Assistant Professor of Engineering Anita Shukla has been awarded a Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship for 2018-2019. Shukla is one of five recipients of the fellowship which is awarded each year to regular untenured members of the Brown faculty (assistant professors and lecturers) who have achieved a record of excellence in teaching and scholarship during their first years at the University.
The winners, chosen by a faculty committee, are granted one semester's leave on special assignment at full compensation, including benefits, during the next academic year. Other winners in 2018 include: Eric Nathan, assistant professor of music, Felipe Martinez-Pinzon, assistant professor of Hispanic studies, Laura Lopez-Sanders, assistant professor of sociology, and Robert A. Blair, assistant professor of political science and international and public affairs.
The annual Wriston competition is one way the University recognizes young faculty who are fulfilling Brown's dual mission of excellence in both teaching and research. Last year, Shukla was recognized with a Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Shukla, who also has a courtesy appointment as Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology in the Division of Biology and Medicine, teaches Transport and Biotransport Processes (ENGN 1110), as well as Nanoengineering and Nanomedicine (ENGN 1510). Shukla also serves as faculty advisor for both the Society of Women Engineers and the graduate chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
She was recently awarded an Office of Naval Research (ONR) Director of Research Early Career Grant. Through this award, she continues to develop biomaterials that act as sensitive indicators of potential infection, while incorporating therapeutics ranging from small molecules to cells aimed at optimizing wound healing for injured personnel in future military applications. She also serves as principal investigator for another grant from ONR aimed at developing responsive antifungal biomaterials. She has previously been principal investigator for an ONR grant developing advanced antimicrobial field dressings.
Shukla's research focuses on designing targeted and triggered biomaterials for applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. Prior to arriving at Brown as an assistant professor, she was an NIH Ruth Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University. She received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011 as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Shukla also received an M.S. in chemical engineering practice from MIT. She received her B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 with majors in chemical engineering and biomedical engineering.
Past engineering recipients of the Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship include Domenico Pacifici (2013) and Rashid Zia (2012).
The formal presentation of the 2018-19 Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship took place on Monday, April 30, at the University Awards Ceremony organized by the Harriet W. Sheridan Center.