Hun Today 2021

Page 28

ALUMNI IN

STEM DR. ANUSHUA SINHA ’83 GIVES IT HER BEST SHOT Merriam-Webster chose pandemic as the word of 2020, but

late 80s and early 90s there were a lot of exciting advances

it could have just as easily been virus. The word took on a

for HIV on the horizon. I was in my residency when the first

whole new meaning this past year, but for many, including

generation of contemporary HIV therapies were coming into

Dr. Anushua Sinha ’83, viruses have been top of mind for years.

clinic. You could see people rising like Lazarus from their sick

For this medical doctor, former professor of infectious disease

beds… people who were wasted away, down to one-hundred

at Rutgers, and now clinical director of vaccines at Merck,

pounds in their 30s. Who wouldn’t be excited by that?”

combating communicable disease is all in a day’s work.

Dr. Sinha, who operated a clinic for HIV patients

From dengue and hepatitis A to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, Dr. Sinha’s opponents are formidable. “Everyone’s attention is on Covid-19 this year, but just because we have a new contagious pathogen to battle doesn’t mean our old enemies have gone away,” she explains. She is currently leading a clinical trial for a monoclonal antibody to prevent RSV in

“SCIENCE IS A TEAM SPORT IN THE MOST PROFOUND WAY THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE.”

young children. “RSV is the most common cause

of

pneumonia

and

bronchial

a

faculty

member

at

Rutgers University Medical School, knew she could not “lose her stethoscope” when she transitioned to Merck. She continues to see patients on a pro-bono basis every Thursday afternoon and evening. Many of her patients are now in their middle and elderly years; something not lost on her. “Once a death sentence, HIV is now a livable chronic disease.” Of

course,

biomedical

research

often

infections in babies, especially babies born prematurely or

requires patience and is far from immediate, but the field’s

with other health conditions,” she explains. “The story of the

advances are an endless source of motivation. “It amazes me

20th century and the early 21 century is not often told, but it’s

that we have cured hepatitis C in the last ten years.”

st

one of success in combating communicable diseases through vaccines, safe water, and other public hygiene methods. Our generation doesn’t need to think about all of the causes of childhood deaths that our great-grandparents did, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been communicable diseases that continue to erode our health. RSV is one of them.” Despite the heavy subject matter, Dr. Sinha takes great joy in her work. “Like most scientists, I consider it a privilege. My work is just a joy.”

24

while

Being in the lab is where she feels most at home. Even while a student at The Hun School, Dr. Sinha wanted to be a lab investigator. “I planned to major in chemistry and biology and become a bench researcher.” Oddly enough, it is not her science classes that she credits for her success. “The key about Hun was that it provided a solid grounding in liberal arts and it wasn’t about being a specialist in your thinking. You took a deep dive into English literature, history, physics, even four years of intensive language (French,

Viruses have never intimidated Dr. Sinha who was drawn to

for me). I can’t thank Hun enough for the education it gave

biomedicine while attending Harvard Medical School. “In the

me — it set me up for life.”

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