By Sandhya Chandrasekaran (entering class of 2013)
Nina Bhardwaj is a Professor in Medicine, Hematology/Oncology and is part of the IMM MTA.
Dr. Nina Bhardwaj arrived at Mount Sinai just last year as Director of Immunotherapy at the Tisch Cancer Institute. As an MD/PhD graduate from NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Bhardwaj was able to discover a platform to mesh her long-standing passion for immunology research with the allure of clinical practice. Dr. Bhardwaj completed her fellowship in Rheumatology at Will Cornell Medical College, and decided to pursue research as her primary career focus, going on to become a post-doctoral associate at Rockefeller University, after which she was appointed as a faculty member at NYU Langone Medical Center.
In her past year at Sinai, Dr. Bhardwaj has been setting the stage for a vaccine production facility in-house, while continuing to develop novel vaccine approaches to treat cancers. She has grown close to her colleagues within the department and appreciates the collaborative nature of research at Sinai. Dr. Bhardwaj is excited about how far immunology has boomed over the years, and the multitude of directions and interdisciplinary applications the field possesses.
As for advice that Dr. Bhardwaj has for current MD PhD students, she stresses the unique niche we fill as physician scientists, and how useful it will be for us to really meld together our two training areas. Although Dr. Bhardwaj made the deliberate decision of committing to research full-time, she recognizes that the benefits and perspectives her medical training provided her during and after her training.
We are looking forward to watching Dr. Bhardwaj continue to spearhead these innovative research efforts in the months and years to come!