UW-Madison’s Khorana Program:
Building Scientific Bridges
Building Scientific Bridges
Three of the Khorana program scholars (from
front to back): Nuzhat Ahsan, Sumita Kapoor,
and Neeraj Gupta.
front to back): Nuzhat Ahsan, Sumita Kapoor,
and Neeraj Gupta.
by Laura Salinger
Nuzhat Ahsan is a student at the Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. She was
recently afforded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in one of the United States’ top biochemistry
schools: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For over eight weeks, Ahsan worked with UW-Madison faculty and students in the biochemistry department.
For Ahsan, the experience was transformative on both professional and personal levels.
“Here, in two months, I have learned much more than I would have in India,” Ahsan said. “Getting into the top
labs in India is very difficult.”
Ahsan explained that resources in India are very limited and getting into the more advanced labs is highly
competitive, even for accomplished and promising students.
Ahsan may have never gotten the chance to study in such an advanced setting had it not been for the
new Khorana Program for Scientific Exchange at UW-Madison. Ahsan, along with 13 other Indian natives
studying in various scientific fields, spent over two months on campus where they worked on different, high-
level projects in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering, Food Science, and other science-related fields.
The Khorana program came to fruition this summer — after tireless planning, whirlwind trips to India, and a
2007 pilot program — thanks to the perseverance of UW-Madison professor and founding director Aseem
Ansari, the action-driven work of CALS (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) associate dean and
founding director Ken Shapiro, and the support of Asia outreach coordinator Kim Santiago.
It all started with the vision of Ansari.
“I realized that there was pressing need for a high quality, “match making” program that identified
qualified students and placed them in labs where they would be nurtured and given the opportunity to engage
in solving exciting problems at the frontier of science, medicine and technology,” Ansari said.
The Khorana Program for Scientific Exchange is fittingly named after Har Gobind Khorana, the first Indian to
receive a Nobel Prize. Inspiration for the name came after Ansari stumbled across a plaque in front of Madison’
s old biochemistry building where he discovered that Khorana was a UW-Madison faculty member when he
changed the course of scientific study after deciphering the genetic code in 1968.
“The field of biotechnology would not have happened without Khorana,” Ansari said.
With an apt name, the Khorana program began to take shape and three major objectives were identified: to
provide Indian and American students with a transformative experience, to engage in Indian rural
development, and to increase interaction between academia and the private sector between the two nations.
When discussing the program’s objectives with Ansari, Shapiro and Santiago, it becomes evident that the
program is multifaceted and meant to accomplish a wide variety of goals.
“The idea is to build stronger and closer ties,” Ansari explained. “There is a lot of expertise there, and if
you connect the two [India and the U.S.], there are many possibilities.”
Shapiro, who is helping to create research opportunities in India for UW-Madison students, says another goal is
to create a more global UW-Madison student body.
“One of the major objectives is to internationalize our students,” Shapiro said.
Santiago also points out that it is a way to familiarize Indian students with UW-Madison and its renowned
reputation in the science fields. Consistently earning top rankings in a number of scientific fields, the three
were surprised to find out, while visiting India, that UW-Madison is not on the “radar” of Indian students. One of
the program’s goals is to change that.
“The program is a way to bring more visibility to UW-Madison on an international level,” Santiago said.
While the Khorana program is well underway after this summer’s sessions, organizers explain that, in a way, it is
still in its infancy. They have lofty goals for the future.
“The Khorana program, we anticipate, will provide a life-enriching experience for students from both
nations, build bridges between scientists/institutions and lead to virtual and seamless scientific communities
across the world,” Ansari said. “If it continues along its current trajectory, and if it garners further support from
friends and alumni, the program will grow beyond undergraduates, beyond summer exchanges … beyond the
current boundaries and would make UW the focus of a much broader program between the U.S. and India.”
If student testimonial is any indication of the program’s success thus far, then the Khorana program is working.
“The lab experience was very good,” said Neeraj Gupta, a student from the Indian Institute of Technology-
Roorkee. “I got to work with people of different cultures.
“Everybody should have an experience like this in their life,” he said.
To learn more about the Khorana Program at UW-Madison visit www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/ansari/program/.
Nuzhat Ahsan is a student at the Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. She was
recently afforded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in one of the United States’ top biochemistry
schools: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For over eight weeks, Ahsan worked with UW-Madison faculty and students in the biochemistry department.
For Ahsan, the experience was transformative on both professional and personal levels.
“Here, in two months, I have learned much more than I would have in India,” Ahsan said. “Getting into the top
labs in India is very difficult.”
Ahsan explained that resources in India are very limited and getting into the more advanced labs is highly
competitive, even for accomplished and promising students.
Ahsan may have never gotten the chance to study in such an advanced setting had it not been for the
new Khorana Program for Scientific Exchange at UW-Madison. Ahsan, along with 13 other Indian natives
studying in various scientific fields, spent over two months on campus where they worked on different, high-
level projects in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering, Food Science, and other science-related fields.
The Khorana program came to fruition this summer — after tireless planning, whirlwind trips to India, and a
2007 pilot program — thanks to the perseverance of UW-Madison professor and founding director Aseem
Ansari, the action-driven work of CALS (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) associate dean and
founding director Ken Shapiro, and the support of Asia outreach coordinator Kim Santiago.
It all started with the vision of Ansari.
“I realized that there was pressing need for a high quality, “match making” program that identified
qualified students and placed them in labs where they would be nurtured and given the opportunity to engage
in solving exciting problems at the frontier of science, medicine and technology,” Ansari said.
The Khorana Program for Scientific Exchange is fittingly named after Har Gobind Khorana, the first Indian to
receive a Nobel Prize. Inspiration for the name came after Ansari stumbled across a plaque in front of Madison’
s old biochemistry building where he discovered that Khorana was a UW-Madison faculty member when he
changed the course of scientific study after deciphering the genetic code in 1968.
“The field of biotechnology would not have happened without Khorana,” Ansari said.
With an apt name, the Khorana program began to take shape and three major objectives were identified: to
provide Indian and American students with a transformative experience, to engage in Indian rural
development, and to increase interaction between academia and the private sector between the two nations.
When discussing the program’s objectives with Ansari, Shapiro and Santiago, it becomes evident that the
program is multifaceted and meant to accomplish a wide variety of goals.
“The idea is to build stronger and closer ties,” Ansari explained. “There is a lot of expertise there, and if
you connect the two [India and the U.S.], there are many possibilities.”
Shapiro, who is helping to create research opportunities in India for UW-Madison students, says another goal is
to create a more global UW-Madison student body.
“One of the major objectives is to internationalize our students,” Shapiro said.
Santiago also points out that it is a way to familiarize Indian students with UW-Madison and its renowned
reputation in the science fields. Consistently earning top rankings in a number of scientific fields, the three
were surprised to find out, while visiting India, that UW-Madison is not on the “radar” of Indian students. One of
the program’s goals is to change that.
“The program is a way to bring more visibility to UW-Madison on an international level,” Santiago said.
While the Khorana program is well underway after this summer’s sessions, organizers explain that, in a way, it is
still in its infancy. They have lofty goals for the future.
“The Khorana program, we anticipate, will provide a life-enriching experience for students from both
nations, build bridges between scientists/institutions and lead to virtual and seamless scientific communities
across the world,” Ansari said. “If it continues along its current trajectory, and if it garners further support from
friends and alumni, the program will grow beyond undergraduates, beyond summer exchanges … beyond the
current boundaries and would make UW the focus of a much broader program between the U.S. and India.”
If student testimonial is any indication of the program’s success thus far, then the Khorana program is working.
“The lab experience was very good,” said Neeraj Gupta, a student from the Indian Institute of Technology-
Roorkee. “I got to work with people of different cultures.
“Everybody should have an experience like this in their life,” he said.
To learn more about the Khorana Program at UW-Madison visit www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/ansari/program/.
Laura Salinger is a
freelance writer
based in Madison,
Wis.
freelance writer
based in Madison,
Wis.