About the Leadership

Project RISHI is a 501-3 (c) not-for-profit organization organized into three levels of leadership.

The Advisory Board consists of individuals widely acknowledged as leaders within their respective fields. It comprises a group of Trustees and Medical Trustees that advise both Dr. Srivatsan as well as the Board of Directors. The Advisory Board provides insightful advice to the Board of Directors on how to conduct future phase projects and what changes must be made.

The Board of Directors leads the organization and is comprised of the Founders of Project RISHI. The Board of Directors directly oversees the Undergraduate Officers, and is responsible for the executive decisions. The Board is advised by Dr. Eri S. Srivatsan, Chairman of the Advisory Board.

The Undergraduate Division is made up of an energetic group of individuals that have shown a passion for international outreach and for the advancement of healthcare in rural villages in India. Together with the Board of Directors, they are responsible for raising money and support for Phase II and Phase III of Project RISHI. Led by Amit Jain, the President, the Undergraduate Officers look to coordinate events with the Indians at the local and national levels. Amit reports to the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Advisory Board for guidance as to future events.

Eri S. Srivatsan, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board
Advisor to Executive Board
Dr. Eri Srivatsan had his early education in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India. He received his Master's degree from the University of Madras, India and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the premier Institute in India, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. After post doctoral years at University Of California, Irvine, he joined USC School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. Presently, he is a Professor of Surgery at UCLA. His laboratory works on two different research projects, one on the identification genetic markers for the early detection of cervical cancer development and the other on gene therapy in head and neck cancer. He is a member of a number scientific organizations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Cancer Research. He is also an active member of a number of Indian organizations, Hindu temple society of Southern California, South Indian Music Academy and Chinmaya Mission of Southern California. He has devoted time and money to complete the first phase of project Rishi and hopes to successfully complete phase two of the project in the coming year

Marilene B. Wang, M.D.

Medical Trustee

Dr. Marilene B. Wang is an Associate Professor in the UCLA Division of Head and Neck Surgery. Following her graduation from Loma Linda University School of Medicine at the top of her class, she went on to complete her residency training in head and neck surgery at UCLA. She was recruited to the faculty at UCLA in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery upon completion of her residency. She maintains a busy private practice at the UCLA Medical Plaza, with an emphasis on nasal and sinus disease. She also conducts head and neck surgery specialty clinics at the UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health Center. Dr. Wang is Chief of the Head and Neck Surgery Section for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. At the VA Medical Center she is responsible for supervising head and neck surgery residents, ranging from their first through sixth years of training. The Head and Neck Surgery Section runs a busy service at the VA, with over 5,000 outpatient visits annually and nearly 4000 operations a year.

James P. Watson, M.D.

Medical Trustee

James Paul Watson, M.D. joined the UCLA Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 1995 as Assistant Professor and Resident Education Coordinator, after completing his microsurgery fellowship at UCLA. His role in our program is to work with Dr. Shaw to coordinate the residents' education conferences, workshops, and anatomy dissections. Dr. Watson is Associate Director of the Plastic Surgery Service at the West Los Angeles (Wadsworth) VA Medical Center and assists Dr. Miller in overseeing the residents' activities there. Dr. Watson's educational duties include directing the Endoscopic Training Laboratory and the Microsurgical Training Laboratory. His clinical responsibilities include directing the Lymphedema Clinic and teaching residents in microsurgery and lasers. Since February 1, 2000, Dr. Watson was appointed as the Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Rajalakshmi Srinivasan, M.S.N.

Trustee

Raji Srinivasan MSN RN, Clinical Director manages the 38 bed Medical Surgical unit at Verdugo Hills hospital. As a clinical Director, she is responsible for daily operations, budgeting and supervising nursing staff to provide quality care in the medical surgical unit. Raji graduated with Masters Degree in physics from University of Madras, India. She was teaching Physics to senior students in India and changed her profession to be a Nurse Leader in the United States. She continues her passion towards teaching by giving lectures to nursing staff at the Verdugo Hills Hospital. She travelled recently to India and spoke about "Differences in Nursing in the United States and in India" to nurses at Baby Memorial hospital, Kerala, India. Her vision is to start Nursing school in India and provide a curriculum which will look at delivering patient care in holistic way.

Anthony Aldave, M.D.

Trustee

Dr. Anthony Aldave is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI), David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. He joined the JSEI faculty in July 2002 as a full-time member of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Services. In addition to his busy clinical and surgical practices, Dr. Aldave directs the Cornea Genetics Laboratory and the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Fellowship Program. Dr. Aldave earned his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and completed his residency training at Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Aldave also completed a two-year fellowship in Cornea, Refractive Surgery and Uveitis at the University of California, San Francisco/Francis I. Proctor Foundation. Dr. Aldave's laboratory research focuses on the molecular genetics of the corneal dystrophies, a group of inherited disorders that affect corneal clarity and constitute one of the primary indications for corneal transplantation.

Suraj P. Bhat, Ph.D.

Trustee

Dr. Suraj P. Bhat is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Brain Research Institute (BRI), UCLA.

Ravi Menghani, M.D. M.B.A.
Executive Director
Ravi Menghani is a graduate of UCLA's 5-year joint MD/MBA program at the David Geffen School of Medicine and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. He is the co-founder of two non-profit organizations, the Alumni Mentorship Program, and the UCLA College Bowl Club. He serves or has served as a leader in all of these organizations. Ravi has published research in the laboratory of Dr. Goldberg at the Jules Stein Eye Institute on Graves' ophthalmopathy. Ravi performed his undergraduate studies at UCLA and was a recipient of the Regents', Alumni, National Merit, and Distinguished Bruin Scholarships. Ravi graduated from UCLA with College Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, and was a recipient of the Chancellors' Service Award, Charles E. Young Humanitarian Awards, the Golden Key International Outstanding Alumni Award, and has been featured on CBS News. Ravi is pursuing career in ophthalmology and healthcare administration. In his spare time, Ravi enjoys spending time with his friends, family, volunteering at the Alumni Association, and doing medical work overseas. Currently, Ravi is an intern in internal medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Long Beach, and has a residency appointment in ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine.

Grant Lee, M.D.

Executive Director

Grant Lee graduated from Stanford University in 2002 with a degree in Biology, and is one of the co-founders of Project RISHI. After graduating, he spent a year off in Korea on a Teaching Fulbright, and is a graduate of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Grant has served abroad in a number of different capacities, ranging from serving as an ESL teacher in Nicaragua, studying abroad at Oxford for a year, and working in medical clinics in Venezuela. Apart from school, Grant enjoys playing tennis and basketball, and going to church. Currently, he is an ophthalmology resident at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California.

Daniel Choi

Executive Director

Daniel Choi is a third year medical student at UCLA. He graduated from the University of California Los Angeles, Magna Cum Laude in 2006 and is one of the co-founders of Project RISHI. In college he majored in human physiology and conducted research on the Nipah virus's envelope proteins in the department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. Daniel is also actively involved in various other non profit organizations and currently conducts research at UCLA in Cancer biology. During his free time Daniel enjoys spending time with his friends and family.

Aswin Sekar

President Emeritus

Aswin Sekar graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a degree in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. Along with the other members of the Board, Aswin was responsible for putting together the team of undergraduate students, and he has led the group as President for two and a half years since its inception. In February 2007, he was recognized in USA Today as an Honorable Mention in the All-USA College Academic Team for his work with Project RISHI. He is now working to create chapters of Project RISHI at other universities. Aswin is a Research Associate in the Neurogenomics Division of the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where he is studying autism and bipolar disorder. He is a huge fan of the NBA and is a South Indian classical musician.

Rachna Mamidi
Co-President

Amit Jain
Co-President

Michael Marcus
Vice President - Finance
President Emeritus
Michael Marcus is currently a fifth year undergraduate at UCLA, studying neuroscience. He researches schizophrenia at the Veterans Administration Hospital and degenerative disc disease at the St. John�s Hospital. Since becoming a founding member in 2005, Michael has served as finance director and internal vice president. Currently, Michael serves as co-President and continues to work towards providing basic healthcare to rural villages in India. Michael greatly enjoys making music and sports.

	Ben Ferguson Sr. Vice President - Clinical Affairs Ben Ferguson is currently a 3rd year Molecular Biology student at UCLA. While working with the Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco during his teen years, he gained a detailed understanding of the conditions in developing nations around the world and became interested in improving the quality of life for people in those countries. Ben hopes to attend medical school after his undergraduate studies and then plans to devote his life to improving access to quality healthcare worldwide. He enjoys reading, writing, the San Francisco Giants, and occasionally moonlights as an underwater photographer.
	Devika Roy Director of Sanitation Programs and Clinical Education Devika Roy is currently a 3rd year Physiological Science major at UCLA. She was born and raised in Southern California. As Officer of Public Relations of Project RISHI, she hopes to encourage others to see the importance of helping those in need of better healthcare. After graduation, she hopes to study medicine and eventually travel to improve international health. She loves sports, exotic foods, and hanging out with friends.
	Pia Roy Vice President - Marketing and Strategy Director of Water Purification Pia Roy graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science. While at UCLA, she was involved with the Model United Nations group and pursued developmental economics in her classes, both of which spurred her interest in international development. Currently, she works as a financial analyst in the healthcare industry.

	Sandhya Ravikumar Director of Sanitation Programs and Clinical Education Sandhya Ravikumar graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Psychobiology. She plans on pursuing medicine after graduating, and is especially interested in studying mind-body interactions and psychiatric disorders. For over two years, Sandhya has been researching depression and the placebo effect in the Laboratory of Brain, Behavior, and Pharmacology. She also learns the sitar, an Indian classical instrument, from Ustad Shujaat Khan. Sandhya was given the opportunity to travel with Project RISHI to Manappakkam this past summer and observe first-hand the pressing need for healthcare and infrastructure in the village. In addition to gaining invaluable clinical experience from running the mobile clinic, Sandhya was also glad to brush up on her native language, Tamil, through interacting with the locals.
	Rashmi Tunuguntla Director of Finance
	Komal Wadhwani Director of Fundraising Director of Marketing and Strategy
	Andrew Chen Director of Corporate Relations
	Tanuj Thapliyal Director of Engineering and Logistics
	Aarthi E Director of Marketing and Strategy
	Anna Rhambatla Campus Liason
	Shalini Krishnasamy Social Chair
	Janaki Palini Social Chair
	Anita Viswanath Director of Clinical Programs
	Anna A Director of Clinical Programs
	Margaret Wang Secretary and Historian