Two Indian Americans, Padmini Pillai and Nalini Tata, have been appointed to the prestigious 2024-2025 White House Fellows program, making waves with their remarkable accomplishments in their respective professional fields. This year, a total of 15 outstanding individuals were selected from across the U.S. to work closely with senior White House staff and top officials, gaining firsthand experience in government leadership.
Two Indian-Americans appointed as White House fellows
Padmini Pillai, an immunoengineer from Boston, is based at the Social Security Administration, while New York’s Nalini Tata serves in the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs. The duo were appointed to the 2024-2025 class on Thursday. Fellows, typically spend a year or so under the guidance of senior White House members including cabinet secretaries and other top-ranking administration officials. Once they are equipped, they leave to be better leaders for their communities.
According to the White House, this year’s Fellows went through a super tough selection process, and they’re an incredibly talented, eager, and skilled bunch.
Who is Padmini Pillai?
The official White House website highlights Padmini Pillai as a highly-skilled immunoengineer who is driving innovation by connecting breakthroughs in immunology with advances in biomaterial design to combat human diseases. Hailing from Newton, Massachusetts, Pillai is currently placed at the Social Security Administration. She has previously led a team at MIT working on a tumor-selective nanotherapy aimed at treating difficult-to-cure cancers.
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In an interview with the United Porphyrias Association, Padmini revealed that her diagnosis in 2013 profoundly changed her perspective on life. She described the experience of nearly dying as a turning point that instilled a deep sense of gratitude for every day.
Padmini’s thoughts on vaccines, staying healthy, and how the pandemic has hit people who are already struggling have been covered by prominent media outlets like CNBC, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.
She completed her Ph.D. in immunobiology from Yale University and a B.A. in biochemistry from Regis College.
Who is Nalini Tata?
Nalini Tata, another Indian-American on the list of newly appointed White House Fellows for the 2024-2025 class, hails from New York City and is currently placed in the Office of Cabinet Affairs. She holds a BSc in Neurobiology from Brown University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an MD from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
Additionally, she earned an MPP in Democracy, Politics, and Institutions from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Tata co-authored a book on the ethics and philosophy of neurosurgical practice, focusing on challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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As a neurosurgery resident at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “she contributed to the treatment of a wide range of emergency and elective neurosurgical conditions in a level I trauma center and a renowned cancer institute,” according to the website.