CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Diya TV) — Schmidt Science Fellows has selected two Indian-origin scientists, Anusree Natraj and Sonali Mali, to be part of its 2025 class, for their outstanding achievements and promise of interdisciplinary work.
Founded in 2017 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt in collaboration with the Rhodes Trust, the fellowship offers postdoctoral scholars a $110,000 yearly stipend, mentorship, and opportunities to transition into new scientific fields at top research institutions.
Natraj, a native of Mumbai, India, was known for her work in organic and materials chemistry, specifically in synthesizing two-dimensional polymers in their defect-free crystal structure. Natraj will redirect her attention to biology as a Schmidt Science Fellow, working to create bioactive coatings for medical implants that would enhance their integration into the body. She is a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University.
Mali is known for her neuroscience research, specifically on how helpful microbes affect the vaginal immune system. Through the fellowship, she intends to switch to immunology to study microbial control of reproductive and maternal health. She is currently a graduate student in the neuroscience department at the University of California, Berkeley, and works in Diana Bautista’s lab.
In its eighth year, the Schmidt Science Fellows program has so far hosted more than 200 researchers representing close to 40 countries and advancing interdisciplinary milestones in quantum technologies, sustainable materials, and oncology treatments.
