FALL 2015
Can you tell me a little more about
your upbringing? Did you come from
academics?
I grew up in California. My parents are
chemists; my mom ended up going into
medicine, but my dad was in the “biotech
revolution.” It is funny to me that I
ended up working with a bunch of social
scientists. CEGA is interdisciplinary, but
40 percent of our affiliates are economists
and social scientists. We say we are trying
to be a Bell Labs for development. I find
it strange that I have migrated toward
social sciences, because my family is
biased towards science and engineering.
My grandfather was an electronics
engineer. He is Indian, and worked
after Independence on building India’s
engineering capacity, bringing radar into
the country. He initially started in the
military, and then went into the energy
sector, but he was constantly pushing
tech transfer, seeing the transformation
of the country through its adoption of
technology and infrastructure. He brought
a real focus on technology as a driver of
development into our family’s values.
Neuroscience and mental health are
among your areas of expertise. Would
you talk about your interest in those
disciplines?
My background was in neuroscience and
that was an intellectual interest. When
I was a grad student, my partner died
from suicide—and that, in large ways,
pivoted me toward mental health policy.
I used my background in neuroscience
to understand and explore the bi