Overview

Dear Gupta-Klinsky India Institute Community,

I had the great privilege of assuming the role of Executive Director of GKII in October and I would like to take a moment to share some of my early thoughts about the tremendous potential I see in what we can achieve together. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to this growing and vibrant community – I have connected with so many of you over the past few months and I am continually inspired by your passion for strengthening the ties between Johns Hopkins and India. I look forward to building deeper connections with and across this community – together, we can truly accomplish so much.

In November, I had the opportunity to travel to India as part of a delegation of more than 25 leaders from Johns Hopkins. Led by President Ron Daniels, this delegation included leaders from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the School of Medicine, the Whiting School of Engineering, the Carey Business School, the School of Nursing, and Development and Alumni Relations.

We visited four cities over the course of six days and our schedule was packed with high-level meetings with government officials, academic institutions, and industry leaders, as well as events highlighting Hopkins’ key projects and its legacy of work in India. We also had several opportunities to engage with our incredible alumni, researchers, and partners in India. While the schedule was demanding, I left each meeting and event energized and continually impressed by the remarkable achievements of Hopkins and our Indian partners so far, as well as the tremendous potential to do so much more in the future.

We also launched several important initiatives for GKII during the trip. These included the TB-Free Schools Initiative, an ambitious project in collaboration with the Central TB Division, aimed at screening, preventing, and treating more than 10,000 school-going children over the next three years to identify the most cost-effective method for eliminating pediatric TB in India. Additionally, we launched our flagship Women in STEMM Fellowship Program, in partnership with the U.S. State Department. This program is designed to support and train early-career women scientists in India. Despite the fact that 43% of India’s STEMM graduates are women, only 17% contribute to the research workforce. Finally, we signed an MOU with the Ajit Isaac Foundation to support palliative care training and research efforts in Karnataka.

The legacy of Hopkins’ nearly century-long engagement with India is undeniably impressive. However, I believe that achieving impact at scale in the future will require true partnership – bringing together the best of Hopkins and India to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. At GKII, we are inspired and motivated every day by this mission, and we are deeply grateful for the support and continued enthusiasm of this community.

I wish you and your loved ones a joyful and peaceful holiday season.

Warm regards,
Kunal Pal