The US-Ireland Alliance recently announced the 12 members of the George J. Mitchell Scholar Class of
2024. As one of the country’s most prestigious scholarship programs, the scholarship program sends future American leaders to Ireland for a year of graduate study. This year, 306 individuals applied for the 12 scholarships. Among the recipients are an archeologist, three AI innovators, and a breast cancer researcher interested in inter-generational physiological stress prompted by historical events such as the Great Famine.
Among the selected individuals is Neelesh Mupparapu ’22, a Gemstone student who graduated from UMD with a degree in biomedical engineering last spring. Neel is a Banneker/Key scholarship recipient interested in pursuing medicine with an emphasis on equity and social advocacy. Through Gemstone, Neel and his team conducted a research thesis on utilizing deep learning and artificial intelligence to improve clinician diagnosis of mental disorders, and bioethics research to discern racial inequities, for which they won the outstanding thesis award. He is currently pursuing a post-baccalaureate program at NIH/NIA to extend his bioengineering undergraduate Honors thesis focused on investigating the phenotypes and molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular aging in HGPS patients. This research, along with his personal experiences, fueled his interest in studying neglected, rare disorders as well as cardiovascular disease. Neel has won multiple awards for his work developing low-cost medical devices, including a neonatal glucose fiber-optic biosensor, which he presented at the Intel-Regeneron International Fair. He also volunteers at the Esperanza Clinical Center, which provides free healthcare to Hispanic and underserved communities in Baltimore, and the Johns Hopkins Senior Citizen Department. As VP of Professional Affairs in the Biomedical Engineering Society, he coordinated departmental social networking, professional development, and service events. Neel is also a co-founder of the Brain Exercise initiative chapter at UMD and organized a volunteer program with Maryland Senior Citizen Homes. He is an Eagle Scout, and on weekends serves as an automotive mechanic at his local repair shop. Neel will study for MPH at University College Cork.
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