Sangeeta Bhargava

Name: Sangeeta Bhargava
Place of Employment: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Job Title: Assistant Director in the Division of Receipt and Referral
Education: Zoology - Delhi University, India
MS, Life Sciences, Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU), India
Doctorate, Reproductive Biology, Medical Sciences  All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), India 

Sangeeta Bhargava is an Assistant Director in the Division of Receipt and Referral. Prior to joining CSR in March 2008, she was a Program Director for Immunology and Immunotherapy at the NIDCR, NIH. Previously Dr. Bhargava was a senior scientist at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals ( now Pfizer)  where she was responsible for research on mucosal immunology with an emphasis on discovery and preclinical development of viral vaccines. Dr. Bhargava earned a Ph.D. in medical sciences from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow with the late Dr. John Cebra at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds patents and has published in peer-reviewed journals.

What is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered during your career in STEM?
Greatest Challenge- Doing my post-doctoral training in the USA. It made me think of science in a different way. The training was to be able to think outside the box and be able to visualize the impact of the work. Most important, I learnt the value of "not giving" up.

What do you think is the most exciting thing about having a career in STEM?
I have moved from being a lab bench scientist to research management. The opportunities have been tremendous for me and in every job , I have learnt and continue to learn new things.

If you could give one piece of advice to a girl who is considering doing a Silver or Gold Award based on STEM or pursuing a career in STEM, what would that be?
To work for your dream and always have an open mind to be willing to learn.

Did you have STEM mentors?
Yes,  1) My late father was instrumental in helping me pursue my dream of being able to do whatever I wanted. Much later, my mother, continues to be  encouraging.   2) My PhD. advisor and my post-doctoral advisor were wonderful scientific mentors.  3) My spouse, has always been supportive and in many ways a mentor in learning and understanding  about the scientific culture.