Two Indian American doctoral researchers, Manav Jain and Nikita Sivakumar, have been named 2027 Siebel Scholars, recognizing their work in biomedical engineering and their contributions to research, teaching and mentorship.
They are among five Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering doctoral students selected for the annual honor. Each scholar will receive $35,000 to support the final year of graduate studies. The program also brings recipients together for annual conferences focused on challenges across their respective fields, according to the university.
Jain, advised by immunologist Jonathan Schneck and biomedical engineer Jordan Green, studies ways to engineer T cells, immune cells involved in the body’s defense against disease.
His research centers on targeted messenger RNA nanoparticles designed to bind to T cells inside the body and give them additional capabilities to fight disease. Johns Hopkins identifies cancer and autoimmune conditions as potential applications of the approach.
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Before beginning his doctoral studies, Jain conducted research at Georgia Tech and biotechnology companies Amgen and Genentech. At Johns Hopkins, he received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, participated in the Merck Innovation Cup, co-authored 15 publications and presented at 13 conferences, the university reported.
Jain also participates in science education and outreach. He mentors undergraduate and graduate students, leads hands-on science activities at Baltimore elementary schools and co-leads the Frameshift immunoengineering hackathon. He also designed and taught a Johns Hopkins undergraduate course on cell and gene therapies.
Sivakumar’s research examines how immune cells move and interact, and how those processes influence antibody responses to infections and vaccinations.
Co-advised by biomedical engineers Feilim Mac Gabhann and Jude Phillip, she uses computational models to study how aging and genetic mutations can disrupt these responses.
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According to Johns Hopkins, Sivakumar has published six first-author papers and received more than $100,000 in research awards from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists organization, the National Science Foundation, the NTT Research Foundation, and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.
Her work at the university also includes teaching and mentorship. She has developed and taught five interdisciplinary data science courses, mentored high school and undergraduate students, and led a computational research internship for Baltimore City students through Baltimore Thread, a community organization.
Sivakumar also serves as co-president of Women of Whiting, an organization at the university’s Whiting School of Engineering.
In that role, she has led two annual Women in STEM symposiums, according to the university’s announcement.
The Siebel Scholars program has recognized graduate students in fields including bioengineering, computer science and business since 2000.