The Gupta-Klinsky India Institute at Johns Hopkins is incredibly proud of the community we’ve helped foster in 2024. We are so thankful for the support we’ve received from the many students, alumni, and faculty who have taken the time to share their unique stories and information about their work, research, and studies. Please check out this collection of just a handful of the fantastic stories we were able to share from our community members in 2024. We cannot wait to hear more in 2025!

Powering Wellness with Words: Uttara Bharath Kumar

Senior Program Officer II

Team Lead for India for the Center for Communications Programs (CCP) “I have a passion for trying to write or communicate around things that make a change.”

For more than three decades, Uttara Bharath Kumar has been on a mission to merge her love of writing and creativity with her desire to help make people healthier. Learn more about her story in this faculty spotlight.

Improving Gender Equality in India and Beyond: Anju Malhotra

Distinguished Professor of the Practice

Dr. Anju Malhotra has worked most of her life improving the health, well-being, and empowerment of women and girls around the world. Born in Punjab, India, her career is a commitment to improving gender equality in India and beyond.

“If you are a woman from South Asia, awareness of women’s unequal position is in your bones. Even though I grew up and lived in the US since age 11, growing up in India that first decade of my life has ingrained a deep sensitivity and desired to overcome the injustices women and girls and face everywhere, but especially in the Subcontinent. I can never forget that I was born in Kapurthala, the district with the worst sex ratio at birth in India.”

Bridging the Gap Between the U.S. and India: Nakul Shekhawat

Stephen F Raab & Mariellen Brickley-Raab Rising Professor of Ophthalmology

“One of the best things about ophthalmology is the life-changing surgeries. Cataract surgery confers major benefits to patients, can be performed in 15 minutes, and is one of the most cost-effective procedures in modern medicine,” Dr. Shekhawat said.

“What that means is that these procedures can be done at scale. The problems are widespread, affecting millions of people globally, but the solutions can also be scalable and improve the lives of those millions of people. That lends itself very well to public health interventions where, if you rigorously maintain safety and quality of care, you can radically improve lives on a massive scale. The sheer quantity of good you can do for people as an ophthalmologist really appeals to me.” “The experience of helping a blind person see again never grows old. It continues to bring joy every day.”

Technology and the US-India Relationship: Joshua White

Professor of Practice of International Affairs, SAIS

Director of the U.S.-ASEAN and U.S.-Pacific Institutes for Rising Leaders

“This has been a very positive few years in the US-India relationship, and it’s a relationship that’s likely to continue being important to both governments. There’s a lot of demand and interest, so I’m excited to keep working.”

Transitioning from Pediatric Care to Public Health Leadership: Naveen Anaswara, BSPH ‘24

A Fulbright scholar for 2023-24 and MPH graduate, Dr. Anaswara’s career is marked by his frontline work during significant health crises, including the Nipah virus and COVID-19 outbreaks, and his leadership as a District Program Manager at the National Health Mission in Calicut. His innovative approaches to improving child health and healthcare policies have had profound impacts on the communities he serves.

“The experience of helping a blind person see again never grows old. It continues to bring joy every day.”

Giving Back as a Woman in STEM: Damini Agarwal, WSE, '17

When it comes to Damini Agarwal’s journey at Hopkins, a few experiences stood out as she pursued a career in biomedical technology.

“My biggest learning from my Hopkins journey, was to not be afraid of the unknown. As a young researcher, one naturally gravitates towards trying to solve problems that we already know answers to. However, my Hopkins education challenged me to have confidence in my abilities and to use them to push the boundaries of science. This has led to a rich career in research and development of bionic arms, where we redefine the unknown each day!”

Welcoming Fall 2024 Students from India

When the Fall semester kicked off, we introduced some incoming students from India: Simran Kaur Dang, Harish Balasubramanian, Sneha A S, and Mariam Husain. Each of them brings a unique blend of ambition, cultural heritage, and academic excellence to the Hopkins community. In this feature, we explore their motivations for choosing Hopkins, their expectations for their journey ahead, and the personal stories that shape their academic and career aspirations. Get to know these promising individuals and see how they plan to make the most of their experience at JHU.

Indian Students at JHU: Reflections on Their Internship Experiences

Internships are more than just stepping stones in a student’s academic journey—they offer a chance to bridge the gap between theory and practice, transforming classroom knowledge into tangible action. In these retrospectives, we explored the diverse projects these students have undertaken, how their work has shaped their careers, and the valuable insights they offer to others aspiring to make a difference in similar fields.

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