Host City USA: Manipal

Mmasinachi Ezuma-Ngwu

Mmasinachi Ezuma-Ngwu completed her BS in public health science at the University of Maryland in 2022. Between 2022 and 2023, she volunteered at clinics, including the Pregnancy Aid Center and the Covenant Psychiatric Services, where she supported underserved patient populations. From 2023 to 2025, she worked at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) as a postbaccalaureate research fellow in the Inherited Neuromuscular Diseases Unit. She continued in the same lab as a special volunteer in 2026. Her research focused on spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), where she analyzed the skeletal muscle transcriptome and led a project to identify disease-specific biomarkers using samples from a Natural History Study. She also codeveloped a patient-reported outcome measure, the HI-Questionnaire, now used in such a study. She is a co-author on a publication in Brain Communications examining neuronal injury biomarkers in SBMA and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 4 (ALS4). Mmasinachi has presented her work at conferences, including those of the Society for Neuroscience and the Student National Medical Association. She is interested in pursuing medical school and advancing research in the medical field.

In India, dementia is rapidly increasing, with millions of families serving as primary caregivers with limited formal support. In her Fulbright-Nehru project in Karnataka, Mmasinachi is examining how dementia severity, patient needs, and caregiver well-being interact to shape caregiver burden. Using a realist review and stakeholder interviews, she is evaluating existing interventions such as psychoeducation, support groups, and respite care. She is also collaborating with clinicians and community organizations to codesign and pilot a culturally tailored, scalable intervention. Through this work, she aims to identify effective, context-specific strategies to reduce caregiver burden and inform policies that strengthen support systems for families caring for individuals with dementia.

Tanvi Banerjee

Dr. Tanvi Banerjee is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Wright State University, where she also serves as the codirector of the Data Science for Healthcare Lab. She holds a PhD and an MS in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Banerjee’s core research interest lies at the intersection of computing and medicine, where she focuses on healthcare applications that utilize wearable and non-wearable sensors for chronic disease management, including measuring stress in caregivers of dementia patients. Her work extensively employs machine learning techniques, data fusion, and big data analytics to classify complex sensor data. With an h-index of 27, her publications cover topics such as multimodal data analysis, physiological responses, and predictive modeling for conditions like sickle cell disease, dementia, and chronic pain. Throughout her career, she has secured substantial research funding, with her personal share of grants totaling approximately USD 2.5 million from prestigious institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Energy, and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). An accomplished educator, she was honored with Wright State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Teaching Award for the 2024–2025 academic year. Her leadership role in the scientific community is reflected in her position as an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence and as local chair and program committee member for several international conferences.

An estimated 8.8 million Indians above the age of 60 live with dementia, yet most remain undiagnosed and lack access to essential resources. To bridge this gap, Dr. Banerjee’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is proposing a culturally nuanced, region-specific Dementia Assessment tool tailored for rural communities. This will enable patients to securely share high-frequency cognitive assessments with their care providers. By deploying AI models to forecast symptom progression, the tool can empower clinicians to deliver proactive interventions and personalized treatment courses, thereby ultimately transforming rural dementia care in India.

Elizabeth Simon

Dr. Elizabeth Simon has 30 years of academic experience. She is an author, presenter, and expert in curriculum development, international collaboration, and accreditation. She secured Fulbright Scholar awards for 2015–16 and 2022–23, and the Fulbright Specialist award in 2026. Dr. Simon obtained her BS in nursing from Punjab University, India; her master’s degrees from Columbia University, Teachers College, and Hunter College; and her PhD in higher education from Walden University. She has authored books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles. She has also developed curriculum for new programs, revised curricula, and mentored faculty members. Besides, she has served as the founding dean and as a critical care nursing consultant.

Dr. Simon’s Fulbright-Nehru project is gathering support for designating trained sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) in India. It is also studying the wider scope for forensic nursing in India, with nurses able to take roles in medico-legal investigations and evidence collection, mental health counseling, and pregnancy prevention, specifically after a rape trauma. Curricular innovation is also part of the project in order to enhance the professional visibility and social image of nurses in India.

Kruthika Doreswamy

Kruthika Doreswamy completed her BS in neuroscience and BA in French from the University of Pittsburgh and went on to complete her MPH in epidemiology at the university’s School of Public Health. During her MPH internship, she examined the relationship between paternal characteristics and spontaneous abortion, and went on to present the findings at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo. Between 2022 and 2024, Kruthika worked at the National Institutes of Health as a post-baccalaureate fellow in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department. She has served as an associate investigator on various protocols examining motor function in individuals with rare neuromuscular disorders, such as spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). She has made presentations at various conferences, such as those of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and World Muscle Society. She is interested in pursuing medical school and working toward increasing access to rehabilitation resources.

In India, stroke is the fifth leading cause of disability and because of the sheer numbers involved due to the country being home to the largest population on the planet, patient-focused rehabilitation is a challenge. In her Fulbright-Nehru project, Kruthika is examining the perspectives of individuals who have experienced a stroke, as well as the perceptions of their caregivers and healthcare providers. She hopes to explore avenues for translating the study’s findings into broader public policy and to create culturally informed tools for post-stroke recovery.