Archives: Meet Our India Fulbrighters

Shreyashi Ray

Ms. Shreyashi Ray is a lawyer and policy professional with experience in health, disability, and queer rights. As part of her work at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Delhi between 2021 and 2025, she has advised union and state governments on legal frameworks for public health emergencies, disability inclusion, and the right to health in India. She has also worked with CSOs and the medical community to recommend policies prioritizing ethical end-of-life care and queer-affirmative healthcare.

Prior to this, she worked with the District Administration of Ranchi from 2018 to 2020 to implement critical health initiatives in under-served areas. During the COVID-19 epidemic, she devised the district’s health and welfare plan with the district machinery and civil society, and established helplines for mental health, domestic violence, and migrant support.

Shreyashi graduated from The WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata with a BA, LLB (Hons.) degree in 2016, after which she worked at the National Law University, Delhi till 2018 on the first comprehensive open science report in India.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Shreyashi is studying public health with a focus on health policy and aims to implement rights-based health policies in India that build a culture incentivizing inclusion and sharing of relevant, authentic data. Through this, she hopes to make the public health system in India more transparent, collaborative, inclusive of marginalized communities, and responsive to social needs.

Sujatra Bhattacharyya

Mr Sujatra Bhattacharyya is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. He has a keen interest in understanding the physics behind the large-scale dynamic and thermodynamic processes associated with tropical systems, such as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and monsoons. Currently, he is conducting research on South Asian monsoons.

Sujatra’s research aims to identify and understand the mechanisms behind the dominant modes of the seasonal rainfall cycle over India. Simultaneously, he is examining the zonal and meridional shifts of precipitation bands during the boreal summer in the South Asian region using an energetics approach.

As a Fulbright-Kalam fellow, Sujatra is investigating the roles of MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) and ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) in Indian monsoons after the onset phase is established. He is also comparing the influences of various Intraseasonal Oscillations (ISO) on the development of the spatio-temporal moisture field over India.

Sujatra earned his Bachelor of Science (BSc Hons.) in Physics from the University of Delhi and MSc Tech) in Geophysics with a specialization in meteorology from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) since August 2022. He also teaches various Mathematics and Physics courses on national platforms such as NPTEL and Andhra University as part of the PMRF program. He has presented his work at several international and national conferences. He enjoys teaching, table tennis and travelling.

Shailina Srivastava

Ms. Shailina Srivastava is a PhD scholar in the Aerosol Group of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai. Under the mentorship of Prof. Sachin S. Gunthe, her research focuses on the intricate interactions between aerosols from diverse regions across the Indian subcontinent, water vapor, and UV radiation under subsaturated conditions. She has conducted extensive measurement campaigns, ranging from southern India to the Himalayan region, collecting ambient aerosol samples to investigate how variations in aerosol properties influence cloud formation, precipitation processes, and the atmospheric evolution of these particles.

Shailina holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences (Environmental Technology) from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and a bachelor’s degree in Botany and Industrial Microbiology from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The unique climatic conditions of India inspired her to delve into this critical area of research, contributing to a better understanding of the nation’s climate dynamics. Beyond her academic pursuits, she enjoys reading and traveling.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Fellow, Shailina is conducting experimental work at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, under the supervision of Dr. Pengfei Liu. Her experiments focus on generating atmospherically relevant organic aerosols from various precursors and examining their interactions with water vapor and UV radiation. She employs advanced techniques and instruments, including the quartz crystal microbalance, to gain deeper insights into these processes.

Rinu Fathima

Ms. Rinu Fathima is a PhD candidate at the CSIR National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India. After finishing her master’s in Applied Geology from Pondicherry University, her passion for marine sciences took her to the National Institute of Oceanography in Panaji, Goa. Her research focuses on understanding past monsoon variability using marine microfossils known as foraminifera. She uses their assemblage and shell geochemistry to understand past climate. She studies the ecology of foraminifera in surface samples and further calibrates the proxies before using them in paleoclimate studies.

Rinu has published her work in multiple research journals and presented it at several national and international conferences. She was one of the two recipients of the American Geophysical Union-Berkner travel grant in 2024. During her master’s, she also received the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology-sponsored summer trainee grant, which helped her study tree rings to decode past climate. She has also participated in ocean expeditions onboard the research vessel Sindhu Sankalp.

At Rutgers during her fellowship, Rinu is using trace element geochemistry of the core top samples from the Andaman basin as a proxy calibration and will use this to understand past monsoon variability in a sediment core. Rinu is an avid consumer of fiction, cinema, and books. You can also find her watching sunsets or hiking during her free time. From one coastal city to the next, Rinu is looking forward to exploring the beaches of New Jersey during her time at Rutgers.

Ayan Sarkar

Mr. Ayan Sarkar is a PhD candidate at the Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He completed BSc in Agricultural Sciences from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (BCKV), West Bengal, in 2020, and MSc in Agronomy from ICAR-IARI in 2022. During MSc, he worked on evaluating new-generation fertilizers such as nano-urea and herbicide mixture-based weed management in wheat, publishing his findings in reputed journals. He has also co-authored a number of publications and presented papers at various national and international conferences.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Doctoral Research Fellow, Ayan is working on knowledge-guided machine learning, i.e., coupling machine learning with crop simulation models to identify low-emission and sustainable production pathways in rice-based systems. This innovative approach aims to optimize yield-emission trade-offs and develop climate-resilient agricultural strategies, particularly for small and marginal farmers.

Beyond academics, Ayan is passionate about cricket, badminton, fine arts, and cooking. He donates blood and promotes blood donation awareness. Through his research, he aspires to empower farmers with practical, climate-proofing solutions, contributing to a future where agriculture balances profitability and environmental sustainability.

Shamini Warda

Dr. Shamini Warda holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. She earned a master’s degree in Cognitive Sciences from the Centre for Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Following PhD, she served as an Institute of Eminence Postdoctoral Fellow affiliated with the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Bombay. She has also been an Academic Research Visitor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

Dr. Warda’s research interests lie at the intersection of cognition and action, with particular emphasis on human timing and time perception. Her PhD work investigated how various predictive processes influence the human perception of time. During her postdoctoral tenure at IIT Bombay, she integrated her knowledge of experimental psychology with motor control research and addressed questions pertaining to how timing affects whole-body movement and, conversely, how movement can influence temporal judgments. She has published articles in reputed international journals. She is a recipient of the Kuppuraj-Bishop study visit award from the Experimental Psychology Society.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, under the mentorship of Prof. Richard Ivry, Dr. Warda is seeking to advance the understanding of attentional influences on the internal clock model, examining how distinct sub-processes of attention modulate parameters of the internal clock and is investigating contributions of sub-cortical structures, particularly the cerebellum and basal ganglia.

Potlannagari Roopa Sowjanya

Dr. Roopa Sowjanya is currently working as a Scientist (Senior Scale) in Genetics and Plant Breeding at ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Solapur, Maharashtra, India. She earned her BSc in 2012 from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka and completed her MSc in 2014 from College of Agriculture, GKVK, Bengaluru, Karnataka. In August 2020, she was awarded a PhD in Genetics and Plant Breeding from University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru with a dissertation on the genetics of grain crude protein, yield and related traits in maize.

Dr. Roopa Sowjanya’s research interests lie in pomegranate genomics and molecular breeding, with key accomplishments including completion of a reference-quality genome assembly of cultivar Bhagwa, comparative chloroplast genome sequencing and transcriptome profiling of pomegranate. She has been honored with the Young Scientist Award by BRNS, DAE, GOI (2022) and Society for Advancement of Research on Pomegranate (2021) for her outstanding research contributions. She was also awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship by the UGC in 2014.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at West Virginia State University, Dr. Roopa Sowjanya is focusing on pan-genome analysis, a transformative framework that over the past decade has redefined how intraspecific genomic diversity is captured in crop species, thereby enabling precision breeding. She is building a pomegranate pan-genome to identify alleles for key traits for fruit quality, and biotic and abiotic stress via comparative genomics.

Swati Mehta Dhawan

Dr. Swati Mehta Dhawan is a development sector researcher and consultant with 15 years of progressive experience advising financial service providers, international development organizations, and governments on inclusive finance. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics in 2007 from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, and completed her post-graduate diploma in forest management with a major in development management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal. In January 2023, she earned a PhD in economic geography from the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany.

Dr. Dhawan’s research interests are primarily in the fields of digital financial inclusion, women’s economic empowerment, financial capability, and consumer protection in the context of global phenomena such as migration, climate change, and digitalization. Her work spans developing market economies in Asia and Africa. Her doctoral research focused on understanding the financial lives of refugees and asylum seekers. She has published several research articles in reputed international journals. She received the Microfinance Research Award 2018 at the European Microfinance Network for her research in Germany.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Dhawan is working closely with the leading researchers in this field, Prof. Katrina Burgess, a Professor of Political Economy and Director of the Henry J. Leir Institute of Human Security, and Prof. Kim Wilson, senior lecturer in Human Security at The Fletcher School. Dr. Dhawan is exploring how newly arrived immigrants in the US use informal, formal, and digitized financial systems to optimize their incomes, build assets, and improve their financial health.

Suvra Roy

Dr. Suvra Roy is a senior scientist at the Aquatic Environmental Biotechnology Division, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Kolkata, India. She received her Bachelor of Fisheries Science (BFSc) degree from the College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, India, in 2010. She obtained a master’s in fisheries science (MFSc) degree in fish biotechnology from ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (ICAR-CIFE), Mumbai. She qualified in the ICAR Agricultural Research Service examination and joined the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, DARE, Government of India, in 2014. She was awarded a PhD from the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.

Dr. Roy’s research interests lie in the genetic, molecular, and biotechnological aspects of improving fish growth and health. She has over 50 peer-reviewed publications in reputed international journals (total impact factor >100) and has already received over 2,000 citations, leading to an H-index of 21. She has received several awards, including the University Gold Medal for Master in Fish Biotechnology, DST INSPIRE fellowship, Netaji Subhas ICAR-International fellowships for PhD, Young Scientist Awards, International Achievement Award, and Best Oral and Poster Awards in seminars/conferences.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow at Auburn University, Dr. Roy is working on CRISPR/Cas9-mediated multiplex genome editing in catfishes, a pioneering study area introduced by Professor Dr. Rex A. Dunham. During her postdoctoral research, Dr. Roy aims to explore the CRISPR technology to create disease-resistant catfish lines with improved growth.

Subhamita Sengupta

Dr. Subhamita Sengupta is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. She completed her BSc in 2013 from Asutosh College, Kolkata affiliated with the University of Calcutta) and earned her MSc in 2016 from Jadavpur University. She was awarded her PhD in June 2022 from the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata. Additionally, she served as a visiting fellow at the same institution from August 2021 to July 2022.

Dr. Sengupta’s research focuses on low-temperature electrical and magnetotransport, vortex dynamics in superconductors, and interface phenomena in complex oxides. She has published in reputed international journalsand received the INSPIRE scholarship during her undergraduate studies.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University, Dr. Sengupta is leveraging advanced techniques developed by Prof. Jennifer Hoffman’s team, combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM), to study superconducting vortices hosting Majorana zero modes — a cornerstone of topological quantum computing. Her research focuses on detecting magnetic field gradients between proximate vortex cores using MFM to determine the parity states of overlapping Majoranas, a critical step toward achieving stable qubit operations and topologically protected quantum logic.