Dr. Amita Gupta on Science Diplomacy, Setbacks, and the Long Haul

Forty-three percent. That's how much research funding Johns Hopkins has lost in the past year, and Dr. Amita Gupta can tell you exactly what disappears with it: HIV treatment programs, clinical trials mid-stream, 600 jobs, and decades of trust built between nations.

Gupta is the Florence Sabin Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and founder of the Gupta Klinski India Institute. She joins Sweta and Monica to explain why infectious diseases know no borders, why walking away from global health puts Americans at risk, and what it actually takes to rebuild after funding vanishes overnight.

But this is also a conversation about what comes next. Gupta shares how she's training the next generation through the Women's RISE fellowship, which supports 41 young Indian women scientists across STEM fields, and why she believes the diaspora holds untapped power to fill the gaps. Her advice for young scientists is simple: find your champions, ask boldly, and don't be shy.

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