leadership team

Nandita Chopra is a global health leader with more than three decades of experience advancing international scientific collaboration, clinical research programs, and strategic partnerships across the public health and biomedical research sectors. Widely recognised for her ability to build and manage complex multinational research initiatives, Ms. Chopra has extensive expertise spanning clinical research portfolio management, vaccine research and development, global health program leadership, regulatory strategy, grant and research funding oversight, and policy advisory for large-scale international health initiatives.

From 2010 to 2022, she served as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Representative to India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, where she managed the NIH research portfolio in India and advanced U.S.–India collaborations in biomedical research across multiple disease areas. Following her diplomatic posting, she served as Senior Scientific Program Manager in New Delhi for the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), continuing to support major multinational clinical research programs and strategic scientific partnerships. She is known for translating scientific vision into operational programs and building durable partnerships that deliver meaningful global health impact.

Priyanki Shah is a public health leader with over 15 years of experience traversing the private and public healthcare sectors. Driven by a passion for various health initiatives, she thrives in ideating large-scale public health projects and assembling diverse stakeholders to create coalitions around shared objectives. Her extensive exposure spans government, academia, start-ups, and the World Bank, giving her a multi-angled view of the health ecosystems. She is an expert in translating complex health data into actionable government policy. Her notable achievements include scaling a COVID-19 tracking ecosystem into a Dengue Early Warning System with the governments of Pune and Karnataka, and spearheading Pune’s Wastewater Surveillance program, which was featured on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website.

Priyanki has consulted for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the World Bank, and managed projects at Quintiles and IQVIA. She holds an MBA in Healthcare from IIM Bangalore, an M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Sheffield, and an M.Sc. in Microbiology from Bangalore University.

Dr. Vidya Mave has been the Leader and Director of Johns Hopkins University India Clinical Research program. Located in Pune, India, she led multiple clinical trials in India, directing a team of approximately 200 personnel. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Mave has an extensive record of research in India on TB, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Her research work, funded by U.S. and Indian government agencies as well as national and international foundations, focuses on clinical trials, comorbidities, including diabetes, and the use of novel tools, including hair pharmacokinetics, whole-genome sequencing, and host biomarkers to study treatment outcomes.

Nikhil Anil Gupte is a distinguished biostatistician and public health researcher with more than two decades of experience in clinical trials, HIV prevention, tuberculosis outcomes, and advanced data management. A PhD graduate in Biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University, he has taught at JHU and the University of Pune, earning the Helen Abbey and Thomas Dublin awards for excellence in teaching and research. Over his career, he has authored more than 150 peer‑reviewed publications and conducted numerous workshops in biostatistics and research methodology across India.

As lead biostatistician, Nikhil has successfully directed several large NIH, FDA, CDC, ICMR, and DBT‑funded clinical trials, ensuring rigorous design, analysis, and reproducibility. He has served as Director of Biostatistics and Data Management at Johns Hopkins India, and he continues to play a pivotal role in advancing global health research and education.