The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell announced that MD/PhD student Akash Mishra was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F30 Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.
Mishra is the first Zucker School of Medicine student ever to receive the honor. The six-year fellowship is given to pre-doctoral students and provides up to $190,000 to support their research and training.
The award recognizes Mishra’s research conducted at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. This accolade affirms Mishra’s potential as a physician-scientist and highlights the Zucker School of Medicine’s exceptional research opportunities and initiatives.
“We are incredibly proud of Akash Mishra’s remarkable achievement in receiving the NRSA Research Award from the National Institutes of Health,” said David Battinelli, MD, Deborah and Lawrence Smith Dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and executive vice president and physician-in-chief of Northwell Health.
“This recognition not only honors his outstanding potential as a future leader in medical science but also underscores our institution’s commitment to fostering innovative research that advances healthcare on a global scale,” they said in a press release.
Mishra graduated from Hofstra University in 2019 with a BS in neuroscience. He was part of the 4 + 4 BA-BS/MD Program, which offers students direct admission to the Zucker School of Medicine upon completion of their undergraduate studies.
With the NRSA Fellowship, Mishra plans to accelerate his research, focusing on bioelectronic therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders, specifically exploring how direct electrical stimulation can enhance memory functions, according to the school of medicine. He plans to graduate with an MD/PhD in 2028.
“This award is a testament to our institution’s tremendous growth, the cutting-edge research being conducted here, and an incredible culture of mentorship,” Mishra said in a release.
“It reflects not only my work but also the support and excellence provided by the Zucker School of Medicine.”
Mishra’s research is conducted at the Human Brain Mapping Laboratory within the Feinstein Institute’s Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine.
Mishra hopes his research on how the brain can perform the complex task of storing, organizing and retrieving memories will eventually help develop personalized bioelectronic therapies that will reduce the symptoms of memory impairment, the school said.
The laboratory was founded in 2009 by Ashesh Mehta, MD, PhD, who serves as the lab’s co-director and is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwell Health.
“Akash displays many characteristics that will enable him to succeed as a neurosurgeon-scientist,” said Dr. Mehta in a press release. “He is always looking to learn something new and then improving that process to make it more efficient or effective.”
“This is key as we move into an age where multidisciplinary research will likely make the biggest impact on public health,” Dr. Mehta said.
Stephan Bickel, MD, PhD, HBML co-director and a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwell Health, works closely with Mishra.
“Akash has a deep fascination with understanding how the human brain generates complex behaviors and how knowledge of these mechanisms can be harnessed to treat a wide range of neurologic and neuropsychiatric conditions.” Dr. Bickel said in a release.
“The HBML has been successful in the past in securing NIH funding, which is reserved for research that has significant potential to improve health, but this is the first time that a student in the HBML has successfully competed for an NIH award. We hope this will pave the way for future students to do so as well,” he said.
The school said Mishra’s research has been published and he has presented his findings at major conferences, like The Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
The NRSA F30 grant will support him through the remainder of his PhD and MD programs, the school said.
After graduating, the school said Mishra hopes to begin a neurosurgery residency and ultimately plans on using his skills and knowledge to lead an academic research lab as a functional neurosurgeon.
He describes the fellowship as an “invaluable launchpad” to his career goals, according to the school.
For more information, visit www.medicine.hofstra.edu.
Information provided by the Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
