Rekha Biswal

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research and Teaching)
Project Title:	Towards a Proof of the Schur Positivity Conjecture and its Generalizations
Field of Study:	Mathematics
Home Institution:	National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Host Institution:	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN
Grant Start Month:	December 2026
Duration of Grant:	Eight months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Rekha Biswal is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar. Her research focuses on representation theory, algebraic combinatorics, and Lie theory, with particular emphasis on Kac-Moody algebras, crystal bases, and quantum groups. Her work explores the combinatorial and algebraic structures underlying representations of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras, tensor product decompositions, and symmetric functions. Through the development of new crystal-theoretic and combinatorial techniques, she has contributed to several fundamental problems in representation theory and its connections with algebraic combinatorics.

Dr. Biswal received her integrated PhD in Mathematics from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. She subsequently held postdoctoral positions at Université Laval, the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, and the University of Edinburgh before joining NISER in 2022. She has also served as Visiting Professor and Foreign Researcher at the Institut Camille Jordan, University of Jean Monnet, France. Her achievements have been recognized through several awards and fellowships, including the Odisha Young Scientist Award.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Biswal is focusing on the Schur positivity conjecture, a long-standing open problem in algebraic combinatorics. In collaboration with Professor Pavlo Pylyavskyy at the University of Minnesota, she will develop new combinatorial and crystal-theoretic methods to study tensor product multiplicities and advance understanding of symmetric functions and representation theory.

Lakshmi Priya Daniel

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research and Teaching)
Project Title:	Rooted in Ephemera: Exploring Cultural Connections through Women’s Art and Artisanal Practices
Field of Study:	Visual Arts
Home Institution:	Stella Maris College (Autonomous), Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA
Grant Start Month:	December 2026
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Lakshmi Priya Daniel joined the Department of Fine Arts, Stella Maris College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India in 1996 and has served as Director of SMCHRD, IQAC Coordinator, and Dean of Student Affairs. She earned her PhD in 2013 from the University of Madras with a focus on gender and Indian art. A 2018-2019 UBCHEA Fellow, she completed the ‘Leadership Development Program’ at Harvard Graduate School of Education and worked at the University of Melbourne. She is a recognized PhD guide of the University of Madras, has won best presentation awards, published widely, and served as guest faculty at institutions such as NIFT, IIT-Madras, and the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. Also, a practicing artist and curator, she has exhibited in group shows, including the 2021 USIEF–Ojas Art Gallery international exhibition ‘Reciprocation: American Fulbright Artists & India Connections’ in New Delhi.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Daniel is teaching and engaging students, artists, and educators in building cross-cultural connections on and off campus. Her teaching centers on research-based art practice, guiding students to create meaningful, informed eco-artworks. She will also devote her time to archival work, interviews, and surveys on ephemeral art by Black and women artists. Her research explores unseen artisanal practices, dying crafts, and sustainable materials, fostering dialogue on cultural preservation and ecological approaches to contemporary art-making.

Nagarajan Ganapathy

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research and Teaching)
Project Title:	PRESCOPE: Predictive Modelling of Salient Contextual Patterns in Epilepsy from Clinical-grade Wearables for Early Interventions
Field of Study:	Computer Science
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	March 2027
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Nagarajan Ganapathy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH), India, where he heads the Medical Informatics and Digital Health Laboratory. He earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2019 at IIT Madras, India, and was a DAAD fellow at TU Braunschweig, Germany, followed by postdoctoral training at the Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics (PLRI), TU Braunschweig and Hannover Medical School, Germany. He continues to serve as a Visiting Scientist at PLRI. His research expertise spans affective computing, artificial intelligence, multimodal analysis, wearables and IoMTs, mental well-being, behavioural informatics, unobtrusive sensing, and edge analytics — with a focus on intelligent, non-invasive systems for continuous mental health monitoring and emotion recognition. He is a recipient of the DAAD Research Fellowship and DAAD Research Ambassador Award and serves as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Ganapathy is collaborating with Professor Rosalind Picard at the MIT Media Lab. He is combining his expertise in multimodal physiological AI with Professor Picard’s pioneering work in affective computing and mental health sensing to develop transformative non-invasive mental health monitoring systems and strengthen the India-United States research partnership.

Richa Patanjali Mishra

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research and Teaching)
Project Title:	Engineering the Future: Embedding Critical Thinking and Humanistic Insight into STEM Education for National Resilience and Global Leadership
Field of Study:	Education Policy and Planning
Home Institution:	Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Host Institution:	Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, PA
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr Richa Patanjali Mishra is the Founding Chair and Head, Humanities and Social Sciences at the Institute of Technology, Nirma University. She leads an interdisciplinary department serving engineering students across all programs with the firm belief that the humanities are not optional in STEM institutions but essential to shaping reflective, ethical, and socially responsible engineers. A scholar of the teaching-learning process and digital humanities, Dr. Mishra explores how human-centered STEM education can cultivate critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary learning within engineering education. Her research develops diagnostic instruments, reflective learning frameworks, and curricular models that examine how these capacities can be systematically embedded and assessed within engineering education.

Dr. Mishra is the John Sayers Visiting Fellow at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, and has trained at Oxford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University. As a Shastri Indo-Canadian Visiting Scholar, she researched higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in engineering classrooms, work that has anchored her sustained scholarship on critical thinking pedagogy. A prolific published author, she conceptualized India’s first digital humanities minor course for engineering students, authored the book Introduction to Critical Thinking, and is Principal Investigator of projects funded by agencies including ICSSR.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Mishra is co-designing and validating interdisciplinary STEM-humanities curricular frameworks within the computer science capstone sequence. Upon her return, she will establish a STEM-Humanities Curriculum Innovation Lab and launch a MOOC, Technology, Ethics, and Society, translating evidence-based models for human-centered engineering education aligned with India’s NEP 2020 and U.S. priorities for accountable science.

Rinni Singh

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research and Teaching)
Project Title:	From Frugal to Global: Cross-Pollinating Incubation Policy Between India and the U.S.
Field of Study:	Public Policy
Home Institution:	Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Rinni Singh is a Scientific Officer at Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research, Lucknow, with over a decade of experience spanning research, policy integration, and institutional management. She plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainable agriculture through the coordination of high-impact initiatives, including the Uttar Pradesh Millet Revival Program and international R&D collaborations with organizations such as ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

As Nodal Officer for UPCAR-SEED Incubation Centre, Dr. Singh leads the development of a vibrant agri-startup ecosystem in the state. She has spearheaded over 200 outreach-capacity-building events and serves as a core mentor to agri-tech startups and incubator communities. Her expertise in innovation management is underpinned by advanced training from SINE IIT Bombay, Venture Center Pune, and Nexus Startup Hub at American Center, New Delhi. Her insights on strengthening incubation models were featured in U.S. Embassy’s SPAN Magazine, reflecting her growing influence in this space.

Dr. Singh additionally serves as Member Secretary on Board of Directors of the ANDUAT Incubation Centre, Ayodhya, and contributes to a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from skill development under PMKVY 4.0 to climate-resilient crop variety research.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Singh is aiming to develop a comparative biotech incubation framework that bridges India’s frugal, mission-driven innovation with United States’ advanced university-led institutional innovation ecosystems. She aims to co-design a leadership curriculum and a bilateral incubation toolkit to equip the next generation of agri-entrepreneurs with skills and networks needed to drive transformative change.

Govind

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Multifunctional Memtransistor Sensors Based on Two-dimensional Materials for Mimicking Artificial Neural Networks
Field of Study:	Material Science
Home Institution:	CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Grant Start Month:	March 2027
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Govind joined CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, as Scientist C in 2004 and was promoted to Scientist G in 2022. Since 2019, he has also served as a Professor at the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research. His research has been recognised with several honours, including the Distinguished Lectureship Award and Medal from the Materials Research Society of India (MRSI), the IETE-CEOT Award, the NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award, and the DST-Young Scientist Award.

Prof. Govind is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, the Electron Microscopy Society of India, and an Associate Fellow of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials. He received the BOYSCAST Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to serve as a visiting scientist at Rutgers University, USA, and the Yusuf Hamid International Exchange Fellowship from the Royal Society, UK, to serve as a visiting scientist at Cambridge University, UK. Prof. Govind has published over 430 research articles in international journals, as well as several books, book chapters, and patents.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Govind is developing a multisensory, integrated neuromorphic platform that emulates brain-inspired artificial neural networks for neuromorphic computing and environmental information processing. His work focuses on designing neuro-mimetic devices and memtransistors using 2D materials, and includes monolithic integration, stacking, and software architecture to deliver innovative tools for scientific and industrial applications.

Shiladri Chakraborty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Electrothermally-enhanced Power Semiconductor Packaging for Next-Generation Transportation Electrification
Field of Study:	Energy Studies
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	National Lab of the Rockies, Golden, CO
Grant Start Month:	December 2026
Duration of Grant:	Five months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Shiladri Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay. His primary area of expertise is power electronics, which is a field of technology that uses electronic (semiconductor-based) switches for the efficient conversion and control of electrical power in applications such as renewable energy systems, transportation electrification, and data centers.

Dr. Chakraborty’s prior research experience in power electronics packaging includes a highly cited journal paper (Y. Park et al., 2022, IEEE TTE) that received the First Prize Paper Award. He currently leads an India-wide faculty team under the Indian Design, Semiconductor, Packaging, Systems program associated with India’s Semiconductor Mission, which is focused on integrated power electronics. He also serves as Principal Investigator for two ANRF MAHA-EV funded SiC power packaging projects, one on heterogeneously integrated multichip 2D power modules and another on PCB embedded half-bridge.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Chakraborty is pursuing a transformative approach to the design of advanced power semiconductor packages for next-generation electric vehicle power electronics. The project aims to develop SiC multi-chip power modules with reduced parasitic inductances and capacitances, double-sided cooling and sintering, wire-bondless interconnections, and high-temperature substrates. Following design and simulations at IIT Bombay, the visit to National Lab of the Rockies will be leveraged for fabrication and testing. The work is expected to strengthen domestic capabilities in advanced power packaging, foster global innovations in that field and aid the development of compact, efficient converters for a sustainable future.

Bijoy Chand Chatterjee

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Machine Learning-Driven Resource Optimization for Next-Generation Optical Networks Across Large Geographies: USA and India
Field of Study:	Computer Science
Home Institution:	South Asian University, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	University of California, Davis, CA
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Eight months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Bijoy Chand Chatterjee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at South Asian University (SAU), New Delhi, and an Adjunct Faculty member at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIITD), India. Prior to joining SAU, he held positions at IIIT Delhi, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, and The University of Electro-Communications, Japan, and has served as a Visiting Researcher at Kyoto University on multiple occasions.
Dr. Chatterjee has authored/co-authored over 150 research papers in reputed journals and conferences, including IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Journal of Optical Communications and Networking, Journal of Lightwave Technology, and IEEE INFOCOM, and has co-authored two books published by Springer and CRC Press. He has led several national and international R&D projects and served on the technical program committees of major conferences, including IEEE ANTS, HPSR, ICC, NOMS, and GLOBECOM. His research focuses on optical networks, routing, and resource optimization. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Fellow of IETE, and Vice-Chair of the IEEE Communications Society Delhi Chapter.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Chatterjee is aiming to develop next-generation optical networking frameworks using machine learning for large-scale deployment in India and the USA. His work emphasizes advanced resource allocation and intelligent network design, aligning well with ongoing efforts and offering strong potential for impactful collaboration in future communication systems.

Barani Kanth Devarajan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Mental Health and Campus Services: A Cross-National Comparison of the US and Indian College Students
Field of Study:	Psychology
Home Institution:	Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry
Host Institution:	Ohio University, Athens, OH
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Barani Kanth Devarajan is a Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at Pondicherry University, India, where he has been a founding faculty member since 2007. A recipient of the UGC Raman Postdoctoral Fellowship at Kent State University, USA, his expertise centers on cross-cultural quantitative research methods, psychometrics, youth mental health, and family relationships. He has led and collaborated on several international research projects involving scholars from the United States and Europe, with publications in leading peer-reviewed journals.

In addition to his academic contributions, Prof. Devarajan coordinates student mental health and counseling initiatives and professional training programs promoting accessible and culturally sensitive psychological support systems in higher education. He received the Certificate of Merit for Teaching from Pondicherry University for seven academic years.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Devarajan is examining the cultural and psychological factors influencing student mental health across India and the United States, as well as the structure, challenges, and best practices of campus mental health services. The project aims to support the development of culturally sensitive and effective campus mental health systems in India.

Ritu Gupta

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Refining Response Assessment and Residual Disease Monitoring to Enable Tailored Therapy in Hematological Malignancies
Field of Study:	Public Health
Home Institution:	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	March 2027
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Ritu Gupta leads the Unit of Laboratory Oncology at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). A clinician-scientist and hematopathologist, she is engaged in translational research and has contributed to the development of ethnicity-specific, AI-enabled risk stratification models for patients with multiple myeloma, thereby refining cancer staging and prognostication across resource-diverse healthcare settings.

Dr. Gupta established India’s first fully robotic clinical laboratory at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in addition to founding a Unit of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma Research and a Centre for Advanced Research in Acute Myeloid Leukemia at AIIMS. She has also played an important role in drafting national guidelines in laboratory diagnostics.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Gupta is expanding her research on next-generation strategies for monitoring therapeutic responses in the evolving era of cellular cancer therapeutics. Her current work is directed toward the creation of patient-centric diagnostic workflows that intelligently integrate therapeutic modality, clinically actionable turnaround times, and infrastructure considerations to facilitate timely and individualized intervention.

In addition, Dr. Gupta is engaging with students, scholars, and investigators, sharing her perspective on the integration of clinical, patient-specific, and tumor-biological variables with artificial intelligence to develop robust, evidence-based, and future-ready paradigms in cancer diagnostics.

Josna Joseph

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Spatial Biology Approach to Identify Double Negative B Cell - CD4 T Cell Interaction in Perpetuation of Tissue Fibrosis in Fibrotic Autoimmune Disorders
Field of Study:	Bioengineering
Home Institution:	Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	Ragon Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Josna Joseph is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology at Christian Medical College, Vellore. She completed her PhD in Biological Sciences from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in 2010.

Dr. Josna’s research interests include molecular mechanisms underlying fibrosis, biomaterials, tissue engineering and cytocompatibility. Currently, she is involved in teaching and conducting basic research involving pathomechanism in fibrotic autoimmune disorders.

As a former Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School (2014-15), Dr. Josna gained research experience at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston VA Healthcare system. She is a recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (split-site doctoral scheme) at National University of Singapore and APLAR Centre of Excellence fellowship at University of Environmental and Occupational Health, Fukuoka, Japan.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Josna plans to learn the intricacies of spatial biology techniques to unravel the double negative B cell-T cell interaction in the affected organs of IgG4-Related Disease patients. This would help to understand the spread of fibrosis from individual cellular interaction level to the extent of a tissue/organ, and to devise targetable mechanisms to delay the disease’s progression.

Gulfishan Khan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Representations of the Palace and Cityscape of Agra/Akbarabad During the First Half of the Seventeenth-Century: A Study Based on Indo-Persian Sources
Field of Study:	History
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Gulfishan Khan is a specialist in medieval Indian history. Till June 2024, she was professor and chairperson of the Department of History at Aligarh Muslim University (India). Her most recent publication is a paper Representations of the Palace and Cityscape (co-authored with W. M. Thackston) in the annual Muqarnas (Brill: 2024). Her major academic contributions are the two books Indian Muslim Perceptions (Oxford University Press, 1998) and Indo-Persian Elite (New Delhi: Manohar, 2025).

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Gulfishan Khan would be studying some important aspects of architectural refashioning of the dynamic capital (darul khilafa) Agra, a vibrant medieval urban settlement during the first half of the Seventeenth Century. In this significant period the Mughal court at Agra was the nucleus of a splendid flowering of art and artistic culture, based on blending of Indian and Perso-Islamic traditions under the liberal court-patronage of emperor Shah Jahan. The architectural contribution of imperial women in the aestheticization of the urban landscape of the historic capital and its environs would be highlighted.

Arumugam Kumaresan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Male Infertility and Sub-Fertility: Delineation of Sperm Biomarkers Using High Throughput Image-Based Flow Cytometry and Genome to Phenome Approach
Field of Study:	Agricultural Sciences
Home Institution:	ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Southern Regional Station, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Grant Start Month:	May 2027
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Arumugam Kumaresan is an ICAR National Fellow and Principal Scientist at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Southern Regional Station, Bengaluru, India. With more than two decades’ experience in animal reproduction research, he has established himself as a key scientist in the fields of semen biology, male fertility and reproductive biotechnology. He earned his PhD in veterinary gynecology and obstetrics from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India. He completed postdoctoral training at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and the University of Guelph, Canada.

Dr. Kumaresan has led over 30 nationally and internationally funded research projects. His pioneering work has advanced understanding of sperm biology and fertility. Notably, he identified key sperm biomarkers associated with bull fertility and developed a diagnostic kit for fertility prediction. He has authored over 310 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored more than 40 postgraduate and doctoral students. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the National Academy of Dairy Sciences and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. His scientific contributions have earned global recognition through inclusion in Stanford University and Elsevier/Stanford’s World’s Top 2% Scientists from 2021 to 2025.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Kumaresan is advancing research on biomarker-based sperm phenotyping, next-generation image-based flow cytometry, and genome-to-phenome approaches to identify genetic determinants of male fertility. His work aims to develop a simple, non-invasive diagnostic platform for infertility assessment.

Bidyananda Maibam

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Assessing the Onset of Plate Tectonics on Earth using the Geochemistry and Isotopic Signature of Zircons from the Singhbhum Craton, Eastern India
Field of Study:	Earth Sciences
Home Institution:	Manipur University, Imphal, Manipur
Host Institution:	University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Bidyananda Maibam has a PhD from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He is a Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Manipur University. He was a recipient of the BOYSCAST Fellowship sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India to conduct collaborative research at the University of Mainz, Germany. He applies elemental and isotopic compositions of rocks and zircons (U-Pb, Lu-Hf, and O) to study the formation and evolution of Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic rocks in India.
As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Maibam is deciphering which geodynamic processes predominated in the formation of the earliest continental crust. Due to the limited extent of the early rock record, it remains unclear whether plate tectonics was operative throughout Earth’s history or if there were major changes in the dominant mechanisms of continental crust formation over time. He is characterizing the geochemistry of Paleo-Mesoarchean zircons of the Singhbhum craton to provide constraints for a tectonic evolutionary model for this region, with broad-scale implications for how continents were formed on early Earth.

Aleena Manoharan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Intersections between Bioregion and Tiṇai: Pedagogical Strategies and Prospects for Comparative Ecocritical Research
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	CMS College Kottayam, Kottayam, Kerala
Host Institution:	Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Four months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Aleena Manoharan is Associate Professor at the Department of English, CMS College Kottayam, Kerala, where she teaches courses on literary theory, literary criticism, American and European literatures. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Madras and specializes in ecocriticism, with particular focus on the concept of bioregion as an ecocritical tool to analyze literary texts. She is the author of the book Bioregion and Indigeneity in Literary Imagination (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023) and has significant academic publications to her credit. She has delivered several keynote lectures and plenary talks on ecocriticism for seminars and has presented papers at national and international conferences, both in India and abroad.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Manoharan is continuing to focus on bioregional studies in the wake of present environmental and ecological crises. Her project focuses on understanding the intersections between the land-based theories, bioregion and tinai, and their implications in ecocritical pedagogy and research. Dr. Manoharan will also examine the pedagogical strategies required to effectively facilitate teaching and research practices based on these theories, particularly their application to the study of indigenous literatures.

Sushree Sangita Mohanty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	AI-Driven Mother Tongue-Based Learning in Indigenous Education
Field of Study:	Anthropology
Home Institution:	Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Host Institution:	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Grant Start Month:	March 2027
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Sushree Sangita Mohanty is an applied anthropologist, educator, and researcher with over twelve years of experience in indigenous education, linguistic sustainability, and the integration of emerging technologies for social impact. She holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Hyderabad. She previously served as Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Co-Director of Project K-MUSE, and Head of the Centre for Indigenous Languages & Narratives at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) University, Bhubaneswar. Dr. Mohanty is currently an independent researcher and consultant with International Institute for the Inclusive Museum.

Dr. Mohanty led the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize-winning Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education program at KISS, benefiting over 40,000 indigenous children across Odisha. Her work spans multilingual curriculum development, AI- and NLP-enabled tools, and STEM education in indigenous languages to support language revitalization. She is the editor of Applying AI-Based Tools and Technologies Towards Revitalization of Indigenous and Endangered Languages (Springer, 2024) and an editorial board member of The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum. She was recognized with the Emerging Scholar Award by the Common Ground Research Network, USA, and the Emerging Anthropologist Award at the World Anthropology Congress, 2023.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar at the CyberSocial Learning Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Mohanty is developing culturally responsive, AI-supported educational prototypes that embed indigenous languages into mother-tongue-based multilingual learning environments, drawing on comparative insights from indigenous education contexts in both India and the United States.

Hasan Raja Naqvi

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	From Climate Data to Resilience: Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Approaches to Flood Risk and Adaptation Planning for Lower Periyar, India and Upper Illinois, USA Catchments
Field of Study:	Environmental Science/ Studies
Home Institution:	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Hasan Raja Naqvi is an Assistant Professor of geography at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi. He earned his PhD on “Watershed Management for Soil Conservation: A Case of Nun Nadi Watershed” in 2013 from the Department of Geography at JMI. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in geography from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. His academic background comprises physical geography, environmental systems, and geospatial analysis.

Dr. Naqvi’s research interests include climate resilience, natural hazards, watershed management, air pollution, and geospatial technologies. He has published more than 50 research articles in national and international journals and presented his work in the United States, China, Taiwan, and Ethiopia. He has also completed an Indo-Taiwan collaborative project funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research and received the Scientific High-Level Visiting Fellowship for France in 2024.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Naqvi is working on an interdisciplinary project which applies advanced GeoAI and climate analytics to improve flood-risk assessment, resilience planning, and sustainable watershed management in vulnerable regions of India and the United States.

P. N. Vinayachandran

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Regulation of Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZ) by Upper Ocean Process Driven by Buoyancy Gradients
Field of Study:	Earth Sciences
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Prof. P. N. Vinayachandran is the Chair of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He obtained his MSc (Engineering) and PhD degrees from IISc and pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Tokyo. He also served as a Senior Researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). He is currently a professor of oceanography, with expertise spanning both field observations and numerical modelling of oceanic processes.

Prof. Vinayachandran’s research has made significant contributions to Indian Ocean science, particularly in the areas of ocean circulation and dynamics, air-sea interaction, and physical-biological interactions. He is a recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, J. C. Bose Fellowship, and fellowships of science academies in India. There are regions in the world’s oceans where dissolved oxygen concentrations fall below levels critical for sustaining marine life. In the Indian Ocean, both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal host oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). However, the Arabian Sea contains one of the most intense OMZs in the world.

During his Fulbright–Nehru Fellowship, Prof. Vinayachandran is planning to investigate the processes governing oceanic OMZs and their changes using long-term simulations with a coupled physical-biogeochemical ocean model.

Ira Raja

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Memory Unbound: Aging, Identity, and the Social Life of Forgetting in Contemporary Indian Narratives
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Ira Raja is Professor of English at the University of Delhi. She received her PhD from La Trobe University, Australia. She works at the intersection of postcolonial studies, ageing, and material culture, with a focus on Indian literary and visual cultures. Her research examines how experiences of care, memory, and everyday life are shaped by, and in turn reshape, broader formations of identity, nation, and migration. She has published widely in journals such as Journal of Aging Studies, Postcolonial Studies, and Thesis Eleven, and has edited and co-edited several books, including Grey Areas: An Anthology of Contemporary Indian Fiction on Ageing.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Raja is exploring memory as a relational and culturally embedded process. Drawing on contemporary Indian fiction, her project challenges medicalized approaches that frame ageing primarily in terms of decline, showing how forgetting can also enable reinterpretation, selfhood, and social connection. By bringing multilingual Indian literary archives into dialogue with global debates in memory and ageing studies, the project contributes a South Asian perspective to interdisciplinary conversations in the humanities and the medical humanities.

Swapnil Anna Shewale

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Probing the Neuroendocrine Mechanisms that Facilitate Rapid Divergence Under Sexual Selection
Field of Study:	Neuroscience
Home Institution:	Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Hazarimal Somani College, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Grant Start Month:	February 2027
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Swapnil Anna Shewale is an Assistant Professor of zoology at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Hazarimal Somani College, Mumbai. He completed his postgraduate studies in the Department of Zoology at Savitribai Phule Pune University and earned his doctoral degree from the University of Mumbai, specializing in anuran neuroendocrinology. He continues his active research association with Savitribai Phule Pune University under the guidance of Prof. Shobha Bhargava.

Dr. Shewale’s research primarily focuses on unraveling the neuroendocrine mechanisms that govern physiological adaptation and behavioral plasticity in anuran systems, with particular emphasis on the role of neuropeptides and signaling pathways under diverse environmental stressors and changing ecological conditions. His research contributions have been published in international journals such as General and Comparative Endocrinology, Neuropeptides, Neuroscience Letters, and Conservation Physiology. He has presented his research at several prestigious national and international scientific forums, including the World Congress of Herpetology (WCH10, Malaysia) and the Conference on Comparative Endocrinology (CECE 2022, Faro, Portugal). He is a recipient of the prestigious European Society for Comparative Endocrinology Fellowship and the SERB-ITS Award from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Shewale is investigating the neurobiological basis of male parental care and coloration in the recently diverged common and white ecotypes of the three-spined stickleback. The study seeks to elucidate how shared neuroendocrine circuits shape behavioral evolution, thereby providing broader insights into the mechanisms driving phenotypic diversity, adaptation, and early ecological divergence.

Saurabh Singh

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Sub Convexity, Counting Rational Points on Variety and Rankin-Selberg Problem
Field of Study:	Mathematical Sciences
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX
Grant Start Month:	February 2027
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Saurabh Singh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at IIT Kanpur. He completed his PhD at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research under the supervision of Prof. A. Sankaranarayanan, where he worked on problems related to the Riesz mean of certain arithmetical functions. Following his PhD, he held postdoctoral positions at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, under Prof. Ritabrata Munshi, where he worked on delta methods and sub convexity problems, and at Ulm University under Prof. Dr. Helmut Maier, where his research focused on the average behavior of arithmetical functions.

At IIT Kanpur, Dr. Singh works with his students on applications of the circle method and moment problems for L-functions.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Singh is working on problems related to establishing sub-Weyl bounds, counting special points on quadratic surfaces, and breaking the Rankin-Selberg barrier for general GL(2) × GL(2) L-functions.

Priyanka Siwach

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Developing RNAi Strategy for Disrupting Virus Transmission in Whiteflies on a Surrogate Model in the USA for Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (Clcuv) Management in India
Field of Study:	Agricultural Sciences
Home Institution:	Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana
Host Institution:	The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Prof. Priyanka Siwach is Professor of biotechnology at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana. With over 24 years of academic and research experience, her work focuses on plant biotechnology, molecular plant virology, functional genomics, and sustainable strategies for crop protection, particularly against cotton leaf curl virus disease (CLCuD), a profound threat to cotton cultivation in the Indian subcontinent.

Prof. Siwach has published over 80 research and review papers in international journals and has co-authored and edited several books with Springer and Taylor & Francis. Her research contributions include the co-development of a genome annotation algorithm published in Nucleic Acids Research, development of RNAi-based antiviral strategies, and genomic and transcriptomic studies on CLCuV and its interactions with host plants and insect vectors. She also holds an Indian patent in biotechnology.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Prof. Siwach is aiming to develop RNAi-based approaches to disrupt whitefly-mediated virus transmission using a surrogate whitefly-squash leaf curl virus model in the United States. Her project combines transcriptomics, gene silencing, and functional validation to explore environmentally sustainable alternatives to pesticide-based management of viral crop diseases.

Beyond research, Prof. Siwach mentors’ young researchers and promotes student well-being through workshops on life skills, mindfulness, and emotional resilience. She aims to strengthen interdisciplinary and international collaborations in biotechnology while advancing sustainable agricultural solutions for farmers in India and beyond.

Poulami Chakraborty Srivastava

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Unraveling In-Situ Irradiation Effects on Liquid Metal Corrosion in Fusion Materials: Towards Radiation-Decelerated Corrosion Mechanisms
Field of Study:	Materials Science
Home Institution:	Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Poulami Chakraborty Srivastava is a Scientific Officer at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, and an Associate Professor at Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI). She is a lead materials engineer in the advanced nuclear reactor program and has made key contributions to the development of structural materials for Gen-IV reactors, including fusion and molten salt reactors. Her pioneering work on liquid metal technology for the Indian Test Blanket Module for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor has positioned India as a frontrunner in this field.

Dr. Srivastava is a recipient of several awards including the Young Engineer Award from the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2019, the Department of Atomic Energy Young Engineer Award, Distinction in Corrosion Science and Technology from National Association of Corrosion Engineers International, ITAS Mettler-Toledo Young Scientist Award and Best PhD thesis awards from the American Society of Metals, HBNI and NACE. She has authored over 40 international journal papers and book chapters and is also an editorial board member of Scientific Reports.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Srivastava is planning to establish the effect of in situ proton irradiation over the corrosion behavior of ferritic/martensitic steels in liquid lead-based alloys using the unique accelerator-based beamline at MIT. Her project would validate a hypothesis which predicts that radiation may slow down the corrosion in liquid metals, confirmation of which would save years of corrosion tests and obviate corrosion mitigation measures.

Hemavathi Sugumar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Advanced Immersion Cooling Architecture for Enhanced Thermal Safety and Lifecycle Management of Lithium-Ion Battery Packs
Field of Study:	Energy Studies
Home Institution:	CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Hemavathi Sugumar is a Senior Scientist (Scientist D) in Electrochemical Power Sources Division at CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute and Assistant Professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR). She specializes in battery engineering, energy storage, and electric vehicle (EV) technologies. She holds a PhD in engineering sciences from AcSIR and an ME in power system engineering.

Dr. Sugumar’s research focuses on AI-enabled battery management systems (BMS), electro-thermal diagnostics, battery thermal management, and safety architectures for lithium-ion energy storage systems used in electric mobility and grid applications. She has led nationally relevant CSIR, DST and industry-funded projects on smart BMS development and thermal safety enhancement for mission-critical battery packs. She is a member of more than 20 national and international professional societies and multiple honors, including the IEI Young Engineers Award, INYAS & INAE Member, IEEE Senior Member, and Women in Energy Leadership Recognition (IESW 2025). Through her work, Dr. Sugumar continues to drive innovation in sustainable battery technologies and clean energy transition for India’s e-mobility future.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Sugumar is focusing on developing an advanced immersion cooling system for lithium-ion battery packs to improve thermal uniformity, reduce safety risks, and enhance lifecycle management under demanding operating conditions. Through this fellowship, she seeks to develop collaborative modeling and experimental frameworks, publish high-quality research outcomes, and build long-term Indo-U.S. partnerships in battery thermal management, sustainable energy systems, and safer electric-mobility technologies.

Prachi Shrikant Thatte

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	What Makes Conservation Work at Scale? A Comparative Analysis of Landscape-Scale Initiatives
Field of Study:	Environmental Science/ Studies
Home Institution:	Consultant, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Prachi Shrikant Thatte earned her PhD from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, in 2018, where her research examined how multiple wildlife species move through human-modified landscapes. She holds a BSc in biochemistry from the University of Mumbai and an MSc in health science from the University of Pune.

Dr. Thatte received the 2019 Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award. She worked as the Lead for Connectivity Conservation with WWF-India between 2019 and 2025. She spearheaded the creation of the Coalition for Wildlife Corridors, a multi-organization network dedicated to advancing connectivity conservation in India. Since 2025, Dr. Thatte has been working as an independent consultant on various wildlife conservation projects.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Thatte is examining the factors that influence the success or challenges of landscape-scale conservation initiatives. She is assessing social and institutional characteristics across initiatives at different stages to identify governance and collaboration practices that support effective conservation.

Vamsee Krishna Voora

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research)
Project Title:	Computational Operando X-ray Spectroscopy: Enabling New Catalyst Design Paradigms
Field of Study:	Chemistry
Home Institution:	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	University of California, Irvine, CA
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Vamsee Krishna Voora is an Associate Professor at Department of Chemical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Before beginning his independent career, he did his PhD from University of Pittsburgh followed by a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Voora’s doctoral work led to the identification of new electronic states of negatively charged molecular systems, which are known as nonvalence correlation-bound states. His current research interests include developing efficient computational tools and theoretical models for understanding core-level spectroscopy, weak intermolecular interactions and surface chemistry. The methods developed by his group have become a part of widely used quantum chemistry software suites.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Voora will develop computational frameworks to provide femtosecond-scale electronic structure information of active sites, in chemical reactions, under realistic reaction conditions. This framework will offer dynamic insights into reaction mechanisms, complementing experimental operando studies and enhancing the interpretation of industrial important catalytic reactions.

Shashwat Agrawal

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Breaking and Making Cryptography with Quantum Algorithms
Field of Study:	Computer Science
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Shashwat Agrawal is a PhD candidate at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Delhi. His research focuses on the theoretical implications of quantum computation on cryptography. On one hand, he is motivated to analyze problems relevant to build cryptographic schemes and believed so far to be hard to solve even for quantum algorithms. On the other hand, he is fascinated by the potential of quantum algorithms to perform novel cryptographic tasks, which seem unprecedented to achieve using classical computing.

Shashwat holds a BS-MS in mathematics and scientific computing from IIT Kanpur, where he was awarded Bhagwan Das Sanghi Memorial Gold Medal for best graduating student in Mathematics. He furthered his education with an MS in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego, during which he explored the mathematical foundations of machine learning and served as a Teaching Assistant for courses in algorithm design and discrete mathematics.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Shashwat aims to analyze the fine-grained complexity of attacking numerous variants of the Learning with Errors problem which, could be useful for practically deploying encryption schemes and more advanced cryptographic primitives. Outside of his research, Shashwat is a practitioner and proponent of Sahaja Yoga meditation. He has also learnt tablā and violin and loves to explore the deep connection of Indian classical music with spirituality.

Vishal Madanlal Angnani

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Elucidating the Role of Mucus-Binding Bacteria and their Metabolites in Regulating Intestinal Homeostasis
Field of Study:	Bioengineering
Home Institution:	Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad, Haryana
Host Institution:	Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Vishal Madanlal Angnani is a PhD candidate at the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), where his research focuses on understanding the role of mucus-binding bacteria in regulating goblet cells to maintain intestinal homeostasis during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He completed his MSc in Microbiology from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, where he developed a strong interest in host-microbe interactions.

As a microbiologist, Vishal is particularly interested in how commensal microbes colonize the gut and interact with each other and with host tissues to influence health and disease. During his doctoral research, he has employed culturomics-based approaches to isolate and characterize several mucus-associated bacterial species. He integrates in vivo mouse models, in vitro cell culture systems, and intestinal organoid models to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which these bacteria and their metabolites modulate host responses, particularly in the context of mucosal immunity and epithelial function.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Vishal will utilize the gnotobiotic mouse, a gold-standard model, to elucidate the sole contributions of specific bacterial isolates and their metabolites in regulating mucus-secreting goblet cells during IBD. This work aims to provide core mechanistic insights into how microbial interactions shape mucus integrity and gut homeostasis, with potential implications for the development of microbiome-based therapeutic strategies. Beyond research, Vishal enjoys teaching, travelling, cooking, and dancing.

Guhananthan Arulprakash

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Ruddlesden Popper Type Perovskite Oxides for Generation of Green Hydrogen from Sea Water
Field of Study:	Chemistry
Home Institution:	Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Guhananthan Arulprakash is a PhD candidate at Applied Materials Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore. His doctoral research focuses on developing metal oxide-based electrocatalysts for water splitting applications. He believes that hydrogen energy would be the next alternative fuel to combat demand for fossil fuels and to reduce over-reliance on battery technology.

Guhananthan holds an integrated MSc Chemistry degree from Amrita Vishwa Vidhyapeetham, Coimbatore, India with a first-class distinction. After his masters, he worked as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore, India under a DST-funded project where he worked on nanobubble technology. During his tenure as a JRF, he had the opportunity to work in collaboration with industry partners and designed a pilot-scale plant for the industry. This helped him to connect laboratory results with real world problems, and motivated him to research an alternative fuel, which is the current global demand.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow at the clean energy systems lab at Arizona State University, Guhananthan is working on developing new Ruddlesden Popper type perovskite oxides for electrocatalytic water splitting application. His research will also address the current challenges in sea water splitting, such as corrosion and other side reactions. His research will contribute to affordable green hydrogen production from sea water which is an ambitious goal for both USA and India.

Hamida Banoo

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Systems-level Insights into IRO3-mediated Iron Mobilization in Wheat for Nutritional Biofortification
Field of Study:	Agricultural Sciences (Plant-related)
Home Institution:	BRIC-National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute, Mohali, Punjab
Host Institution:	North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Hamida Banoo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Agri-Biotechnology at the BRIC-National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab. She completed undergraduate studies in science from Government Degree College, Kargil, and postgraduate degree in botany from the University of Ladakh.

Hamida is a Senior Research Fellow working on the functional characterization of TaIRO3, a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor that regulates iron homeostasis in wheat under deficiency conditions. Her work integrates molecular biology, gene expression analysis, and tissue-specific approaches to understand regulatory networks governing iron uptake and mobilization, with the aim of developing biofortified wheat to address micronutrient deficiencies and improve nutritional security.

Hamida has contributed to publications in major plant science journals, including The Plant Journal and Plant, Cell & Environment, and a book chapter on modifying secondary metabolites in barley. She has presented her work at international conferences, including the ICPP 2025 conference in Coimbatore, and actively engages in collaborative research in crop biofortification.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, she is employing single-cell transcriptomics to uncover cell-type-specific regulatory mechanisms of iron mobilization in wheat. Outside her research, she enjoys creative activities such as painting, crafting, designing, stitching, and crochet, along with trekking and sports such as badminton, table tennis, and volleyball.

Aayushi Bengani

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Management of “Vacant” Railway Lands: A Comparative Study of Mumbai and New York City
Field of Study:	Urban and Regional Planning
Home Institution:	Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Aayushi Bengani is doing a PhD in the Department of Geography at the University of Delhi. Her doctoral research explores urban land management by Indian Railways using ethnographic and archival methods. It builds on her sustained engagement with urban informality through her study and work experiences in Mumbai. These consist of her MA in the School of Media and Cultural Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, her internship with the daily The Indian Express, and her work with development organizations Azim Premji Foundation and YUVA.

A Senior Research Fellow at Delhi School of Economics, Aayushi has consistently presented her research on “vacant” railway lands in Mumbai at eminent urban workshops and conferences globally. These include Urban Theories Across Borders’s Workshop on Researching the Ordinary City, Bangkok and Urban Affairs Association’s International Conference on Urban Affairs, New York, for which she received a fully-funded international travel grant from Indian Council of Social Science Research.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Aayushi is undertaking a comparative study of the railways in the U.S. to understand the current framework of railway land monetization in India. She is analyzing how lands along the railroads in New York City are currently managed and have historically been monetized. Her research aims to provide insights into the changing role of the state with regard to public lands, contributing to the scholarship on land transformation and state-making. Her interest in learning through storytelling drives her in research and otherwise.

Lijiya Chacko

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Are the Attentional Biases from Probabilistic Learning Automatic and Persistent or Flexible and Goal-Sensitive?
Field of Study:	Psychology
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Lijiya Chacko is a PhD candidate and a teaching assistant at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Bombay. She completed undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Calicut and postgraduation in neural and cognitive sciences at the University of Hyderabad. Her doctoral research examines how attentional priority is shaped by multiple influences, including emotional salience, reward associations, and prior experience.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Lijiya gained substantial experience in experimental cognitive science through research positions at Cognitive Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, IIT Bombay, and the Action Control and Cognition Lab at the University of Hyderabad. She has also contributed to research training initiatives, including conducting workshops on experimental methods and eye-tracking applications at the Annual Conference of Cognitive Sciences, 2024. She was awarded the International Brain Research Organization’s Neuroscience Training Grant to attend Cognitive Neuroimaging Skills Training in Cambridge, held at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, in September 2025.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Lijiya is examining the behavioral and neural mechanisms of statistically learned spatial attentional biases, with particular emphasis on whether such biases operate automatically and persist over time, or whether they remain flexible and responsive to current goals. Through her research, she aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how past experiences shape attention, with implications for cognitive theory and real-world adaptive behavior. She enjoys music, books and movies in her leisure time.

Chalantika Chakraborty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Achieving Industrial Energy Efficiency through Cap-and-Trade Policy Frameworks: Lessons from India and the United States
Field of Study:	Economics
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Chalantika Chakraborty is a PhD candidate at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Mandi. With a background in economics, her research lies at the intersection of energy economics, industrial and climate policy. Her doctoral research examines energy consumption trends across Indian industries and studies how industrial output and energy use respond to market-based mechanisms such as the perform, achieve and trade policy. She has presented her work at international platforms including the International Association for Energy Economics conference and World Sustainable Energy Days.

Chalantika holds a master’s degree in economics from Cotton University in Guwahati, Assam. During college, she was actively involved in the National Service Scheme and contributed to several social outreach initiatives through NGO volunteering. Prior to joining PhD, she worked on multiple research projects.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Chalantika is conducting comparative research of India and the U.S. to examine how policy design influences industrial energy efficiency, emissions reduction, and decarbonisation pathways in developing and advanced economies. Beyond academia, she nurtures a deep love for India’s rich musical and dance traditions, spanning classical and folk forms. She holds two bachelor’s degrees in music, has received professional training in Kathak and Rabindra Nritya and performed at several events. She enjoys writing, reading Ruskin Bond, and learning regional music that connects her more deeply with the places she lives in.

Sujit Sakharam Damase

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Preservers of Structured Kernels and Whitney-type Approximation Theorems
Field of Study:	Mathematical Sciences
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Sujit Sakharam Damase is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mathematics at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in mathematics from Fergusson College, Pune, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, respectively. As a doctoral student, Sujit delves into the intersection of Fourier analysis, sphere packing, representation theory, operator theory, and total positivity.

Sujit’s research in mathematics has been published in well-known peer-reviewed journals such as Linear Algebra and its Applications and the Canadian Mathematical Bulletin. He has also presented his research at various international conferences and workshops across Taiwan, Canada, and Scotland. He received a travel grant from the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences to present his work in Edinburgh as the only graduate student speaker and the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS) Student Grant. He is a Simons visitor at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, a UNESCO research center in Trieste, Italy.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Sujit will be working at the interface of discrete geometry and number theory. His research addresses the fundamental problem of sphere packing, focusing on designing good spherical codes and proving bounds on them. The study strives to advance the state of the art in constructing and analyzing packings by leveraging linear and semidefinite programming bounds and higher-order applications of harmonic analysis. In his free time, Sujit enjoys exploring the history of mathematics, reading, and taking long walks.

Aakash Gill

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Evaluation of Techno-functional Attributes and in-vitro Digestibility of Developed Milk-Kodo Millet Protein Blends
Field of Study:	Agricultural Sciences (Animal-Related)
Home Institution:	ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana
Host Institution:	Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Aakash Gill is a PhD candidate in dairy technology at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal. His doctoral research focuses on developing and optimizing composite protein systems by integrating milk proteins with kodo millet proteins to enhance nutritional, functional, and bioactive properties. His work advances sustainable, clean-label protein ingredients with potential application in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Aakash holds MTech and BTech degrees in dairy technology from NDRI, where he demonstrated consistent academic excellence and competitive performance. He has qualified for several national-level examinations, achieving top all-India ranks. Aakash has research experience in dairy chemistry, food processing, and bioactive delivery systems. His earlier work includes developing protein-rich food products, studying microbial recovery methods at Kansas State University, and contributing to active food packaging research.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Aakash is investigating the digestion behavior and bioaccessibility of milk-kodo millet composite protein complexes using standardized in vitro digestion models. His work will focus on understanding protein breakdown, peptide release, and the potential generation of bioactive peptides during gastrointestinal digestion. The study aims to evaluate how processing conditions influence digestibility and functional outcomes, contributing to the development of protein systems with improved nutritional quality and health benefits.

Anup Jha

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Delineating the clonal trajectories of Venetoclax-Azacitidine combination therapy resistance in TP53-mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Field of Study:	Public Health
Home Institution:	Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Anup Jha is a PhD candidate at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Center. His doctoral research focuses on therapy resistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most prevalent hematological malignancy in adults. He is engaged in the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and the development of new small-molecule inhibitors to improve outcomes for therapy-resistant AML patients.

Anup holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Scottish Church College, University of Calcutta, West Bengal. He developed a keen interest in molecular and cell biology during this time and led several outreach programs for cancer patients. He then pursued a master’s degree in zoology at the same university, where he specialized in molecular cell biology. In his master’s project, he wrote a grant proposal to identify novel oncogenic receptors in therapy-resistant pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients and to develop CAR-T cells targeting therapy resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells .

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Anup is investigating why TP53-mutated AML patients respond poorly to Ven-Aza combination therapy and how different TP53 mutant clones rewire the AML cellular state in response to Ven-Aza, thereby contributing to therapy refractoriness and resistance. His study would enable the discovery of molecular pathways and the identification of additional therapeutic targets in Ven-Aza-resistant TP53-mutated AMLs.

His long-term goal is to unravel the complexities of leukemia biology, advance understanding of therapy resistance, and contribute to the development of next-generation therapeutics.

Gazal Khan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Talking Trauma, Making Memory: A Study of the Narrativization and Mediation of Select Rohingya Refugee Narratives
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand
Host Institution:	Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Gazal Khan is a doctoral candidate and a teaching assistant at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. She completed her graduation and post-graduate studies in English from Aligarh Muslim University. Gazal is a recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship for archival research in the United Kingdom and has been a Visiting Doctoral Student at the University of Oxford (Trinity Term 2026). Her research examines the temporality and spatiality of borderland identities within transnational histories of violence.

Gazal’s work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including The English Academy Review, Peace Review, and the Journal of Postcolonial Writing, as well as in edited anthologies. She has presented her research at several international conferences across India, the UK and the U.S. She has been awarded the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research grant for presenting her work at the Northeast Modern Language Association Annual Convention (NeMLA) 2026 and a fully funded travel grant from the Frank and Debbie Driesman Foundation, Potomac, USA, for her paper presentation at the NeMLA 2024.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Gazal is working in the interdisciplinary field of memory studies and refugee studies to study the process of mediation in the [re]presentation and narrativization of the traumatic episodes of the Rohingya refugee crisis. Gazal is an avid traveler who enjoys exploring landscapes and cultures, with adventures in trekking, rafting, desert safaris, and snow skiing, and a passion for Bollywood music.

Geetha Mariswamy

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Developing Methodological Frameworks to Research and Analyze Private Pre-Service Teacher Education in India
Field of Study:	Educational Policy and Planning
Home Institution:	Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Geetha Mariswamy is a PhD Candidate at the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. With more than a decade of experience spanning education, gender and labor in teaching, program implementation, research and grassroots education initiatives, her work focuses on equity, access and educational transformation in India.

Geetha began her journey in education as a Teaching Fellow with Teach for India, where she taught children from underserved communities and helped build community-led learning spaces. During her work at RV Educational Consortium, she led a four-year participatory action research project on whole-school improvement. She worked closely with schools, teachers, communities, and education departments to strengthen inclusive learning practices, teacher development, and school processes. Her previous publications and conference presentations engage with language teaching learning practices, teacher beliefs, and governance in education.

Geetha is also the co-founder of Haadibadi Community library in Bengaluru that creates access to reading and creative learning opportunities for children and youth from marginalized communities. She was recognized as an Emerging International Voice for the Library Movement by the Goethe-Institut and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Geetha’s doctoral research lies at the intersection of policy, regulation, privatization and teacher workforce dynamics. It examines how regulatory frameworks attempt to balance the public-good nature of education with growing privatization and particularly in teacher education. During the fellowship, she is investigating the historical and political underpinnings of policy reforms, institutional responses and evolving governance landscape of teacher education in India.

Debarati Mondal

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Understanding the Process of Adaptation of Candida glabrata to Antifungal Compounds
Field of Study:	Bioengineering
Home Institution:	International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Brown University, Providence, RI
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Debarati Mondal is a PhD candidate at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. Her doctoral research work focuses on identification and characterization of novel antifungal phytomolecules against one of the human fungal pathogens Candida glabrata. As a student of molecular biology, she is passionate about telling the stories of biological macromolecules in a simple, engaging way through her creative scitoons (scientific cartoons) which have been featured in Science Reporter, a popular science magazine, and recognized by INSA-INYAS international sci-art competition.

Debarati holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), West Bengal. However, her keen interest in the fascinating world of biological molecules led her to take biochemistry as a specialization in Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. In her MSc project, she studied how starch types of two staple grains (pearl millet and rice) differ and interact with dietary lipids, particularly in relation to glucose release.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Debarati is studying the process of adaptation of Candida glabrata to antifungal compounds. Her research will unravel how the fungus responds to selective pressure imposed by an antifungal compound derived from plant sources. This study aims to provide valuable insights into its resistance mechanisms, associated genomic alterations, gene expression patterns, and phenotypic plasticity with underlying potential evolutionary trajectories. Overall, this project will offer a comprehensive picture of how C. glabrata, or similar infectious microbes, adapt to changing environmental conditions within human hosts.

S. Muthukrishnan

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Machine Learning Interatomic Potential-driven Design of CALF-20M for Enhanced CO2 Capture
Field of Study:	Energy Studies
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, UP
Host Institution:	Northwestern University, , IL
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. S. Muthukrishnan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, where his doctoral studies are supported by a fellowship from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. Since beginning his research in 2022, his work has focused on leveraging metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to design sustainable and efficient solutions for real-world engineering challenges. His research also extends to biomedical applications. His findings have been presented at national and international conferences, as well as published in high-impact peer-reviewed international journals.

Muthukrishnan completed his BS in chemical engineering with a minor in chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal. While interning at IISc Bangalore, he developed particle-tracking code to extract trajectories from live video feeds, allowing him to study their kinetics under UV light. This experience inspired his current focus on coding and simulations.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Muthukrishnan is investigating chemical modifications to CALF-20, a major MOF for CO2 capture. His research aims to enhance its CO2 capture capacity in the presence of moisture, a critical challenge for CO2 capture in thermal power plants. He is advancing his expertise in developing precise machine learning-based interatomic potentials (MLIP) to simulate and design optimized CALF-20 variants. He will evaluate these designs through molecular simulations, using the developed MLIPs, to determine their industrial applicability.

Anjana Manoj Nair

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Articulating Order and Regulating Outliers: Social Hierarchies, Moral Authority and Spatial Marginalization in Early Indian Traditions (2nd century BCE to 8th century CE)
Field of Study:	History
Home Institution:	University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Anjana Manoj Nair is a PhD candidate in the Department of History, School of Social Sciences, at the University of Hyderabad. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Delhi. Anjana’s current research focuses on transgressions and deviance, examining their codification within normative Sanskrit theological discourses and parallel contestations within narrative literary traditions across a historical continuum.

Anjana has been an ICSSR grantee under the International Collaboration Data-Collection Scheme in 2025, and a Getty grantee in 2024 for attending the 36th Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art held in Lyon. Alongside presenting her research at international academic forums such as the 28th European Conference on South Asia Studies in Heidelberg, and the 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars in Surabaya, she has also published in multiple reputed journals.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Anjana is conducting her research in the Department of Asian Studies, College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Her project employs an innovative methodological framework that integrates quantitative techniques for terminological frequency analysis of spatial categories with qualitative archival research, supported by digital humanities tools and a database of rare manuscript variants housed in U.S. repositories. Moving beyond prevailing notions of ‘status’, ‘dignity’, and ‘reputation’ as analytical parameters, Anjana examines social hierarchies and spatial marginalization through the conceptual lenses of ‘deviant spaces’ and ‘spatial outliers.’ In her spare time, Anjana enjoys birdwatching, wildlife safaris, trekking in the Western Ghats, and underwater diving.

Bikram Pain

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Eigenstate correlations and information scrambling in Quantum Circuits: A Statistical Approach
Field of Study:	Physics
Home Institution:	International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Bikram Pain is an Integrated PhD student at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru, where he works on the dynamics of many-body quantum systems. His PhD research is motivated by a fundamental question in modern quantum physics: how is information transported, scrambled, and encoded across space and time in isolated quantum systems? By studying hidden statistical structures, his work aims to connect diverse signatures of quantum information spreading within a common microscopic framework.

Bikram completed his bachelor’s degree at Midnapore College before joining ICTS for doctoral studies. In March 2024, he visited Nordita: The Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Stockholm, Sweden, as a Visiting PhD Student, where he worked on Anderson localisation in long-range correlated systems.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Bikram is working at the University of Texas at Austin on questions related to information scrambling and correlations in quantum systems using statistical approaches. His work aims to contribute to a finer understanding of how information is stored and shared in interacting quantum systems. Outside academia, Bikram enjoys cooking, running, and reading.

Harshit Pandey

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Developing Materials Processing Routes to Integrate Alloy Anodes into Hard Carbon for Higher Capacity Sodium-Ion Batteries
Field of Study:	Materials Science
Home Institution:	Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Harshit Pandey is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, Bengaluru, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. His doctoral research focuses on the processing and development of inorganic and organic materials for battery applications, with significant emphasis on collaborative work with research groups across India and the world. It addresses key challenges for next-generation batteries through the exploration of advanced material chemistries and scalable approaches.

Before beginning his doctoral studies, Harshit completed his bachelor’s degree at Hindu College, University of Delhi, and earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. His work has been published in peer-reviewed international journals and presented at several national and international conferences. His research contributions were acknowledged through an international travel grant from the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, providing him the opportunity to present his work at the International Battery Association Annual Meeting, 2025, in Singapore.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Harshit is aiming to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial application by optimizing material processing and using advanced ultrasound techniques to monitor the physical and chemical health of batteries while they operate. Beyond his professional interests, he is a naturalist and a passionate mountaineer, enjoys nature and exploring the outdoors through trekking and hiking. He is also a guitarist and enjoys singing and songwriting.

Amina Reem Vazhuthina Patta

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Centrality of Taiwan in the strategic calculus of the United States in the Indo-Pacific Security Complex: A Quadrilateral Analysis
Field of Study:	Political Science
Home Institution:	University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Host Institution:	University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Amina Reem Vazhuthina Patta is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science, University of Kerala. Her doctoral research focuses on the evolving contours of India-Taiwan relations in the context of the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, employing insights from Regional Security Complex Theory. She was a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Taiwan Fellow in 2025 at National Chengchi University.

Amina holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram. Her keen interest in geopolitics and global politics motivated her to pursue a master’s degree in international relations and politics from Central University of Kerala, where she graduated as university topper. She has qualified for the UGC-NET and JRF in Political Science, the BHEL-FAEA Scholarship, and is as a student volunteer for the G20 University Connect program.

Amina’s research has been published in international Scopus-indexed journals such as Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs and China Report, as well as in peer-reviewed journals such as East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. She has co-edited a book on India’s foreign policy, contributed chapters to academic books related to her field of study, and presented her research at national and international conferences. She has also written analytical articles for newspapers including Taipei Times.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Amina is examining the transition from the US-China-Taiwan triangle to a U.S.-China-India-Taiwan quadrilateral construct in the Indo-Pacific regional security complex. In her free time, Amina enjoys reading fiction and listening to music.

Lata Pawar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Biocatalytic Synthesis of Sustainable Biomaterials: Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF) biofilms
Field of Study:	Bioengineering
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Mohali, Punjab
Host Institution:	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Lata Pawar is a Senior Research Fellow at Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), Mohali and her PhD is registered at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali. Her doctoral research focuses on generation of biopolymers through advance biocatalysis and biomass utilization. She is passionate about promoting sustainable biotechnology and believes harnessing biological systems can unlock innovative solutions for a greener future.

Ms. Pawar holds a bachelor’s degree in botany from Gargi College, University of Delhi. Interested in the development of sustainable food packaging materials, she pursued a postgraduate diploma in food analysis and quality assurance. She completed a master’s degree in food technology from the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow at Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Lata is developing a sustainable and integrated pathway for the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a promising bio-based alternative to petroleum-derived plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Her research focuses on the synthesis and polymerization of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, a key monomer derived from lignocellulosic biomass through catalytic conversion processes. The study aims to engineer high-performance bioplastic films by integrating principles of green chemistry, polymer science, and process systems engineering. Additionally, her work involves comprehensive life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to evaluate the environmental sustainability and economic feasibility of the developed biopolymer production route.

Sumana Podder

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Flexible N-rich MOFs for hydrocarbon separation and CO2 capture
Field of Study:	Chemistry
Home Institution:	CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Host Institution:	Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, , NJ
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Sumana Podder is a PhD candidate at the Materials Chemistry and Interfacial Engineering division of CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology. She completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry from the University of Calcutta and earned her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, where she was awarded the gold medal for academic excellence. Currently, she is a Senior Research Fellow working in the areas of materials chemistry, catalysis, and advancing functional materials for energy and environmental applications.

Sumana’s research has been published in high-impact journals such as Small (Wiley). She has authored and co-authored several articles/reviews in reputed international journals. She has also presented her work at various international conferences, contributing to advancements in functional materials and catalytic systems.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Sumana will focus on the design and development of smart metal-organic framework (MOF) materials that exhibit dynamic, stimuli-responsive behavior while retaining their crystalline integrity. Her work aims to understand reversible structural transformations in flexible MOFs through rational design and advanced in-situ characterization techniques, with applications in hydrocarbon separation, carbon dioxide capture and next-generation functional materials. In her leisure time, Sumana enjoys engaging with art, music, and thriller cinema/series, exploring research across diverse fields, and cooking.

Indu Poornima Sasidharan Vasantha Kumari

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Local Transformations from Large Infrastructure Projects: The Case of Vizhinjam International Seaport
Field of Study:	Public Policy
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Brown University, Providence, RI
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Indu Poornima is a PhD candidate at the Center for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. Her doctoral research focuses on the social transformations from the introduction of large infrastructure projects among local communities, particularly those that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. She studies the coastal community of Vizhinjam in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, where India’s first deep-water transshipment port is being built as a private-public partnership project. Using ethnography, she explores how the local fishing community experienced and adapted to various livelihood changes while negotiating with the state and private actors. Indu has presented her work at international conferences, including the Regional Studies Association Annual Conference in Florence where she discussed her work on disaster relief labor of Kudumbashree women in Kerala. She has also been selected for travel grants by the Ireland India Institute and the European Feminist Research Conference.

Indu has an interdisciplinary background with a master’s in development studies and a bachelor’s in social sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). In 2020, she was awarded the UGC-NET Junior Research Fellowship in sociology.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Fellow at Brown, Indu is examining how context-specific policies respond to demands for large infrastructure projects by comparing Vizhinjam with a setting in the United States. In the rare moments she resurfaces from the depths of her data, she can be found taking photos, devouring seafood, or fighting a losing battle trying to rediscover ‘reading for fun’.

Tushar Rishi

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Coetzee’s Posts: Mapping the Critical in J. M. Coetzee’s ‘Late’ Novels
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Tushar Rishi is a PhD candidate at the Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. As a Senior Research Fellow, his doctoral project focuses on questions of form, style, and critique in J. M. Coetzee’s fiction. He has a master’s in English from the same center and a bachelor’s in English from Hindu College, University of Delhi.

Tushar’s interests include contemporary literature, global modernisms, postcolonial culture, and creative writing. His postgraduate work on cultural theory has been published in an anthology by Würzburg University Press, and he has presented his research on contemporary literature at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, supported by an ICSSR grant. He has also participated in two cultural studies seminars organized by Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Germany under the DAAD IVAC initiative. His novel, The Patient Patient (Westland Books), was shortlisted for Best Debut English Novel at PILF 2017. It was translated into Hindi a year later. His short fiction has been shortlisted for the 2023 Toto Awards for Creative Writing in English and longlisted for the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Tushar is keen to expand his ongoing research on Coetzee’s literary work and deepen his understanding of theory, modernisms, and post critique. In his free time, he enjoys movies, cricket, and chess.

Anam Sabir

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Large-scale 3D structural forest degradation using SAR and LiDAR Data
Field of Study:	Environmental Science/ Studies
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Anam Sabir is a PhD candidate at the Satellite and Aerial Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore. Her doctoral research focuses on the development of statistical change detection algorithms using time-series data. She applies these algorithms for efficient deforestation alerts, forest-fire scar monitoring and forest carbon monitoring.

Anam is an electronics and telecommunications engineer by training and has been awarded MTech degree in remote sensing and GIS with a specialization in satellite image analysis and photogrammetry from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing – ISRO, Dehradun, in 2022. Anam likes singing and sketching in her leisure time and likes to explore and experiment with world cuisines.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, Anam is working on 3D forest degradation mapping. She is using NASA’s LiDAR onboard Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) to monitor vegetation dynamics. Her study aims at combining the two powerful active remote sensing techniques for 3D monitoring of the forests.

Dorothy Sachdeva

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Investigating the Deactivation of Catalytic Behavior of PtCu Nanoparticles on RSTO Nanocubes under Operando CO Oxidation
Field of Study:	Materials Science
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Dorothy Sachdeva is a PhD candidate at the Materials Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Her doctoral research focuses on the synthesis of two-dimensional nanomaterials with precise control over their composition and morphology. She performs in-depth characterization to understand the chemical and phase transformation mechanism using advanced electron microscopy techniques.

She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemistry from Delhi University and IISc, Bengaluru, respectively. She is a recipient of the Prime Minister Research Fellowship from the Government of India, which funds her research at IISc, Bengaluru. She has publications in peer-reviewed international journals with high reach and has presented papers at national and international conferences.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Dorothy is working with in situ electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. PtCu alloy nanoparticles nucleated on highly reduced SrTiO3 nanocubes deactivate for the preferential oxidation of CO to CO2 at higher temperatures. She is trying to identify the mechanism of deactivation under operando conditions, enabling her to visualize and analyze catalytic processes with high spatial and temporal resolution in real time. When not in the lab, she can be found reading, playing, and cooking. Dorothy loves spending time with her friends and family, and enjoys travelling and meeting people from various cultures.

Sapna Saini

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Target Validation and In Vivo Studies of NDH-2 Inhibitors for Identifying Novel Scaffolds against Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Field of Study:	Public Health
Home Institution:	CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir
Host Institution:	John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Sapna Saini is a PhD candidate at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu. Her doctoral research focuses on drug discovery against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, targeting essential enzymes in the electron transport chain. She is engaged in identifying and characterizing novel small-molecule inhibitors with potential activity against drug-resistant tuberculosis. Her work contributes to understanding the mechanism of action of compounds targeting mycobacterial respiration.

Sapna holds a bachelor’s degree in life sciences with distinction from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, and a master’s degree in zoology with a specialization in physiology from Punjabi University, Patiala. She qualified for the National Eligibility Test in life sciences conducted by CSIR (CSIR-NET/JRF) and the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering in life sciences (GATE-XL) through self-study.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Sapna is planning to undertake advanced training in ABSL-3 laboratory techniques and in vivo infection models. The acquired expertise will support her long-term goal of contributing to tuberculosis drug discovery and strengthening research capacity about infectious diseases in India.

Anchal Sharma

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Photocatalytic Degradation of Indoor Air Pollutants Using Interface-engineered Heterostructured Materials
Field of Study:	Environmental Science/ Studies
Home Institution:	CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh
Host Institution:	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Eight months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Anchal Sharma is a PhD candidate at CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Chandigarh, India. Her doctoral research focuses on the photocatalytic degradation of indoor air pollutants, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), using 2D material-based heterostructures. As an INSPIRE Fellow, she is driven to develop efficient, sustainable solutions to improve indoor air quality through innovative materials engineering.

Anchal completed her bachelor’s degree from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla, followed by a master’s degree in physics from Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. She was a recipient of the DST Scholarship for Higher Education during both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. During the master’s program, she worked on the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials for photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications. She received the university gold medal for outstanding performance.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Connecticut, USA, Anchal is investigating 2D material-based heterostructures for VOC degradation under varying operational conditions such as humidity, initial pollutant concentration, and catalyst loading. Her work further delves into mechanistic insights using advanced characterization techniques, including in-situ DRIFTS and EPR spectroscopy, to identify reaction intermediates and elucidate the role of reactive species.
Anchal’s work aims to address critical challenges in indoor air quality through advanced materials design and sustainable remediation strategies for real-world applications, including self-cleaning coatings, photocatalytic air filtration systems, and portable air purification technologies.

Pooja Shukla

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	An Integrated Phenomics, Quantitative Genetics and Comparative Genomics Approach to Understanding the Genetics of Yield-Related Traits in Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica)
Field of Study:	Agricultural Sciences (Plant-related)
Home Institution:	University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Pooja Shukla is a PhD candidate at The Millet Lab, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, where her research centers on the genomics of a C4 model crop, foxtail millet (Setaria italica). Having been closely involved in the cultivation and phenotypic assessment of its germplasm, she aims to systematically explore and utilize the crop’s phenotypic and genetic diversity towards the identification and characterization of the genetic determinants underlying yield-contributing agronomic and nutritional traits.

Pooja holds a bachelor’s degree in life sciences from Kasturba Gandhi Degree and PG College for Women, Secunderabad, and a master’s degree in botany from University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad. In addition to awards and honors, her academic contributions include multiple peer-reviewed research and review publications, and book chapters.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Pooja is advancing her research on genomic dissection of complex agronomic traits in foxtail millet through the application of advanced computational frameworks, multi-locus GWAS-models, quantitative genetics and comparative genomics. Her work is expected to generate high-resolution genetic, genomic, and phenomic resources in foxtail millet, accelerating gene discovery and trait mapping. She is also a certified Yoga trainer, and integrates its principles into her academic and professional practices.

Siddharth Singh

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Maternal Microbiome: Linking Metatranscriptomic and Metaproteomic Profiles to Fetal Development
Field of Study:	Neuroscience
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, Indore, MP
Host Institution:	University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Siddharth Singh is a PhD candidate at the Mehta Family School of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore. His doctoral research examines how the maternal gut microbiome shapes fetal development, with a particular focus on fetal brain gene regulation, microbial metabolites, and the early biological origins of neurodevelopmental outcomes. His broader research interest is to connect evolutionary perspectives on the human brain-microbiome relationship with experimentally grounded maternal-fetal biology.

Siddharth holds a master’s in biotechnology from IIT Indore and a bachelor’s in Biotechnology from Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal. He is a CSIR-UGC NET Junior Research Fellow. He has received recognition including first prize at the Madhya Pradesh PhD Colloquium and the Best Research Paper Award from the Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering at IIT Indore.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Siddharth will investigate maternal microbiome functional signatures by linking transcriptomic and proteomic profiles to fetal development. Through this work, he aims to build an Indo-U.S. research bridge in maternal-fetal systems biology and contribute to future evidence-based strategies for improving child neurodevelopment.

Alok Sinha

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Transforming Rice-Wheat Systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains with practical, scalable innovations for climate-resilient and circular agriculture
Field of Study:	Agricultural Science (Plant-related)
Home Institution:	ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Alok Sinha is a PhD candidate at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, and a recipient of the prestigious DST-INSPIRE Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. His doctoral research addresses critical yield-emission trade-offs in the rice-wheat cropping system of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Banaras Hindu University where he specialized in sustainable weed management.

Currently, as an ICAR-AICE PhD candidate, Alok works on crop simulation modeling and greenhouse gas mitigation. In collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute-South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC), his work utilizes the DNDC model to simulate methane and nitrous oxide dynamics. His research aims to establish a carbon credit framework that empowers farmers to adopt low-carbon production pathways while ensuring profitability and food security.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Alok is utilizing advanced digital agriculture tools to refine yield-emission models. His work strives to harmonize agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability for a carbon-neutral future. Beyond academia, Alok enjoys writing Hindi poetry, is an active National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteer and is an enthusiast of Hindi and Bhojpuri folk music, as well as of the traditional cuisines of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Sania Sultana

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Regulation of Inhibitory Synapses by lncRNAs in Striatal Circuits of ASD Models
Field of Study:	Neuroscience
Home Institution:	National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana
Host Institution:	University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Sania Sultana is a PhD candidate at National Brain Research Centre, Haryana. Her doctoral research focuses on understanding the mechanisms driving locomotion deficits in genetic models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across different stages of development. Using molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches, she studies how altered neuronal translation disrupts cortico-striatal circuitry and contributes to motor dysfunction in ASD. Her work also explores sex-specific differences in ASD models, an area that remains underexplored in neuroscience research.

Sania completed her bachelor’s and master’s in life sciences from Presidency University, Kolkata. During her master’s research, she investigated how exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phones affect neural development and behavior. The observed hyperactivity and cognitive impairments in mice deepened her interest in developmental brain disorders and motivated her to pursue research in ASD.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Sania will study how long non-coding RNAs regulate inhibitory synapses in the striatum of ASD models. Her proposed work aims to uncover convergent mechanisms underlying circuit dysfunction across genetically distinct autism models and contribute to improved strategies for early diagnosis and intervention. Beyond her academic work, Sania enjoys exploring regional ecology, cuisine, and cultural traditions.

Jirpu Taba

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	The Role of Cyr61-enriched Extracellular Vesicles in Hippo Signaling Pathway in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Field of Study:	Bioengineering
Home Institution:	Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
Grant Start Month:	September 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Jirpu Taba is a PhD candidate at the Department of Zoology, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh. Her doctoral research focuses on cancer biology, with an emphasis on extracellular vesicle-mediated signaling in pancreatic cancer model. Given the significant role of nano-sized extracellular vesicles in tumorigenesis, she seeks to explore their application in advanced cancer therapeutics.

Jirpu holds a bachelor’s degree in science from Gargi College, University of Delhi, New Delhi. She completed her master’s degree in zoology from Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh. With a specialization in cell and molecular biology, she developed a strong interest in molecular mechanism and cancer therapeutics.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Jirpu is exploring the role of a matricellular oncoprotein, Cyr61, in extracellular vesicle-mediated pancreatic cancer progression. Her work will examine how the signature of this oncoprotein in the cancer cell-derived extracellular vesicles could influence Hippo signaling pathway to modulate the tumor microenvironment. With the fundamental understanding of the role of extracellular vesicles in cancer, she looks forward to contribute to translational research and advancement of personalized medicine.

Deepika Siva Naga Vemuri

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Knowledge-based Interpretability of Deep Neural Networks
Field of Study:	Computer Science
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Grant Start Month:	February 2027
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Deepika Siva Naga Vemuri is a PhD candidate from the Department of Artificial Intelligence at IIT Hyderabad. Her doctoral research focuses on concept-based learning, a paradigm that guides model learning through structured, high-level, interpretable concepts. She is curious about the origins and mechanisms of intelligence, inspired both by neuroscience and science fiction.

Deepika holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from BVRIT Hyderabad College of Engineering for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana, which is where she first got exposed to AI as a Women Techmakers Engineering Fellow, supported by Google. Intrigued by the field, she pursued a master’s degree in artificial intelligence from the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, where she conducted research on distributed machine learning. As a PhD student at IITH, she has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship and has published her work in top AI conferences like ICML, AAAI and WACV.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Deepika is extending concept-based learning to embodied agents, exploring threads like concept-conditioned decision-making and policy-learning. Beyond research, she is always eager to explore new things and has many other interests including music, art, literature and writing.

Sarthak Arora

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Environmental Science/ Studies
Home Institution:	Ramjas College, Delhi University, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Two years

Brief Bio:

Mr. Sarthak Arora is a researcher based in Delhi, working at the intersection of environment and machine learning. His research looks at river remediation, wildfire risk-prediction, biodiversity monitoring, and remote sensing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Ramjas College, Delhi University, and a PG Diploma in Machine Learning from Plaksha University.

Having worked with corporations such as Nearbuy, Paytm, Disney+ Hotstar, and Indifi as a Data Analyst/Scientist in the past, Sarthak pivoted to academia to pursue interdisciplinary research with universities and non-profits. As a part of Collaborative Earth’s Ganges Lab, led by Dr. Anthony Acciavatti, he has been engaged in developing a comprehensive River Remediation strategy for the Ganges River. At Wuuii Inc, he designed computer vision architectures using multi-modal earth observation datasets to improve wildfire risk assessments.

Sarthak is pursuing a master’s program in environmental studies to further engage with spatio-temporal ecological systems, especially how they are impacted by climate variability. After that, he plans to undertake projects which will focus on designing scalable, resource-efficient modelling approaches for active environmental challenges in the Global South. As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Sarthak is aiming to integrate data-driven insights with environmental justice and policymaking to help guide global conservation practices. The scope and scale of interdisciplinary research needed to address the complexities of environmental resilience requires access to global networks, which he is eager to leverage during the fellowship period.

Abhishek Babbar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Advocate, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Yale Law School, New Haven, CT
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Mr. Abhishek Babbar practices as an advocate in New Delhi. His work spans the breadth of public law, with particular emphasis on federalism, affirmative action, minority rights, and election regulation.

Abhishek graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He has experience across a range of professional settings, including as an associate at a major law firm and as a judicial assistant to former Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul. He also worked on a Netflix series in a creative role. Alongside his practice, Abhishek has been closely involved with the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu & Kashmir, where he authored its annual reports and was later inducted into as a member.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow at Yale Law School, Abhishek is examining how legal frameworks can preserve electoral integrity and secure public trust in election outcomes. After his studies, he aims to contribute to democratic reform in India.

Arthita Banerjee

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Sustainable Development/Sustainability
Home Institution:	Environmental Resources Management (ERM), Kolkata, West Bengal
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Arthita Banerjee is a consultant at Environmental Resources Management (ERM), where she works at the intersection of sustainability and development. Her work focuses on how environmental and social risks are assessed, priced, and managed within large-scale investments across emerging markets. She has advised on over 45 transactions across India and the Asia-Pacific region, working with institutions such as the World Bank – IFC, Green Climate Fund, and major private equity investors. Her sectoral experience spans renewable energy (hydro, solar, wind), transmission infrastructure, data centers, and healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Arthita holds a BA LLB (Hons) from Hidayatullah National Law University. She is a Fellow of the Women in Climate & Energy Fellowship (WICEF) at EnergyLab, a major climate tech startup accelerator, where she was selected to a global cohort of sixteen and developed a parametric insurance model aimed at improving financial resilience to climate shocks. Her work reflects a broader interest in designing market-based mechanisms that make climate risk more effectively priced and managed.

Arthita was part of ERM’s Foundation Committee, where she supported initiatives advancing women’s livelihoods in the low-carbon economy through Swadhina, a non-profit organization, and mentored first-generation university students through the Bloomberg x Asian University for Women program.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Arthita is pursuing a Master’s in Climate Finance at Columbia University. She is deepening her understanding of how financial systems can be designed to respond to a changing climate, not only by managing risk but by directing capital toward more resilient and inclusive futures.

Pratiksha Sanjay Basarkar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Lawyer, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Host Institution:	Harvard University, Boston, MA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Pratiksha S. Basarkar graduated with a BA LLB (Hons) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2018, where she was awarded the Heyning-Roelli Foundation Scholarship to attend a semester at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Since graduation, Pratiksha has worked as a litigation lawyer across roles. She began her career at a major law firm before joining Project 39A (now The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law), a criminal justice organization. Here she led teams providing pro bono legal representation to persons sentenced to death before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts, contributing to several acquittals and commutations of sentences. She has facilitated mitigation investigations and worked on strategic litigation addressing broader issues in the criminal justice system, such as unreliable forensic evidence and mental healthcare in prisons. Beyond litigation, she has written on new criminal laws and engaged with stakeholders including social workers and policy researchers through training and discussions.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Pratiksha is pursuing an LLM at Harvard Law School. She is studying comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to criminal law and systemic reform, with a focus on wrongful convictions, to inform litigation and reform efforts in India.

Shristi Borthakur

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Lawyer, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Shristi Borthakur is a lawyer practicing in New Delhi and works on disability rights. Shristi’s work is deeply influenced by personal experience, driving her to focus on disability rights, especially for persons with mental and development disabilities. She works closely with persons with disabilities, caregivers, educators, and special schools to access legal protections, such as appointment of a guardian, travel regulations, access to higher education, insurance, estate planning, and so on. Her long-term goal is to contribute to the development of disability rights jurisprudence in India, including legal reforms addressing transition to adulthood, guardianship, training modules for lawyers and judges, and policy integration.

She holds a BA LLB degree from Symbiosis Law School. She worked for five years at the office of senior advocate Ms Arundhati Katju and also independently argued cases. She has worked on diverse cases ranging from civil to commercial and criminal to constitutional before the Supreme Court. Notably, Shristi has worked on the landmark case of marriage equality before the Indian Supreme Court, an experience that shaped her commitment to constitutional and social justice.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Shristi is pursuing a Master of Laws degree to undertake a study on the equivalent disability laws and processes in the United States and test their applicability to the existing framework in India. She is focusing on public and social infrastructure that exists in the US, and its impact on people with disabilities. Shristi plans to continue to build her independent litigation practice in India.

Pradip Das

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Economics
Home Institution:	Gates Foundation, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Mr. Pradip Das is a consultant in the Inclusive Financial Systems team at the Gates Foundation, India, where he focuses on advancing digital financial inclusion for underserved communities. His work spans BC (business correspondent) agent network strengthening, digital merchant payments, and financial services for women, encompassing grant oversight, impact assessments, and the design of new financial inclusion initiatives in partnership with the Government of India.

Prior to the Gates Foundation, Pradip served as a Resident Representative at the World Bank Group, providing technical assistance to the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP), a flagship initiative under the Ministry of Rural Development implemented in partnership with the World Bank and IFC. Earlier, he led a nationally recognized, CSR award-winning financial inclusion project at CRISIL Foundation in Assam and served as Mission Executive at the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission where he developed state-level policies and launch strategies for community development programs.

Pradip holds a postgraduate diploma in environmental management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Pradip is pursuing a Master of Science degree in economics at Arizona State University. His studies will sharpen his analytical skills to design and evaluate evidence-based digital finance interventions to improve formal credit access for underserved and women entrepreneurs in rural and low-income communities in India.

Raju Manjali Rhee Johnson

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Public Health
Home Institution:	K-DISC (Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council), Government of Kerala, Government of Kerala, Kochi, Kerala
Host Institution:	Harvard University, Boston, MA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Dr. Raju Manjali Rhee Johnson is an award-winning pharmaceutical physician and med-tech innovator, currently leading the Kerala Genome Data Centre, a flagship genomics program under the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council. His work focuses on leveraging genomics and digital health to enable population-scale public health transformation and economic development.

Dr. Raju began his career in pharmaceutical medical affairs before moving into strategy and leadership roles across digital health and med-tech. He has held key positions at Wolters Kluwer, supporting clinical decision systems across South Asia. He also served at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, where he worked on advancing digital therapeutics and medical technologies. Dr. Rhee actively mentors and advises incubators, accelerators, and over 50 startups in healthcare and technology.

Beyond healthcare, Dr. Raju is a storyteller and creative practitioner. He has hosted a solo photography exhibition at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered talks at more than 500 scientific forums and has also been featured at prominent literary platforms such as the Kerala Literature Festival, Global
AI Summit and other major management and tech conferences. He has authored multiple articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and contributed to national newspapers, shaping conversations at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and public policy.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow at Harvard University, Dr. Raju is pursuing a master’s in public health. His goal is to integrate med-tech innovation, genomics, and policy to design scalable, equitable public health solutions for India and other emerging economies.

Natasha Maheshwari

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Lawyer, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Natasha Maheshwari is a constitutional and human rights lawyer. She graduated from the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai in 2021, after which she has been practising in New Delhi – first at the chambers of Ms Vrinda Bhandari, and then with senior advocates Mr Shadan Farasat and Ms Warisha Farasat.

Natasha’s practice is focused on expanding, broadening, and reshaping the contours of the right to freedom of speech and expression in India, as well as limiting the increasingly aggressive attempts made by private and public institutions to interfere with this right.

Natasha has worked on more than 30 cases involving the regulation and restriction of speech, press freedoms, intermediary liability, and digital rights. Alongside litigation, Natasha has taught certificate courses on digital rights and cybercrimes, contributed to research and scholarship on the subject, and advised intergovernmental organisations and corporates on tech policy.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Natasha is studying comparative constitutional law and American constitutional law and theory. In particular, she wants to compare doctrine and standards of review used by Indian and American courts while determining the constitutionality of measures limiting free speech.

Blesson Mathew

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Higher Education Administration
Home Institution:	Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Mr. Blesson Mathew is a governance and public policy professional working at the intersection of policy, diplomacy, and international development. A graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, with a degree in English and political science, he went on to pursue a master’s in international relations and diplomacy on a Chevening scholarship.

With over a decade’s experience in public policy implementation, Blesson has worked extensively with the Government of India, particularly within the Ministry of Rural Development, driving large-scale development initiatives. He has contributed to India’s foreign policy engagements through his work with the Ministry of External Affairs, including in key divisions such as the G20 Secretariat. During India’s G20 presidency, he played a role in supporting negotiations around the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and was closely associated with the Trade and Investment Working Group and Startup20 engagement track.

Beyond government, Blesson has designed and led global fellowship programmes aligned with India’s Neighbourhood First policy. He has helped establish self-learning ecosystems across Rwanda and other parts of Africa, creating accessible, open spaces for youth-led innovation and skill development.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Blesson is now focused on integrating education policy with diplomacy to drive systemic change in India’s higher education landscape. His long-term vision is to build world-class academic institutions that advance the vision of Viksit Bharat and democratize access to transformative education.

Aparimita Pratap

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Lawyer, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Aparimita Pratap is a lawyer with over seven years of experience, currently working at the intersection of criminal law, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and access to justice for marginalized communities in India. She holds a BA LLB (Hons) from The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (2019).

Aparimita designed and led a legal aid program at the Migration and Asylum Project, a New Delhi-based refugee legal aid center. Her work focused on increasing legal awareness on SGBV, training beneficiaries and creating community structures such as legal aid clinics and women’s groups where beneficiaries could openly discuss violence. She worked on strengthening the capacity of private and state actors to respond to SGBV, training paralegal volunteers, legal aid lawyers, women panchayats, and counsellors across Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

Alongside, Aparimita has represented over 100 survivors and built a network of lawyers to expand legal representation in SGBV cases. She has also used strategic litigation, including before the Delhi High Court, challenging coercive mediation in domestic violence cases. She now has independent practice and continues this work.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Aparimita is focusing on criminal law and trauma-informed, survivor-centric jurisprudence in SGBV cases. She is studying how legal frameworks in the United States protect survivors during investigation and trial and will bring these learnings back to India to challenge gaps in criminal law through litigation and advocacy. She will also continue her work to improve the legal aid system in India.

Manasa Ramakrishna

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	International Legal Studies
Home Institution:	Lawyer, New Delhi, Delhi
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Manasa Ramakrishna is a lawyer specializing in criminal law, constitutional rights, and the death penalty. She has worked at The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law (formerly known as Project 39A) where she represented individuals on death row before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. Her work with prisoners and their families and the lived realities of the criminal justice system informs her interest in the structural and institutional dimensions of the criminal justice system. She has also contributed to research and strategic litigation at the intersection of criminal and constitutional law.

Manasa graduated from Jindal Global Law School with a BA LLB (Hons) degree in 2020. Thereafter, she worked at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai, where she advised on white-collar crime, arbitration, and commercial disputes. This experience sharpened her understanding of institutional processes and accountability, which continues to inform her approach to criminal law.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Manasa is studying criminal law and procedure and constitutional theory. She will engage with interdisciplinary approaches in the United States to deepen her understanding of the criminal justice system. Manasa hopes to build her litigation practice and contribute to rights-based criminal justice advocacy in India.

Shivangi Sharma

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Higher Education Administration
Home Institution:	Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	One year

Brief Bio:

Ms. Shivangi Sharma is the General Manager (Programs) at Kautilya School of Public Policy in Hyderabad, where she oversees program design, curriculum development, academic and industry partnerships. She has co-developed and facilitated the adaptation of the Stanford Interpersonal Dynamics T-Group course for Indian classrooms. She has been associated with Kautilya since its founding in 2021, serving as Executive Assistant to Dean, Program Manager and General Manager.

Shivangi is a first-generation college graduate from a farming family of Ashoknagar district in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from Rajdhani College, University of Delhi and an MA in Liberal Studies from Ashoka University, where she was also awarded a Young India Fellowship. She also holds a senior diploma in Kathak from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellow, Shivangi is pursuing an MA in International Education Policy Analysis at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Her studies focus on global and comparative education policy and economics of education. She plans to strengthen international collaborations in Indian higher education and build institutions that are accessible to students from underserved communities.

Naveen Kumar Banageri Thimmappa

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Journalism and Mass Communication
Home Institution:	Writer, Independent Filmmaker, Educator, Hosabale, Karnataka
Host Institution:	New York University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Two years

Brief Bio:

Mr. Naveen Kumar is a writer, filmmaker, and educator from Hosabale, a village in Soraba Taluk, Karnataka. A first-generation student from an indigenous community and a strong believer in diversity and representation, his work is rooted in community-led storytelling and focuses on rural life, caste, memory, and social justice. Naveen has written, directed, shot, and edited several short films made collaboratively with over a hundred people from his village. His films have been screened at international film festivals and have won multiple awards. He has also conducted grassroots filmmaking workshops at major educational institutions across Karnataka.

Naveen holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from St Joseph’s University, Bangalore, and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Bangalore University. He writes in both Kannada and English. His personal essay Track 01 won the Barbra Naidu Award for Personal Essay (2023) and is included in the third-year BA English syllabus at St Joseph’s University. He is the recipient of the Toto Award for Kannada Creative Writing (2024) and was recognized as a Deccan Herald Changemaker in 2026. Naveen has collaborated with multiple non-profit organizations as a filmmaker and social media consultant. He also runs Bheemashaale, a community learning center in his village, where he works with over 150 first-generation learners from indigenous backgrounds through arts-based education.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Naveen is deepening his practice in ethical, community-centered documentary storytelling through global artistic and academic engagement. He plans to strengthen independent documentary cinema and grassroots storytelling in India.

Dr. Anand

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Urban Greening in a Globalizing World: An Applied Research Agenda for Livable and Sustainable Cities
Field of Study:	Urban and Regional Planning
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Anand is an online urban and community forestry consultant at Fair Forests Consulting LLC, Michigan, USA specializing in urban forestry, ecosystem services, and climate resilience. He earned his MSc in natural resource management and PhD in environmental sciences from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. His doctoral research focused on ecosystem services, carbon sequestration, and governance of urban green spaces.

Dr. Anand has worked with organizations including the USDA Forest Service and has extensive expertise in i-Tree Tools, GIS and urban ecological assessment. He has published in reputed national and international journals. He was honored with the 2025 i-Tree Innovation Award by the Urban and Community Forestry Society, USA.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Anand is collaborating on international comparative research on urban greening and large-scale tree planting initiatives. His work focuses on plantable urban space, governance, community engagement, and landscape preferences in urban forestry. Dr. Anand is also contributing as co-editor to an academic volume on urban greening.

Lakshyayog

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Sporting Urbanism: A Comparative Study of India and the United States of America
Field of Study:	Urban and Regional Planning
Home Institution:	National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Lakshyayog is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), working on a British Academy-funded collaborative project between the University of Oxford and NLSIU. He obtained his undergraduate degree in geography from the University of Delhi in 2015, followed by a postgraduate degree in geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2017. He was awarded a PhD from JNU in May 2025. His doctoral research was funded by the Junior and Senior Research Fellowships from the University Grants Commission. Previously, he worked with development sector organizations such as the World Resources Institute India and ActionAid India.

Dr. Lakshyayog’s research interests lie at the intersections of sports and urban development in India, specifically examining the promotion of everyday physical activity and leisure in cities. With research articles and chapters published in reputed journals and edited volumes, he has presented his research work at several international conferences. In March 2025, he was selected as a Writing Urban India Fellow 3.0 of the Urban Studies Foundation, UK and NLSIU.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Lakshyayog will explore the ways in which cities in India and the United States use sport to reshape urban space, mobilize real estate investment, and instrumentalize global visibility. Through a comparative study of Delhi and Ahmedabad in India and Atlanta and Los Angeles in the US, Dr. Lakshyayog aims to examine the emerging phenomenon of sports cities.

Shaifali Arora

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Recipes of Resilience: Tracing 1947 Partition’s Impact on Vernacular Foods of Punjab
Field of Study:	History
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
Host Institution:	University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Shaifali Arora is a scholar of colonial and postcolonial South Asian history, with a particular interest in the cultural and linguistic history of the 1947 Partition of India. Her research examines how histories of displacement are remembered, reworked, and transmitted through everyday practices, with a particular focus on Punjab.

Dr. Arora received her PhD in English from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Indore. She holds an MA and MPhil in English and a BA (Hons) in English from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi. She has also qualified the UGC-NTA NET in English. She received the Alliance of Digital Humanities Bursary Award to visit McGill University, Canada, in 2017 and the ASEM-DUO Fellowship to visit Lancaster University, UK, in 2020.

Dr. Arora’s research papers have been published in international journals such as South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (Taylor & Francis) and Contemporary South Asia (Taylor & Francis).

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Arora will document and analyze the culinary practices of refugees from regions such as Bahawalpur and Multan, focusing on how food functions as a living archive of displacement, resilience, and gendered memory. Her project is significant as South Asian Studies programs in the US are increasingly foregrounding micro-histories, gendered narratives, and diasporic memory in understanding Partition. This project will illustrate how domestic culinary practices serve as cultural repositories, particularly among women whose roles as preservers and transmitters of subregional identities through food remain critically underexplored.

Hindol Chakraborty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Lieux de Mémoire: Revisiting the Armenian Genocide through the Postmemory of Select American and Indian Women writers
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Swami Vivekananda University, Kolkata, West Bengal
Host Institution:	Clark University, Worcester, MA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Hindol Chakraborty is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Swami Vivekananda University, West Bengal. He earned his BA (Hons) in English from Narasinha Dutt College under University of Calcutta in 2010. He received a master’s degree in English literature from Aliah University, Kolkata in 2012. His PhD was awarded by Jharkhand Rai University, Ranchi in 2022.

Dr. Chakraborty’s primary research areas include the art and the sublime, memory studies, post-genocide literature and the Girardian theory of mimesis in Indian literature. He has published widely in various national and international journals and also contributed to several edited volumes published by renowned houses including Imprint, SLC India Publishers and Routledge. He is the translator of Rantidev Sengupta’s historical fiction Ishqnama. His research article on virtual reality literature and a co-edited volume on Eastern Himalayan literature will be published by Palgrave Macmillan and Routledge respectively.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Fellow at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University, Dr. Chakraborty is focusing on the transmission of the traumatic memory of the Armenian genocide across generations through the lens of postmemory, centering on the functionality of gendered postmemory among select Armenian-American and Armenian-Indian women writers. He aims to contribute to broader discussions on the representation of the American and Indian roles in nurturing the sentiment of the post-genocide Armenian diaspora. Dr. Chakraborty is also a President’s award winner for singing and composing ghazals and a harmonium exponent.

Wairokpam Yaiphaba Chenglei

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Dancing with the Divine: A Philosophical Study of Lai Haraoba and Cherokee Festivals as Indigenous Metaphysics and Embodied Knowledge
Field of Study:	Anthropology
Home Institution:	Pravabati College, Imphal, Manipur
Host Institution:	University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Wairokpam Yaiphaba Chenglei is an Assistant Professor of English at Pravabati College, Manipur. He earned his BA from Manipur University, completed his MA in English from IGNOU, New Delhi, and received his PhD in English from Manipur University in 2024. He is now serving as an ICSSR Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of English & Cultural Studies, Manipur University, Imphal for the period 2024-26. His research focuses on indigenous folklore, oral traditions, cultural identity, eco-criticism, and comparative cultural studies. He has authored books and published several scholarly articles in reputed journals.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Chenglei is undertaking a comparative philosophical study of the Meitei festival Lai Haraoba and the Cherokee Green Corn Ceremony as living expressions of indigenous metaphysics and embodied knowledge. His project examines how ritual, myth, and performance preserve shared values of kinship, sacred ecology, gratitude, and cultural resilience. Through this fellowship, he aims to contribute to global scholarship on indigenous philosophy and promote cross-cultural dialogue on traditional knowledge systems.

Kakoli Das

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Aspirations, Inequality, and the New Fertility Crisis: The Behavioral Roots of Fertility Transition in India and the United States
Field of Study:	Public Policy
Home Institution:	Vidyasagar University, West Bengal
Host Institution:	Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Grant Start Month:	February 2027
Duration of Grant:	Twelve months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Kakoli Das is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Vidyasagar University. She is a multidisciplinary researcher, academician, and human resource professional. Dr. Das completed her MPhil in 2014 from the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata and was awarded PhD in development studies in 2023 from the same institution. In March 2026, she completed a professional course in public policy at the Centre for Policy Research and Governance, New Delhi.

Dr. Das was a Visiting Scientist at the Population Studies Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI Kolkata) and has also been associated with the World Health Organization. Her research interests lie primarily in demography and development studies, with a particular focus on fertility dynamics in developing countries, the behavioral economics of reproductive decision-making, and population policy. Her work has been published in reputable academic journals, featured in prominent media outlets, and presented at various academic platforms. She was awarded the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Institutional Fellowship for her doctoral research and is also a recipient of the European Union’s MSCA Seal of Excellence (2025).

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Das is developing an innovative socio-cognitive framework to better understand the complex mechanisms of demographic transition in India and to identify key entry points for effective policy intervention. Through collaboration with US academics, her work aims to foster co-learning and contribute to the development of future-ready population strategies for India and beyond.

Diptarup Ghosh Dastidar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Deconstructing the Indian Graphic Novel: Role of the American Comics Tradition and Communities in Shaping Indian Graphic Narratives
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Serampore, West Bengal
Host Institution:	University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Diptarup Ghosh Dastidar earned his BA (Hons) in 2014 from Serampore College, affiliated with University of Calcutta, and completed his MA in 2016 at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. In December 2023, he was awarded a PhD from BHU. Dr. Ghosh Dastidar was a research intern at National Institute of Technology, Trichy in July 2019, where he worked on graphic medicine.

Dr. Ghosh Dastidar’s research interests lie primarily in comics studies, spatiality, visual cultures, graphic medicine, ludology, and Indology. He has published several research articles in SCOPUS-indexed international journals such as Perspectives in Biology and Medicine (JHU Press), and The Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (Taylor & Francis). He has qualified for the CBSE-UGC NET examination, and was also awarded the Teach-for-BHU (TfB) Fellowship from August 2023 to July 2024. He worked as Assistant Professor at Amity University Chhattisgarh from 2020 to 2022.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Ghosh Dastidar is focusing on the nature and history of the American graphic novel with respect to the growth and development of the Indian counterpart, with special emphasis on community interactions and exploration of the American “comics world” (Beaty 2012). He is exploring the network of comics scholarship and practice in the USA and bridging it with the Indian comics network, while deliberating on establishing authority on the idea of the graphic novel as a genre.

Mehreen Fatima

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Communication Support Practices for Non-speaking Autistic Individuals in a Neurodiversity-Affirming Context
Field of Study:	Psychology
Home Institution:	Azim Premji University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Mehreen Fatima is an Assistant Professor of psychology at Azim Premji University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. She was awarded a PhD in psychology in 2025 from the University of Delhi, under the supervision of Prof. Nandita Babu, with her doctoral work focusing on the development of empathy in children with autism spectrum disorder. She has also qualified for NTA NET-JRF in Psychology at the 99.82 percentile (June 2019).

Dr Mehreen’s research interests lie at the intersection of developmental and cognitive psychology, with a particular focus on socio-cognitive abilities across neurotypical and neurodivergent populations. She has published in major international journals and has a forthcoming book, Empathy Spectrum: Understanding Connections in a Diverse World, under contract with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. She has presented her research at major international conferences, including the 33rd International Congress of Psychology in Prague, Czech Republic, where she was selected as one of forty Emerging Psychologists by the International Union of Psychological Sciences. She was also selected for the inaugural Emerging Psychologist Programme (2025) by the National Academy of Psychology, India.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Jaswal Lab at the University of Virginia, Dr. Mehreen is investigating communication support practices for non-speaking autistic individuals, with a focus on neurodiversity-affirming approaches. Her research seeks to develop evidence-based frameworks that honor the communicative strengths and preferences of such individuals. She also aims to contribute to the growing body of research that centers autistic perspectives in the design and evaluation of communication interventions.

Balasubramanian Geetha

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Recast(e)ing the Comic Body: The Slapstick Comedy of Vadivelu in Tamil Cinema
Field of Study:	Visual Arts
Home Institution:	Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	Columbia University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. B. Geetha is an Assistant Professor at the Manipal Institute of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bengaluru. She holds a PhD in Film Studies from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Her research interests include film history, stardom, comedy studies, film aesthetics, and archival studies within South Asian visual cultures. She was the recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowship in Visual Arts at Michigan State University (2022–2023). She also received a travel grant from the UCLA Center for India and South Asia (2023) for her doctoral work on Tamil cinema.

Dr. Geetha’s academic publications have appeared in journals such as Celebrity Studies, South Asian Review, Senses of Cinema, Screen, and Journal of Cinema and Media Studies.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Geetha’s work engages with the physical modality of slapstick to theorize the performative possibilities of the comic body in Tamil cinema. This research finds its methodological grounding by drawing on conceptual tools from the fields of film studies and performance studies to examine concerns around embodied caste labor through the gestural registers of the comedian. Overall, the research excavates the comedic strand of thought within the historiography of Indian cinema by studying the aesthetico-ethical stakes of laughter, pain, and film form.

Tanu Gupta

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Electric Cooking and Clean Energy Transitions: Evidence from Rural India
Field of Study:	Economics
Home Institution:	University of Southampton Delhi, Gurugram, Haryana
Host Institution:	The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Grant Start Month:	October 2027
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Tanu Gupta is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southampton Delhi (UoSD), Gurugram. Before joining UoSD, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi. She earned her BA (Hons) in economics from the University of Delhi and her MA in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She received her PhD in economics from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. She was a Visiting PhD Scholar at UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, from September to November 2021, and is an active member of Environment for Development (EfD).

Dr. Gupta’s research is primarily in development economics, with a focus on environment, labor, and identity. She has published in reputed international journals and has received several research grants including J-PAL and ICIMOD. In addition to academic publications, she writes for policy platforms such as IndiaSpend, Policy Edge, and Ideas for India to reach a wider policy audience.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Gupta is studying household demand for electric stoves and how demand responds to various subsidy and price levels. The project will examine whether access to electric cooking reduces reliance on traditional solid fuels and lowers household air pollution and related health risks.

Manisha Mohanty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	New Recipes, Old Traditions: Gender, Identity, and Culinary Resistance in Indian American Foodways from 1993 to 2013
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan, Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Host Institution:	New York University, New York, NY
Grant Start Month:	November 2026
Duration of Grant:	Eight months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Manisha Mohanty is Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She completed her PhD in English from Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar. Her doctoral research examined the intersections of food, gender, and identity in Indian and diasporic women’s food memoirs through the frameworks of feminist food studies, cultural studies, and gastro-politics. She earned her MPhil and MA in English from Utkal University, Odisha, where she was awarded the University Gold Medal for securing the highest rank at postgraduate level.

Dr. Mohanty’s research interests include food, gender, and cultural studies. Her work has been published in the journals Food, Culture & Society and the Journal of Global Postcolonial Studies, and she has contributed chapters to edited volumes published by Bloomsbury and Routledge. She is also the author of the forthcoming book Food Cultures of India: Cuisine, Customs, and Issues (Bloomsbury, 2027).

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Mohanty is researching Indian American foodways between 1993 and 2013 by examining community cookbooks, family recipe collections, and early digital food content. Her project examines how culinary texts function as sites of cultural preservation, adaptation, and resistance within Indian American diaspora. The project investigates how recipes reflect evolving gender roles, negotiations of identity, and everyday acts of resilience in the context of globalization and changing American food culture.

Satyabrata Mohanty

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Reimagining Extension: An Institutional and Policy Analysis of EAS Systems in India and the US
Field of Study:	Public Policy
Home Institution:	Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Host Institution:	University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Satyabrata Mohanty is currently Guest Faculty at the College of Horticulture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar. He earned his BSc in agriculture (2018) from OUAT, Bhubaneswar, MSc in agricultural extension and communication (2020) from SHUATS, Prayagraj, and PhD in agricultural extension education (2025) from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, as first class topper and ICSSR Doctoral Fellow.

Dr. Mohanty’s research is centered on strengthening agricultural extension and advisory systems, with a focus on building climate-resilient, gender-responsive, and digitally-enabled decision-making frameworks for farming communities. He has authored over 13 peer-reviewed research articles, two books, three book chapters, and a national policy brief on gender inequality in agriculture and food systems with MANAGE, Hyderabad. He holds three approved design patents in smart agricultural technology. He has been conferred with the Best Master’s Thesis Award, Student of the Year Award (East Zone), and Best Oral Presentation Award at international conferences. He is a member of AIAEE, AEA, and the Global Teach Ag Network.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Mohanty is comparatively examining Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) in the US and in India, analyzing institutional frameworks, policy architectures, and delivery mechanisms to strengthen farmer-centered extension systems. Through this fellowship, he aims to generate policy insights that inform agricultural extension reform in India and contribute to global discourse on sustainable rural development.

Haseena Naji

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Indigenous Ritual Speech: Comparing Narrative and Performance among the Kurichya (India) and Gullah/Geechee (US)
Field of Study:	Anthropology
Home Institution:	Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, Elon University, Elon, NC
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	10 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Haseena Naji is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Sciences and Languages at Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai. In October 2023, she was awarded a PhD from the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, for her thesis applying Vladimir Propp’s morphological framework alongside Ochs and Capps’ five-dimensional model of narrative to Kurichyan folksongs, demonstrating that indigenous oral narratives require culturally responsive analytical frameworks beyond universalist Western structural models.

Dr. Naji’s research interests lie at the intersection of structuralist narratology, indigenous narratives, and comparative folklore. Her work is grounded in sustained ethnographic fieldwork with the Kurichya tribe of Wayanad, Kerala, collecting, translating and interpreting their corpus of folksongs alongside the community’s broader ritual practices.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Elon University, Dr. Naji is conducting a comparative study of ritual speech among the Kurichya and the Gullah/Geechee of the southeastern United States. Both communities face pressures of ecological and cultural marginalization, making the comparison both theoretically significant and ethically urgent. The project tests whether a structuralist-performative framework, recalibrated to honor cultural specificity, can reveal how two distinct indigenous traditions encode memory, identity, and resilience through oral performance.

Mohamed Haseeb Nechiyil

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Restudying, Repatriating and Digitalizing Arnold Bake’s Recordings of Mappilas of Malabar
Field of Study:	History
Home Institution:	PSMO College (Autonomous), Tirurangadi, Kerala.
Host Institution:	University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	10 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Mohamed Haseeb is an Assistant Professor of History at PSMO College (Autonomous), Tirurangadi, Kerala. He earned his BA in 2009 and MA in 2012 from the PSMO College affiliated to the University of Calicut, Kerala. In July 2025, he was awarded a PhD from Mangalore University in Karnataka. Dr. Mohamed Haseeb qualified for the UGC NET examination and was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship by the Indian Council of Historical Research.

Dr. Haseeb’s research interests are primarily in the fields of Indian Ocean history, the history of migration and water, and the Mappila songs of Malabar. He presented research papers at several conferences, including at the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD), British Forum for Ethnomusicology (BFE), and Royal Musical Association (RMA).

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Haseeb is focusing on the Mappila songs in the archival collection of Dutch ethnomusicologist Arnold Adriaan Bake. During his fellowship, Dr. Haseeb aims to reanalyze, repatriate, and digitalize the archival recordings, re-record the songs with translations into English, and repatriate them back to the Mappila community of Malabar, where the memory of these old songs has been lost, keeping in mind the idea of “archives for the future”.

Mawonthing Ngashangva

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Speaking Wisdom: A Bilingual Dictionary of Tangkhul Proverbs
Field of Study:	Language/Literature/Linguistics
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Ukhrul, Manipur
Host Institution:	Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr Ng Mawonthing is an independent scholar whose research centers on Tangkhul proverbs as vital expressions of cultural knowledge. Her doctoral work involved the systematic documentation and analysis of these proverbs, with particular attention to their rhetorical structures, social functions, and embedded worldviews, contributing to the preservation of an endangered linguistic and cultural heritage. She earned her BA and MA in English from the English and Foreign Languages University, Shillong, and was awarded PhD by the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in 2025.

Dr Mawonthing’s broader academic interests include paremiology, folklore studies, and digital humanities, particularly community-driven approaches to cultural preservation.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary, California, Dr Mawonthing is developing a bilingual dictionary of Tangkhul-English proverbs, envisioned as a resource for both scholars and the wider public, making ancestral knowledge more accessible to younger generations while fostering cross-cultural understanding and dialogue.

Ruchika Rai

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Technologies of Transmission: Media Ethnography of Sacred Himalayan Culture in the US
Field of Study:	Anthropology
Home Institution:	UPES, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Host Institution:	Yale University, New Haven, CT
Grant Start Month:	March 2027
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Ruchika Rai is an Assistant Professor and Senior Fellow who co-leads the Himalayan Institute of UPES, Dehradun. She earned her PhD in sociology (2025) and MPhil (2017) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, following MA in sociology from IGNOU and BA (Hons) English literature from University of Delhi.

A seasoned folk theatre and film artist with twenty years of experience, Dr. Rai focuses her research on Himalayan performative traditions, specifically Kumaoni Ramlila and Jagar, exploring questions of language, identity, and ritual economy. She is currently leading a research project funded by Eicher Foundation (India) and co-owned by MIT (MA), wherein she is exploring how traditional dilapidated Himalayan buildings can be renovated with green building material such as hempcrete.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Rai is investigating the digital mediation of sacred Himalayan traditions within US institutional contexts. Her project, Technologies of Transmission, utilizes multi-modal ethnography to examine how ritual artifacts and embodied practices are archived and reimagined through immersive technologies such as virtual reality and digital humanities platforms. Her research seeks to analyze authenticity and cultural ownership to develop ethical archiving toolkits to preserve intangible cultural heritage transnationally.

Sushruth Ravish

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	A Political Life of Conspiracy Theories: Constructions of Distrust and Democratic Fragilities in India and the USA
Field of Study:	Political Science
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Grant Start Month:	January 2027
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Sushruth Ravish is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He graduated as a mechanical engineer from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, before transitioning to philosophy. He completed his MA in Philosophy in 2015 at Savitribai Phule (SP) Pune University and in 2021, he was awarded a PhD in Philosophy from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Dr. Sushruth Ravish is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He graduated as a mechanical engineer from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, before transitioning to philosophy. He completed his MA in Philosophy in 2015 at Savitribai Phule (SP) Pune University and in 2021, he was awarded a PhD in Philosophy from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Dr. Ravish’s areas of specialization are in metaethics and epistemology. He has published several research articles in reputed international journals, and currently serves as Associate Editor of the journal AI & Society. He has been awarded the Naik and Rastogi Award for Excellence in PhD Research at IIT Bombay (2020–22), the SS Barlingay Prize and the KA Dattatray Prize for the highest marks in MA Philosophy at SP Pune University.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Ravish is undertaking a comparative investigation of how conspiracy theories, particularly those surrounding vaccines and public health, emerge and spread within the democratic societies of India and the USA. Building on recent work in social epistemology and democratic theory, the research examines conspiracy theories not merely as informational distortions or cognitive failures but as alternative epistemic frameworks. During his fellowship, Dr. Ravish aims to develop a normative framework for epistemic repair and trust-building in conditions of institutional distrust and democratic fragility.

Suneetha Saggurti

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Building a Better Foundation: Adapting Apparel and Footwear Labor Supply Chain Due Diligence Frameworks to Construction Industry
Field of Study:	Sociology
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Khammam, Telangana
Host Institution:	Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Ithaca, NY
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Suneetha is currently an Assistant Professor in human resource management and organizational behavior at the Indian Institute of Management, Raipur. She holds a PhD in Management from XLRI-Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur and did her master’s from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Before joining academia, she spent seventeen years in human resources within the manufacturing industry. She was a Visiting Fellow at the ILR school of Cornell University from March-June 2025. She was a Fellow of International Humanistic Management Association (2024-2025).

Dr. Suneetha’s research centers on human flourishing, dignity, and well-being in organizational life, reflected in her doctoral thesis, Being Who We Are (Loving Beings) and Doing What We Know (Holding and Being Held): Reimagining Group Life and Leadership for Peace and Sustainability. Her current work explores the Ecozoic paradigm and Ecozoic leadership based on the work of Thomas Berry. Her work also focuses on micro-affirmations, the Keatsian concept of negative capability, and slowing down. She also works in critical pedagogy, examining how business education must be reimagined to confront the ecological and social crises of our time. She is trained in micro-phenomenology. She completed TECTU (Training in Embodied Critical Thinking and Understanding), an interdisciplinary European Erasmus+ program.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Suneetha is aiming to develop labor metrics and auditing practices for the construction industry, drawing from the more developed practices and metrics in apparel and footwear supply chains. The study will contribute to better due diligence practices and governance in construction supply chains.

Sweta Sen

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Facing Uncertainty: How Geo-Risks Shape Household Time Allocation Decisions in India and the USA
Field of Study:	Economics
Home Institution:	Madras School of Economics, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Sweta Sen is an Assistant Professor at the Madras School of Economics (MSE), Chennai. She pursued BSc in economics (Hons) from Serampore College, affiliated with the University of Calcutta in 2011, and an MSc in economics specializing in applied econometrics, environmental economics, and international economics from University of Calcutta in 2013. She was awarded an MS by Research in 2016 and a PhD in Economics in 2023, both from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Before joining MSE, she was Senior Researcher at the Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi.

Dr. Sen’s research lies at the intersection of climate change impacts, disaster risk reduction, household behavior under uncertainty, and sustainable development. She has published extensively in major Scopus-indexed international journals. She has worked as a consultant in the World Bank on quantifying renewable energy drivers across Indian states, and is currently the Co-Project Director of an ICSSR longitudinal study on post-tsunami housing reconstruction and livelihood revitalization along India’s vulnerable coastlines. Dr Sen has qualified in the UGC NET examination, is a recipient of the Berkner Fellowship from the American Geophysical Union and a SANDEE Fellow. She is also actively engaged in student mentorship.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Sen is investigating how geo-climatic risks — particularly cyclonic shocks and extreme weather events — shape household time use decisions. During her fellowship, she aims to apply geo-spatial techniques and remote-sensing data to economic outcomes and generate policy-relevant insights for climate adaptation planning in both developing and developed country contexts.

Malavi Srikar

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	Interrelationships between Dyadic Engagement and Sensory Reactivity Patterns in Infants at Elevated Likelihood for Autism
Field of Study:	Psychology
Home Institution:	Independent Scholar, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Host Institution:	University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Malavi Srikar is a certified speech-language pathologist and researcher specializing in early social communication and autism. She completed her BSc at the SR Chandrashekar Institute of Speech and Hearing, Bangalore (2016), followed by an MSc from the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysore (2019). She subsequently earned her PhD in Speech-Language Pathology from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore (2025). During her professional journey, she has also served as a tele-interventionist at AIISH (2020) and was a research scientist on an ICMR-funded project at NIMHANS (2026).

Dr. Srikar’s research centers on caregiver-infant dyadic interaction and caregiver-mediated tele-interventions for infants at elevated likelihood for autism. In 2022, she was awarded a Virtual Research Internship in Autism and Cultural Diversity by the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), collaborating with mentors from the University of Manchester to study these interactions in Indian dyads. She has received travel grants in 2024 and 2025 to present her work at the INSAR annual meetings and has published several articles in major international journals.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Srikar will examine dyadic engagement in infants at elevated likelihood for autism. During her fellowship, she will build on work pioneered by Prof. Grace Baranek to investigate the interrelationships between dyadic engagement and sensory responsivity patterns, representing the two core domains of autism, with the goal of informing early identification and intervention strategies.

Mir Sumira

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	A GIS-Based Digital Land Resilience Model (DLRM) for Climate-Adaptive Metropolitan Regions of Indian Himalayas
Field of Study:	Urban and Regional Planning
Home Institution:	Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana
Host Institution:	Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Mir Sumira works as Project Scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad’s Centre for Godavari River Basin Management and Studies in the Department of Civil Engineering. Her expertise lies at the intersection of disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and sustainable development, built on years of field research in Jammu & Kashmir. An MSc gold medalist in disaster management (2015–2018), she completed her PhD in the subject from the University of Kashmir (December 2024). She was selected as a CDRI Fellow (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure), 2023–2024 Cohort, where she designed and implemented protocols to strengthen systemic disaster resilience in mountainous regions by institutionalizing multi-stakeholder networks, processes, and mechanisms. She has certified training in geospatial technologies and applications from the Department of Space at National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO. Her work reflects a strong commitment to bridging scientific research, community resilience, and policy innovation, with the aim of fostering disaster-resilient and climate-adaptive societies.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow, Dr. Sumira is working on developing a digital land resilience model, a GIS-based computational tool designed for rapidly urbanizing Himalayan cities such as Srinagar. It integrates multi-hazard assessments, climate change projections (CMIP6), urban growth models (CA–Markov, SLEUTH), and policy simulations (agent-based modelling) to identify risk hotspots and test nature-based vs engineered solutions. The final goal is to develop a scientifically validated, policy-ready resilience model that helps Indian mountain cities make climate-adaptive decisions. Working with US experts allows Dr. Sumira to bring cutting-edge digital resilience planning to the Himalayas.

Mukunda Upadhyay

Grant Category:	Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Project Title:	The Production of a Transboundary Riparian Urban Space: Understanding Shared Risks and Lives in the Border Towns near the Banks of the Mahakali River
Field of Study:	Urban and Regional Planning
Home Institution:	Independent Researcher and Disaster Management Professional, Haflong, Assam
Host Institution:	Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Grant Start Month:	October 2026
Duration of Grant:	12 months

Brief Bio:

Dr Mukunda Upadhyay is a senior policy expert, researcher, and programme implementer with more than a decade of experience across sectors, including disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, transboundary water governance, climate change adaptation, migration, and urban issues. He has worked with government agencies, the UN system, and international organizations in dynamic, multi-stakeholder, and multidisciplinary settings. Some of his notable contributions include policy design to strengthen resilient systems, supporting effective emergency responses, designing technology-enabled systems for risk reduction, developing recovery frameworks for long-term resilience, and promoting dialogues for progressive transboundary water governance.

Dr. Upadhyay has contributed significantly to various transboundary water governance initiatives in South Asia, particularly to promoting citizen science, strengthening early warning systems, and implementing sustainability models, thereby fostering a sense of stewardship among key stakeholders. His current research interests focus on understanding transboundary riparian urban spaces in relation to shared risks, vulnerabilities and resilience. He completed his PhD in Population Studies from the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, under the guidance of Prof. (Retd.) Shrawan Kumar Acharya.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Upadhyay seeks to examine the conceived, perceived, and lived dimensions of transboundary urbanism in the Mahakali river basin in the Indo-Nepal border region. The research examines water governance, migration, trade, economic systems, and resilience-building in the context of the shared environmental risks faced by urban communities in these dynamic transboundary spaces.

Kamlesh Kumar Dubey

Grant Category:	Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Mathematics
Home Institution:	Invertis University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Host Institution:	Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Ten months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Dubey is a mathematician, researcher, and academic administrator with over 19 years of experience in higher education and university administration. He completed his B.Sc. in 1999 and M.Sc. in 2002 at the University of Allahabad.

Dr. Dubey earned a PhD from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh in 2006. His interests include differential geometry, mathematical modelling, cryptography, modern algebra, and linear algebra application to blockchain, cryptocurrency, network security, cyber security and quantum cryptography. Dr. Dubey has published more than 30 research papers and holds 10 patents. He has authored three books and a book chapter. Five scholars have completed their PhD under his supervision, and three are currently pursuing it.

Dr. Dubey has been a Professor in the Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities at Invertis University, Bareilly from 2007. Dr. Dubey has been working as a Domain Expert at the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science, Lucknow, since 2025 on one-year contract.

Dr. Dubey is a life member of the Indian Science Congress and the International Academy of Physical Sciences. He has organized conferences, Faculty development programs (FDP) and government funded INSPIRE programs. His achievements include the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Excellence Award 2025 and the Best Paper Award 2023 from Engineered Science Publisher, USA.

As a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Dubey will be teaching predictive analytics, business analytics, descriptive analytics and data mining and engaging with the broader community through interactive projects.

Nagamani Gnaneswaran

Grant Category:	Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Passivity Analysis, Neural Networks, Fractional Calculus
Home Institution:	The Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu
Host Institution:	Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Six months

Brief Bio:

Dr. G. Nagamani is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at The Gandhigram Rural Institute. She specializes in passivity analysis, neural networks, control theory and fractional calculus. She earned her PhD in mathematics from the same institution for her highly commended thesis on passivity analysis of neural networks with time-varying delays. Her research focuses on nonlinear dynamical systems, fuzzy systems, delayed neural networks and fractional-order models.

Dr. Nagamani has served in academic and research positions for over two decades, including DST-funded Junior and Senior Research Fellowships, and guides doctoral research. Eight PhD scholars have graduated, and she is currently guiding five. Her contributions include numerous publications, international collaborations, editorial activities, and reviewer roles for various journals published by Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, and IEEE (https://scholar.google.com/GN).

Dr. Nagamani has completed funded research projects supported by the University Grants Commission, National Board for Higher Mathematics, and Science and Engineering Research Board. Her distinctions include the Tamil Nadu Young Women Scientist Award, the Overseas Research Professor Fellowship at Kunsan National University, South Korea, and the Best Researcher Award 2024 from The Gandhigram Rural Institute. She has organized several international conferences and workshops in mathematical modelling, machine learning, quantum computing, applied mathematics and has delivered more than 50 invited lectures at national and international academic forums.

As a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Nagamani will be teaching a course on advanced computational intelligence and engaging with the broader academic community in research-oriented projects on computational intelligence.

Reetu Sogani

Grant Category:	Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Environmental Sciences
Home Institution:	Chintan International Trust, Gurugram, Haryana
Host Institution:	Western Colorado University, Gunnison, CO
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	Nine months

Brief Bio:

Dr. Reetu Sogani is a development practitioner, researcher, and academician working on the protection, strengthening and enhancement of cultural and biological diversity, its integration to address food and nutrition security and build climate resilience in the Himalayas as well as in other parts of India, for over 27 years. She is a PhD in Environmental Management from R.A. Podar Institute of Management, Jaipur.

Dr. Sogani has conceptualized, implemented, and coordinated several projects at the grassroots and evaluated several developmental projects funded by reputed donor agencies such as IFAD, IRMA, and PAC on sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience. Since 2012, she has been Program Director, Deodar Himalaya Project on Eco-health, Chintan International Trust (India), Uttarakhand. She is also a resource person for faculty in institutions across the country. She has served in an advisory capacity with reputed institutions such as Afromontane Research Unit, the University of the Free State, IDS, Sussex. She has been an Action Researcher in Uttarakhand with the University of East Anglia, UK. She has authored several research papers and chapters in reputed publications. She has delivered talks on several national and international forums in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa.

As a Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence, Dr. Sogani will be teaching classes on environmental ethics, international conservation strategies and food policy and politics at The Clark Family School of Environment and Sustainability, Western Colorado University. She will also be engaged in enhancing and expanding existing international programming and assist in integrating international dimensions within existing course offerings.

Keerthi Jalli

Grant Category:	Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Technology Policy and Management
Home Institution:	Government of Assam, Guwahati, Assam
Host Institution:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Cambridge, MA
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	10 months

Brief Bio:

Ms. Keerthi Jalli is a 2013-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Over the past 13 years, she has held multiple leadership positions in Assam, working on public health, nutrition, and women’s empowerment. She currently serves as Commissioner, Panchayat and Rural Development, Assam, and Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen.

As District Commissioner, Keerthi focused on improving maternal and child health, combating anemia and malnutrition, strengthening citizen participation, and enhancing service delivery in geographically challenging and socio-economically vulnerable regions. She played a key role in managing flood response and COVID-19 relief efforts. Her work has been recognized with the Chief Minister’s Karmashree Award for Excellence in Public Administration.

In her current role, Keerthi oversees rural development and sanitation programs. She is leading efforts to strengthen local self-governance institutions, promote sustainable sanitation, enhancing livelihoods, and building climate-resilient communities through decentralized development.

Keerthi holds a B.Tech. in computer science and engineering. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing large-scale public programs. As a Humphrey Fellow, she is focusing on technology policy and management. She aims to study how emerging technologies, data-driven governance, and digital public infrastructure can strengthen public service delivery and improve development outcomes, particularly for underserved communities.

Shashank Anand

Grant Category:	Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
Project Title:	N.A.
Field of Study:	Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration
Home Institution:	Indian Police Service, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
Host Institution:	Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Grant Start Month:	August 2026
Duration of Grant:	10 months

Brief Bio:

Mr. Shashank Anand is a career law enforcement officer. He joined the Indian Police Service in 2006 and was awarded the Prime Minister’s Baton and Home Ministry’s Revolver for being the best officer-trainee at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad. In his parent cadre Haryana, he served as police chief of five districts and gained rich experience in public order management, counterterrorism operations and criminal investigations.

Shashank is credited with pioneering electronic filing of chargesheets, constituting community liaison groups for alternative dispute resolution and reducing road accidents as traffic police chief of Chandigarh. He is now Inspector General in the Border Security Force, the world’s largest border-guarding force.

An engineer by education, Shashank has a MTech in telecommunications technology and management from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and holds LL.B. from Punjab University, Chandigarh. He is a Chevening Gurukul Fellow. As a Humphrey Fellow, Shashank is studying international best practices in border management, particularly those related to human trafficking and contraband smuggling. He seeks to contribute to drafting effective, humane and technologically-enabled public policies in this field. On the personal front, Shashank is a bibliophile and an avid player of tennis and golf.