News

We are so pleased to announce Siddhaparna Sannigrahi and Babu Seenappa as the 2023 awardees of GKII’s Girish and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Grant for the Maternal and Child Health in India cohort! The Girsh and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Grant is designed to support student travel to India, leveraging the strengths of existing Johns Hopkins University research programs. Mr. Rishi, an alumnus of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is an accomplished tech executive, now CEO of the industrial software company Cognite. He and his wife, Himangi Rishi, established the fellowships with GKII to connect their passion for business and technology with the challenges of urban hunger, sustainable diets, and health inequity.

This newsletter covers new awards, a letter from Director Melody McCoy, multiple publications and a spotlight on faculty member Kunal Parikh.

Dr. Kunal Parikh, a research faculty member in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine sees a future where technology is a great equalizer in medicine. The surface has barely been scratched. “My mission is to create a world where no person is limited by the circumstances of their birth.”

Earlier this month, health professionals in India gathered with experts from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Fenway Institute, and USAID to learn about the latest evidence-based practices for HIV prevention. While there has not yet been a public sector rollout of PrEP or PEP in the country, there is demand. Through the support of PEPFAR and USAID, ACCELERATE develops novel models for HIV prevention strategies for at-risk populations that can help inform the local, state, and national HIV response.

The Association of American Universities has appointed members and co-chairs to a new task force to study expanding research and higher education partnerships between the United States and India. The co-chairs of the AAU Task Force on Expanding United States-India University Partnerships include The Pennsylvania State University President Neeli Bendapudi, University of Illinois Urbana-Campaign Chancellor Robert J. Jones, University of California San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi, and current Johns Hopkins University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Sunil Kumar (who is set to become president of Tufts University on July 1).

Sara Bennett, a professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health who focuses on health policy and systems in low and middle-income countries, has been appointed as the new faculty co-chair. Melody McCoy, former vice president of global engagement and communications for Jhpiego has been appointed as the institute’s inaugural executive director.