3 Indian-Americans Among 2023 Presidential Leadership Scholars

Three Indian-Americans are among 60 scholars who would be joining the 2023 Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) programme to collaborate and create meaningful change in the US and around the world.

Neil Vora, Sonia Singhvi and Anahita Dua will join the eighth annual PLS class, which begins on January 24 in Washington, DC.

The class, which was selected after a rigorous application and review process, comprises service members, educators, physicians, public servants, and corporate professionals.

Neil Vora, is a physician with Conservation International where he leads its efforts on pandemic prevention.

He served for nearly a decade with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and a Commander in the US Public Health Service (USPHS).

Sonia Singhvi is Global Head of Culture, Inclusion, & Diversity with Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Singhvi is a "strategic, patient-centric, biopharmaceutical executive with over 20 years of industry experience across multiple therapeutic and functional areas".

Her project aims to advance health equity, improve patient outcomes, and enhance diversity in clinical trials.

Anahita Dua is a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Dua completed her vascular surgery fellowship at Stanford University Hospital, her general surgery residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and her medical school in the United Kingdom.

She specialises in advanced endovascular (minimally invasive) and traditional (open) limb salvage techniques for treating peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia, diabetic limb disease, aortic disease, carotid disease, thoracic outlet syndrome and venous disease.

The Presidential Leadership Scholars is a partnership among the presidential centers of George W Bush, William J Clinton, George H W Bush, and Lyndon B Johnson.

Over the course of several months, the scholars will travel to each participating presidential centre to learn from former presidents, key former administration officials, business and civic leaders, and leading academics, according to a PLS press statement.

The latest class joins an active network of more than 400 scholars whose efforts include, providing quality, trauma-and survivor-informed healthcare at no cost to gender-based violence survivors; providing support to and improving the lives of recently resettled refugee and immigrant families; and addressing the workforce crisis in trade industries.