New postdoctoral fellowship program to accelerate innovation in health care
Cambridge, MA – The MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS) has announced the launch of the Biswas Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, a groundbreaking initiative set to accelerate innovation in health care. This prestigious program, supported by a significant $12 million gift from the Biswas Family Foundation, is designed to empower exceptional early-career researchers dedicated to transforming human health through cutting-edge science and technology.
Beginning in early 2026, the program will award five four-year fellowships annually for the next four years. These fellowships aim to foster a new generation of leaders who will apply advanced research to improve health care for millions worldwide. The scope of research supported is broad and interdisciplinary, encompassing critical areas such as leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in health-related research, developing low-cost diagnostics, and fostering the convergence of life sciences with fields like economics, business, policy, and the humanities.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth emphasized the program’s alignment with MIT HEALS’ core mission. “An essential goal of MIT HEALS is to find new ways and opportunities to deliver health care solutions at scale, and the Biswas Family Foundation shares our commitment to scalable innovation and broad impact,” stated President Kornbluth. She added, “MIT is also in the talent business, and the foundation’s gift allows us to bring exceptional scholars to campus to explore some of the most pressing issues in human health and build meaningful connections across academia and industry. We look forward to welcoming the first cohort of Biswas Fellows to MIT.”
Anantha P. Chandrakasan, MIT’s chief innovation and strategy officer and head of MIT HEALS, expressed enthusiasm for the program’s potential. “We are deeply honored to launch this world-class postdoctoral fellows program,” Chandrakasan said. “We fully expect to attract top candidates from around the globe to lead innovative cross-cutting projects in AI and health, cancer therapies, diagnostics, and beyond. These fellows will be selected through a rigorous process overseen by a distinguished committee, and will have the opportunity to collaborate with our faculty on the most promising and impactful ideas.”
Angela Koehler, faculty lead of MIT HEALS, a professor in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, and associate director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, highlighted the shared vision between MIT HEALS and the Biswas Family Foundation. The foundation’s goal to leverage “scientific and technological advancements to revolutionize health care and make a lasting impact on global public health” perfectly mirrors MIT HEALS’ objectives. “Health care is a team sport,” Koehler noted, emphasizing that MIT HEALS fosters connections among investigators with diverse expertise to tackle the most transformative problems impacting human health.
A significant focus of the fellowship will be on the transformative power of AI and machine-learning systems. These technologies present unprecedented opportunities to investigate disease, biological mechanisms, therapeutics, and health care delivery through the analysis of vast datasets. Koehler articulated the profound impact of AI: “AI and computational systems biology can improve the accuracy of diagnostic approaches, enable the development of precision medicines, improve choices related to individualized treatment strategy, and improve operational efficiency within health care systems.”
Hope Biswas, who co-founded the Biswas Family Foundation with her husband, MIT alumnus Sanjit Biswas SM ’05, underscored the synergistic partnership. “The Biswas Family Foundation is proud to support the MIT HEALS initiative, which reimagines how scientific discovery can translate into real-world health impact. Its focus on promoting interdisciplinary collaboration to find new solutions to challenges in health care aligns closely with our mission to advance science and technology to improve health outcomes at scale,” she stated. The four-year funding term is particularly crucial, allowing fellows to “think big and take on projects at interfaces, emerging as bilingual researchers at the end of the program,” according to Koehler.
The Biswas Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is poised to become a pivotal force in driving forward health research, bringing together brilliant minds and cutting-edge resources to solve some of the world’s most complex health challenges. Chandrakasan extended his gratitude, saying, “I’m incredibly grateful to the Biswas Family Foundation for their generous support in enabling transformative research at MIT.”
