International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) (A global not-for-profit, focused on translating scientific discoveries into public health solutions, backed by Gates Foundation, USAID, Wellcome Trust, CEPI, BARDA) 

• Associate Director, Research and Product Development | Delhi
  • Analyzed impact of $250Mn National Biopharma Mission Program, providing investment effectiveness and strategic insights for asset sustainability and maximizing sector returns.
  • Devised strategic R&D roadmap for antimicrobial resistance in working with global experts and senior leadership to identify research priorities and optimize resource allocation.
  • Facilitated development of 5-year multi-disease global R&D strategy, synergizing five divisions to advance innovation in HIV, TB, AMR, and new infectious threats.
  • Enabled establishment of India’s premier Antibody Discovery Centre at THSTI, credited with indigenous discovery of novel COVID-19 antibodies.
  • Built and led a high-performing team of five analysts and strategists, cultivating top talent to drive R&D and Knowledge Management Consulting excellence.
     
• Project Manager, Human Immunology Lab | London
  • Recognized for strategic leadership and hand-picked as Project Manager to deliver urgent, high-risk Biorepository re-localization from the UK on an accelerated timeline.
  • Executed risk mitigation and change management by optimising sample management, proactive planning, and managing team transitions, resulting in $2M+ cost savings.
  • Ensured compliance to HTA’s regulatory requirements, effectively mitigating legal and regulatory risks for the organization.
  • Engaged directly with senior leadership, departmental heads and key donors, driving critical decision-making through prompt resolution and actionable insights.
  • Managed and motivated a 7-member team in a difficult work climate, delivering key milestones within stringent time and resource limits.
     
• Senior Manager, Product Development | Delhi
  • Managed key industry partnerships with Serum Institute and Syngene, coordinating cross-functional teams and project plans, enabling seamless tech transfer and ~$1M revenue.
  • Led competitive analysis and use case development for novel biomedical products, aligning with epidemiology and market needs to drive India’s government R&D prioritization.
  • Streamlined scientific projects in India by optimizing plans, eliminating redundancies, and monitoring milestones, achieving 80% of donor-committed timelines and goals.
  • Developed comprehensive gap analysis of raw materials across vaccine and biosimilar pipelines, enabling government prioritization that reduced manufacturing costs by 20-40%.
  • Supported Government of India in formulating a 5-year strategy for novel antibody development, providing insights on emerging technologies and shaping execution proposals.
     
• Manager, Product Development | Delhi
  • Formulated proposals that launched the $100M ‘COVID Suraksha’ program, driving SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and manufacturing, leading to emergency approval of three novel vaccines.
  • Mapped India’s vaccine and biosimilar manufacturing capacities with government and global partners, identifying platform-specific gaps to enable capacity ramp-up during the pandemic.
  • Delivered feasibility report on shared pilot-scale biomanufacturing facility in India through collaboration with industry experts, supporting scale-up of manufacturing infrastructure.
  • Devised partnership frameworks to engage Indian industry for commercial manufacturing in developing a novel COVID-19 antibody, facilitating public-private collaboration.
  • Collaborated with Government of India, Wellcome Trust, and UNITAID to address uptake affordability challenges of COVID-19 monoclonal antibody for low- and middle-income countries.
     
• Senior Specialist, Program Management | Delhi
  • Channeled a ~$250M budget towards projects and technologies positioned to deliver maximum benefit and capacity growth for the national biopharmaceutical sector.
  • Facilitated establishment of a unique public-health industry partnership with Serum Institute of India for HIV antibodies through partner identification, feasibility assessment, and due diligence.
  • Built marketing strategy pitches for potential investors by developing compelling use cases and generating data-driven competitive insights for HIV preventive products.
  • Contributed to the publication of ‘Global Call for Action’ with Wellcome Trust and IAVI, highlighting research and manufacturing needs for accessible monoclonal antibodies.
  • Led formulation of research proposals for discovery and translation of novel HIV antibodies, securing over $1M funding from Government of India, Research Council of Norway, Gates Foundation, and Wellcome Trust.
     
• Scientific Officer, Program Management | Delhi
  • Formulated strategic proposals that secured $250M funding from World Bank and Government of India, establishing a National Program for indigenous biopharmaceutical capacity-building.
  • Founded the Knowledge Partner Unit at IAVI India, delivering competitive intelligence and strategy services, securing $1M in 5-year program funding.
  • Led comprehensive landscaping of India’s indigenous novel product development ecosystem, identifying critical gaps in ecosystem, disease priorities, and talent-technology alignment for Government strategy.
  • Built and engaged a network of 30+ partners including researchers, industry, and startups via workshops and direct collaboration to drive design and execution of R&D programs.
     

Strand Life Sciences (One of India’s top Genomics and Bioinformatics Company) | Bangalore

• Scientist
  • Incepted and designed a Correlation Analysis module in Genespring 13.0 and Mass Profiler Professional, a bioanalytical software, in collaboration with Agilent Technologies, USA.
  • Evaluated end-user needs and their incorporation in bioanalytical software and personalized genomic-based diagnostic kits in working with the design team.

• Exemplified excellence with consistent promotions on average every 1.5 years, rising from the rank of Scientific Officer to Associate Director within the organization
• Worked cross-functionally, coordinating and leading project management efforts along teams across 7 sites in 5 countries - US, UK, Kenya, South Africa and India
• Authored 4 Peer-Reviewed and Globally Acknowledged Publications:
  • Mukherjee J, ul Hadi S, Chakrapani V, Rawat S, Srikrishnan AK, Mahendra V, Aggarwal P et al. (2025) Acceptability of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) for HIV prevention among vulnerable populations in India: Findings from a qualitative study. PLoS ONE 20(4): e0321725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321725.
  • Mukherjee J, Rawat S, Ul Hadi S, Aggarwal P, Chakrapani V, Rath P, Manchi P, Aylur S, Malhotra S, Keane M, Gangaramany A. Understanding the Acceptability of Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies for HIV Prevention Among At-Risk Populations and Feasibility Considerations for Product Introduction in India: Protocol for a Qualitative Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Feb 7;13:e47700. doi: 10.2196/47700.
  • Monoclonal Antibodies For COVID-19 Are A Potentially Life-Saving Therapy: How Can We Make Them More Accessible?” – top 10 most-read articles on Health Affairs Forefront for 2021 (https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/i-health-affairs-forefront-i-2021-most-read-list).
  • IAVI-Wellcome report on "Expanding access to monoclonal antibody-based products: A global call to action (2020) https://wellcome.org/reports/expanding-access-monoclonal-antibodies.

• MSc (Biotechnology), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai
• BSc (Biotechnology), Amity University

• Company Coordinator, Placements, IITB - Handled onboarding, facilitation and coordination of >50 companies, and led core Day 0-2 placements operations for >500 students
• Cell Head, General Management and Leadership Club, IIMA