The five-year initiative, established in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, will support research, medical training, faculty exchanges and patient care at BJ Government Medical College.Indian American physician and philanthropist Dr. Navin C. Shah has committed $525,000 to establish an infectious disease program at his alma mater, BJ Government Medical College in Pune, Maharashtra, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.The five-year initiative, named the Navin C. Shah Infectious Disease Program, will support research, medical education, faculty and student exchanges, and patient care, particularly benefiting underserved communities in Pune.The agreement was signed at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, with Shah and Dr. Amita Gupta, the Florence Sabin Professor of Infectious Diseases and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, participating in the ceremony.Gupta, who is also the founder and faculty co-chair of the Johns Hopkins India Institute, has been involved in infectious disease research and medical collaborations in India for more than two decades.The initiative represents a significant philanthropic investment in a longstanding academic partnership between Johns Hopkins and BJ Government Medical College, one of Pune’s major public medical institutions.“The purpose is to help my medical school in training, education, research and patient care as far as ID (infectious diseases) is concerned,” Shah, a resident of Potomac, MD, told The American Bazaar after the signing ceremony.For Shah, who grew up in Pune and graduated from BJ Government Medical College, the initiative is both a professional commitment and a personal effort to give back to the institution that shaped his medical career.“I grew up in Pune, so it is a win-win situation for me because not only my medical college will be benefited in the training, education, research and patient care, but other people, other hospitals which are treating poor patients in Pune will be benefited,” he said.Expanding research and patient careThe new program will focus on infectious diseases that continue to pose major public health challenges in India, including tuberculosis, HIV and infections resistant to commonly used antibiotics.In an interview with The American Bazaar, Gupta said Johns Hopkins researchers have been working with BJ Government Medical College since 2003 on a broad range of infectious disease projects.“The work that we do includes right from research to new treatments for TB, for HIV, for highly drug-resistant infections in adults and in children and pregnant women,” she said.The collaboration also encompasses medical education, training for doctors and nurses, and exchanges involving students and faculty from Johns Hopkins and institutions in Pune.Gupta emphasized the importance of BJ Government Medical College’s role in serving economically disadvantaged patients.“BJ Medical College is well known for really being the public hospital taking care of the poorest of the poor in Pune,” she said.The new funding will help expand activities that may not be adequately covered by conventional research grants.A patient care fund will also be established to support treatment and related needs.Gupta said the gift would support research, education and patient care over the five-year period, allowing the institutions to pursue additional opportunities beyond their existing projects.The program is also expected to strengthen the exchange of medical expertise between India and the United States.According to Shah, the arrangement will include visits by four Johns Hopkins faculty members to India and two BJ Government Medical College faculty members to the United States, along with exchanges involving students and medical residents.The initiative will also support an annual seminar bringing together medical experts from Pune and elsewhere in India.Shah said a seminar is scheduled to begin December 4, providing an early opportunity for specialists to share knowledge and discuss advances in infectious disease treatment.The Maryland urologist noted that the college’s affiliated hospital has approximately 1,800 beds and serves large numbers of patients from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.Decades-long partnershipThe new initiative builds on a relationship between Johns Hopkins researchers and Pune-based medical institutions that began with research into preventing HIV transmission from mothers to their children.During the signing ceremony, Gupta recalled arriving at Johns Hopkins in 2003, attracted in part by the opportunity to work in India.She credited Dr. Robert Bollinger, a Johns Hopkins physician and researcher, with helping establish early collaborations involving BJ Medical College and India’s National AIDS Research Institute.One of the initial projects examined the use of nevirapine to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission.Over the years, the research partnership expanded considerably.“We’re looking at new TB drugs, TB vaccine, diagnostics, taking care of HIV, looking at drug resistant infections,” Gupta said during the ceremony.She noted that researchers had also studied dengue and health conditions such as diabetes and alcohol misuse that can complicate the treatment of patients with infectious diseases.Beyond research, Gupta described the partnership as a two-way learning experience for physicians, scientists and students.She said her work in Pune had allowed Johns Hopkins faculty to learn from Indian colleagues and patients while giving American medical professionals opportunities to participate in collaborative research.Philanthropic contributions, she explained, provide flexibility that conventional grant funding often lacks.Such support allows researchers to pursue innovative ideas, expand educational opportunities and strengthen patient services.“Without the sort of gratitude and the support of philanthropists such as yourself and your family, you know, much of what we do, we go hand to mouth with our grants,” she told Shah.The gift, she added, would enable the collaborators to be more creative and innovative in their work.Gupta also said she planned to travel to Pune for a December 3 inauguration associated with Shah’s contribution.Johns Hopkins-India connectionThe initiative comes as Johns Hopkins continues expanding its academic and research engagement with India through the Johns Hopkins India Institute.Gupta said the institute was created to bring together researchers and academic programs that had previously operated largely independently across the university.Its goal is to strengthen collaboration across disciplines and connect Johns Hopkins faculty with Indian universities, hospitals, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.Among its initiatives are a TB-free schools program, a fellowship supporting young women scientists in India, and collaborative research grants covering areas such as artificial intelligence in healthcare, medical education and public health.Gupta said Johns Hopkins’ India-related research and collaborative activities have involved approximately $80 million over the past decade.The new Pune initiative will become part of this broader network while retaining a specific focus on infectious diseases, medical training and patient care.Gupta also expressed hope that Shah’s contribution would encourage other alumni of BJ Government Medical College and members of the Indian diaspora to support healthcare and education in India.“One of the goals of his gift is to really get other alumni from BJ Medical College or those who care about Pune and more and then throughout India to be able to be generous with their philanthropic giving,” she said.Giving back to his alma materShah, a founder of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), has long been associated with efforts to connect Indian American medical professionals with healthcare initiatives in India.His latest commitment reflects the continuing role of Indian American physicians in supporting medical education and healthcare institutions in their country of origin.For Shah, the decision to fund the infectious disease program was driven by his connection to Pune and his belief that international medical partnerships can improve healthcare delivery.He hopes the program will strengthen the ability of BJ Government Medical College and other Pune hospitals to diagnose, study and treat infectious diseases.Gupta sees the collaboration in similarly broad terms.“I always look at it as it’s a bilateral partnership. Truly we learn and we give,” she said.“The world is a much better and safer place and a more productive and innovative place if we are working together across our geographies and our disciplines.”For BJ Government Medical College, the initiative promises additional resources, international expertise and opportunities for medical professionals to participate in research and training.For Shah, it marks a return to his roots through an investment in the institution where his medical journey began.“So education, training, research and patient care,” he said, summarizing his expectations for the program. “Hopefully my college, with the help of Hopkins, will improve in ID treatment, infectious disease treatment.”
The urologist said the current funding would be distributed over five years, with an annual contribution of $105,000.Shah also indicated that his family might consider extending its support beyond the initial five-year commitment, potentially expanding the initiative to include kidney and lung diseases.At the signing ceremony, Shah was accompanied by his daughter, Shefali Shah, and his son, Dr. Amit Shah, who is also a physician.(By arrangement with The American Bazaar)