September 15, 2025
Alumni Updates: Summer/Fall 2025
From award-winning research to leadership in higher education, Harvard Griffin GSAS alumni are shaping the future of every field. Explore the latest achievements, appointments, and accolades from our graduate community around the world.
Reshaping the Future of Neuroscience and Anesthesiology
Emery N. Brown, PhD ’88, statistics, was awarded the National Medal of Science and Technology in a ceremony at the White House on January 3, 2025. Recognized for his groundbreaking contributions at the intersection of neuroscience, anesthesia, and statistical analysis, Brown has developed advanced algorithms that allow anesthesiologists to tailor treatment plans based on predictive models. “By looking at the patterns in an electroencephalogram, an anesthesiologist can modulate the dosage of a patient’s drugs,” Brown explains. This allows clinicians to “find the amount of anesthesia that someone can best tolerate while remaining unconscious to the painful stimuli of surgery,” particularly in vulnerable populations such as older patients. Brown’s work is also notable for its broader impact on neuroscience. By using anesthesia as a window into the brain’s complex workings, Brown provides new insights into how it processes information, alters under anesthesia, and safely returns to consciousness.
Read more about Brown’s work and the award.
More Alumni News
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Jacob Brown, PhD ’22, social policy, last spring was named a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellow by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Brown’s research focuses on how patterns of residential living influence politics. | Image
Nicholas Hutzler, PhD ’14, physics, was honored in January with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Hutzler was recognized for work that may help solve the question of what happened to all the antimatter xin our universe |
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Si Ying Lee, PhD ’22, mathematics, was named one of three winners of the 2025 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize, awarded to outstanding women mathematicians who have recently completed their PhDs. Lee was recognized for her innovative approach to an important problem in the Langlands program. | Image
Daniel Wolf Savin, PhD ’94, physics, was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the world’s largest general scientific societies. Savin was recognized “for distinguished contributions to the fields of laboratory astrophysics, solar physics, and atomic physics.” |
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Sandip Sukhtankar, PhD ’09, political economy & government, was part of team of three researchers that received the 2025 International Partnership Award from the American Political Science Association. The award recognized their experimental evaluation of reforms to improve police responsiveness to women in India. | Image
Srishti Gupta, AM ’97, molecular & cellular biology, was appointed chief executive officer of Indorsia, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered near Basel, Switzerland. A physician and seasoned leader in global health and biopharmaceutical innovation, Gupta assumed her new role on July 1, 2025. |
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Cammi Valdez, PhD ’14, biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology, in January was named a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The award honors the vital role that America’s teachers and mentors play in shaping the next generation of technical leaders. | Image
Sonia Vallabh, and husband Eric Vallabh Minikel, both PhD ’19, biological and biomedical sciences, were among a team of researchers who developed promising geneediting therapy for prion disease, a rare, fatal condition. Vallabh has tested positive for an inherited form of the disease called fatal familial insomnia. |
