of a novel PBM molecular mechanism involving latent TGF-beta 1 activation, and outlining clinical biomarkers, molecular biomarkers, treatment delivery, and dosimetry. Most recently, he advocated for procedural (insurance) codes to enable safe and effective PBM clinical protocols. This has resulted in clinical practice guidelines recommendations for treating several human diseases and promoting wellness, especially in supportive cancer care.

In India, oral cancer affects over a million people annually. Dr. Arany’s Fulbright-Nehru project is introducing the non-invasive, low-dose, and light PBM therapy for oral cancer patients in India, which has been proven to significantly improve both quality of life and quality of care.

Suraj Muley

Dr. Suraj Muley is a neurologist and internationally recognized expert in neuromuscular medicine, neuroimmunology, myasthenia gravis, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). He serves as director of neurology at Bob Bové Neuroscience Institute at HonorHealth and is professor of medicine at Arizona State University School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering. Dr. Muley completed his medical education at Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College, Mumbai, which was followed by research training in pharmacology and residency and fellowship training in neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and neuromuscular diseases at the University of Minnesota. He is board certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and neuromuscular medicine.

Over a distinguished academic career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Muley has held major leadership roles at the University of Minnesota, Barrow Neurological Institute, and HonorHealth, including directing neuromuscular, neuroimmunology, fellowship, and residency programs. His clinical and research interests focus on immune-mediated neuromuscular disorders, with emphasis on novel targeted therapies for myasthenia gravis and CIDP. He has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous national and international clinical trials in neuromuscular diseases.

Dr. Muley has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, invited reviews, and international presentations in neuromuscular medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN), Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCP Edin). His honors include multiple teaching and research awards.

Dr. Muley’s Fulbright-Nehru project is focusing on advancing neuromuscular medicine and neuroimmunology in India through collaborative teaching, research, and clinical training. Working with leading academic medical centers in Mumbai, his project emphasizes inflammatory neuropathies and myasthenia gravis, with particular focus on advanced electrophysiological techniques and emerging targeted therapies. The project aims to strengthen subspecialty education, promote collaborative clinical research, and develop sustainable academic partnerships between Indian and U.S. institutions. By leveraging India’s large and diverse patient population, the project seeks to improve understanding and treatment of immune-mediated neurological disorders while fostering long-term global collaboration in neuroscience.

Balwantsinh Chauhan

Dr. Balwantsinh Chauhan received his BSc, MSc, and PhD (in reproductive endocrinology) from Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda, India. He obtained his MD from the College of Medicine, Spartan Health Sciences University, St. Lucia. He also possesses a postbaccalaureate certificate in toxicology technology from the U.S.

Dr. Chauhan served the Department of Zoology (MSU Baroda) as lecturer from 1970–1982 and was promoted as reader in 1983. He has also worked as faculty with the College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), and with the Roosevelt University College of Pharmacy. He is the founding faculty for two U.S. pharmacy programs. Currently, he is serving as associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, American University of Health Sciences.

Dr. Chauhan’s present teaching interests are: pharmacogenomics; biotherapeutics (BTh); anatomical sciences; medical physiology; pathophysiology; immunology/medical microbiology; and medical genetics. His past research interests included: sequencing the HAP1 gene; and the effect of prolactin and estrogen modulation on another “DNA damage and repair gene”, O6-Methylguanine DNA Methyltransferase (O6-MGMT), in the context of breast cancer. He was also involved in the generation of the transgenic mouse model for human FOXO to explore its possible role in insulin resistance. Dr. Chauhan’s current research interests include: pharmacognosy, especially related to anti-obesity and dermal-wound healing; generation of the rodent melanoma model, and benzanthrone’s dermal-toxicological aspects; and pharmacogenomics. He has also co-authored several peer-reviewed publications and scientific abstracts/posters, some of which have received international merit awards. Further, he has given several lectures both in the U.S. and abroad.

For his Fulbright-Nehru project, Dr. Chauhan is teaching the fundamental concepts of genetics/genomics as they relate to the understanding of pharmacogenomics and BTh. He is also teaching competency/compliance standards, and designing, developing, and implementing curricula for the pharmacy and medical programs at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai. The project’s goal is to foster international understanding, institutional collaboration, and exchange programs for both students and teachers.

Ravikumar Majeti

Dr. Ravikumar Majeti (cited as Kumar MNVR) is a distinguished university research professor, assistant vice president for interdisciplinary research, and founding director of the Center for Convergent Bioscience and Medicine at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. He is internationally recognized as a leading authority on nanomedicine, with a research portfolio spanning drug delivery, therapeutic repurposing, and personalized treatment strategies for chronic diseases.

Dr. Majeti’s academic journey began with a BSc in physical sciences from A.J. Kalasala, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, followed by an MSc in applied chemistry from SGSITS, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and a PhD in drug delivery from IIT Roorkee.

Prior to his appointment at Alabama, he held academic positions at Texas A&M University, College Station; the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK; and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali, India.

Dr. Majeti’s research focuses on the mechanisms of transcytosis at the intestine–blood barrier leading to the development of tunable, biodegradable nanoparticles for the oral delivery of poorly bioavailable small-molecule drugs and drug-like compounds (https://sites.ua.edu/dreamlab/). His patented delivery platforms have shown substantial efficacy in preclinical models of diabetic complications, lupus, and acute kidney injury, offering precision therapies where standard treatments are inadequate or unavailable.

As a dedicated mentor and scientific leader, Dr. Majeti has fostered international collaborations, guided the growth of early-career researchers, and spearheaded high-impact interdisciplinary programs supported by leading global funding agencies. His work has significantly advanced both the fundamental science and clinical translation of next-generation drug delivery systems.

For his Fulbright-Nehru project, Dr. Majeti is investigating the therapeutic promise of plant-based polyphenolic nutraceuticals through interdisciplinary collaboration at the crossroads of biomaterials and medicine. Focusing on oral bioavailability, a central challenge in the field, he is designing nano-engineered delivery systems to improve the efficacy of compounds such as Urolithin A. By integrating fundamental research with applied testing in models of chronic metabolic diseases, Dr. Majeti seeks to bridge laboratory innovation with clinical relevance. His work aims to realize the untapped potential of nutraceuticals and advances them as viable tools in the prevention and management of modern chronic health conditions.

Aditya Santoki

Mr. Aditya Santoki graduated from Duke University in 2021 cum laude as a Chemistry major. While at Duke, Mr. Santoki was a neurobiology researcher in Dr. Cagla Eroglu’s lab and investigated the rate of neuronal cell death in Huntington’s Disease. Having self-studied computer science in college, Mr. Santoki designed a program that would characterize the rate of neuronal cell delineated by brain region, eventually seeing his work published as a second-author in Cell Reports. Additionally, while at Duke, Mr. Santoki was also deeply involved in health policy research. After having taken an Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System class with Dr. Nathan Boucher, Mr. Santoki designed an independent project to assess the determinants of vaccine hesitancy in Durham County. As a part of his project, Mr. Santoki interviewed physicians and patients to find that even brief physician-led conversations on the safety and efficacy of vaccines could drastically reduce vaccine-hesitancy. Most importantly, Mr. Santoki learned how effective physician-led conversations on treatment could drastically affect patient care. This sparked Mr. Santoki’s interest in understanding how cost of care conversations on a national scale could reduce financial toxicity for patients. Since then, Mr. Santoki has published his work on vaccine hesitancy as a first-author in the North Carolina Medical Journal (NCMJ).

After graduating from Duke University, Mr. Santoki has been working as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). At the NIH, Mr. Santoki routinely shadows neurooncologists having cost of care discussions with terminal cancer patients. Through these conversations Mr. Santoki has seen how patients can make much more informed decisions about their care and plan personalized and affordable courses of treatment. Moreover, Mr. Santoki has also been exposed to the potential of personalized medicine while working in Dr. Claire Le Pichon’s lab. While in the Le Pichon lab, Mr. Santoki has been assisting a project characterizing a novel mouse model of a rare form of ALS. Mr. Santoki has also been working part-time at a biopharma venture capital firm investigating drug pricing for rare disease therapeutics. Both these experiences have sparked Mr. Santoki’s interest in translating personalized therapeutics and ensuring they are affordable for patients. In his free time Mr. Santoki enjoys reading, weightlifting, and running.

For his Fulbright-Nehru project, Mr. Santoki is travelling to medical centers throughout Kerala to survey oncologists treating cancer patients. He is assessing physician awareness of treatment costs and low-cost alternatives. If time permits, Mr. Santoki aims to assess patients’ willingness to pay for genomic assays to define need for adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. He is also estimating the proportion of patients who get colitis after starting immunotherapy. These analyses will help physicians determine whether cost conversations on preventative treatments can prevent future expenses.