Alumni in the Sciences

ALUMNI IN STEM

DR. ANUSHUA SINHA ’83 GIVES IT HER BEST SHOT

Merriam-Webster chose pandemic as the word of 2020, but it could have just as easily been virus. The word took on a whole new meaning this past year, but for many, including Dr. Anushua Sinha ’83, viruses have been top of mind for years. For this medical doctor, former professor of infectious disease at Rutgers, and now clinical director of vaccines at Merck, combating communicable disease is all in a day’s work.

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 young children. “RSV is the most common cause of pneumonia and bronchial infections in babies, especially babies born prematurely or with other health conditions,” she explains. “The story of the 20th century and the early 21st century is not often told, but it’s 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.”

Viruses have never intimidated Dr. Sinha who was drawn to biomedicine while attending Harvard Medical School. “In the late 80s and early 90s there were a lot of exciting advances for HIV on the horizon. I was in my residency when the first generation of contemporary HIV therapies were coming into clinic. You could see people rising like Lazarus from their sick beds… people who were wasted away, down to one-hundred pounds in their 30s. Who wouldn’t be excited by that?”

Dr. Sinha, who operated a clinic for HIV patients while a faculty member at Rutgers University Medical School, knew

“SCIENCE IS she could not “lose her stethoscope” when A TEAM SPORT she transitioned to Merck. She continues

IN THE MOST to see patients on a pro-bono basis every PROFOUND WAY Thursday afternoon and evening. Many of her patients are now in their middle and

THAT YOU elderly years; something not lost on her. CAN IMAGINE.” “Once a death sentence, HIV is now a livable chronic disease.” Of course, biomedical research often requires patience and is far from immediate, but the field’s advances are an endless source of motivation. “It amazes me that we have cured hepatitis C in the last ten years.” 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, for me). I can’t thank Hun enough for the education it gave me — it set me up for life.”

BRETT BENOWITZ ’05 IS A MOVER AND A SHAKER AT GOOGLE

Brett Benowitz ’05 was always fascinated by math and science. “It started with my time at Hun,” says Mr. Benowitz, now a software engineer at Google. “My favorite classes were AP Physics and AP Calculus.” sense, but I knew how to write code.” He secured a position at Google “even though it had nothing to do with what I studied in school,” he laughs.

His penchant for these subjects informed his post-Hun academic decisions. “I thought I wanted to be an architect designing buildings and bridges,” he explains before adding, “My background and affinity for math and science meant that I skewed more engineering than architecture.” Mr. Benowitz earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from Columbia University before pursuing a Ph.D. in stochastic computational mechanics. He has been with Google ever since, working on the Ad Manager team. Do you know those ads that pop up when you are reading your morning news? That’s likely the handiwork of Mr. Benowitz and his team. “I work on the ad formats,” he explains. “Publishers want to develop new formats and user experiences and we enable that… things like ‘play a game and watch this ad for 30 points.’”

It’s a stark departure from what he originally planned for his career. “I spent over a decade of my life in structural engineering and was nervous to leave it because that’s

If reading his resume results in bewilderment, fear not. Quite simply, stochastic computational mechanics uses computer algorithms to solve unexpected problems — for instance, an earthquake — in engineering. “YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO

WRITE CODE AND SOLVE

CANONICAL COMPUTER

SCIENCE PROGRAMS — THAT’S THE BAR — BUT BEYOND THAT IT’S MORE

what I thought I was building everything towards.” He learned a few things along the way — most importantly a better worklife balance. “I came to see that my quality At his core, Mr. Benowitz likes solving IMPORTANT TO BE CURIOUS of life was so much more important than problems. It’s what led him to apply his AND INTELLIGENT.” what I worked on specifically.” academic research to the real world, first working at a structural engineering It also comes back to what drew him to consulting firm where he developed new computer codes math and science in the first place. “It’s less about what the to predict how submarines respond to blasts underwater. problem is and more about solving it. That’s what gets you up “I worked on multiple research projects in the broad areas of in the morning.” computational solid mechanics, fracture mechanics, effects of Also getting him up in the morning these days? His two children, blast loads on infrastructure, and Naval ship shock response.” ages 3 and 1. “They keep you busy and give you perspective. Almost five years ago, Mr. Benowitz turned his attention to the They’re totally happy and all they want to do is be locked in their tech industry. “I wasn’t a computer scientist in the traditional playroom with mom and dad.”