Shivani Patel Invited to Esteemed Fellowship Selection Committee

Shivani A. Patel, PhD, MPH, Rollins Assistant Professor at the Rollins School of Public Health, has been invited to serve on the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship Selection Committee. She was nominated for the committee by K.M. Venkat Narayan, MD, MSc, MBA.

"It is very exciting to be a part of a process that identifies and supports the most promising biomedical scientists at a critical point in their careers when they are taking the first steps to develop an independent research portfolio," says Patel. "The quality of applicants, and the breadth of their ambition, is simply outstanding. It is humbling to play a small role in the scientific trajectory of these great minds." 

In her role—which began February 1, 2020, and will extend through 2023—Patel will review applications for post-doctoral fellowships through the Early Career Fellowship Selection Committee. The committee receives 40-50 applications each year, and a fraction of those are short-listed for interview. The process is extremely diligent about impartially selecting the best and brightest candidates for funding. Members of the selection committee are privy to reviews of area-experts and then weigh external reviews and strengths of the applications to make a decision about who to invite for an interview. The potential of the researcher and the scientific value of the project are both considered. At the next stage, the best applicants are invited for an in-person interview with the full selection committee.

“I am eager to contribute to this process and to represent Emory,” says Patel. She joins Narayan; Rafi Ahmed, PhD; Jyothi Rengarajan, PhD; and Murali Kaja, PhD as Emory faculty who serve on one or more of these committees.

The Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance (India Alliance) is an independent, dynamic public charity that funds research in health and biomedical sciences in India. It is jointly funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and the Wellcome Trust, UK. The mandate of India Alliance is to support excellence in biomedical research in India through a unique program of research fellowship schemes for scientists at key stages of their careers. Learn more at: https://www.indiaalliance.org