MIT graduate scholars Sreekar Mantena and Arjun Ramani, along with recent MIT graduates Rupert Li ’24 and Jupneet Singh ’23, have been recognized as 2025 P.D. Soros Fellows. Additionally, Soros Fellow Andre Ye is set to commence a PhD in computer science at MIT this autumn.

Every year, the P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans grants 30 exceptional immigrants and children of immigrants $90,000 in financial assistance for graduate school over two years. The merit-based initiative chooses fellows based on their accomplishments, potential for making significant contributions to their respective fields and communities, and commitment to the principles of the United States as reflected in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. This year’s fellows were chosen from a highly competitive pool of over 2,600 applicants from across the country.

Rupert Li ’24

The child of Chinese immigrants, Rupert Li was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from MIT in 2024 with a dual degree in mathematics, computer science, economics, and data science, and attained an MEng in the latter discipline.

Li was honored as a Marshall Scholar in 2023 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the Part III mathematics program at Cambridge University. His P.D. Soros Fellowship will facilitate his pursuit of a PhD in mathematics at Stanford University.

Li’s first encounter with mathematics research occurred during his high school years when he participated in the MIT PRIMES-USA program. He continued his mathematical research as an undergraduate at MIT, collaborating with professors Henry Cohn, Nike Sun, and Elchanan Mossel in the Department of Mathematics. Li also engaged in two summers of research at the Duluth REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program with Professor Joe Gallian.

Li’s investigations in probability, discrete geometry, and combinatorics led to him receiving the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, an honorable mention for the Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student, the Marshall Scholarship, and the Hertz Fellowship.

Beyond his research endeavors, Li finds joy in opportunities to contribute back to the mathematical community that has supported him throughout his academic journey. This year marks his second tenure as a graduate student mentor for the PRIMES-USA program that ignited his mathematical career, and his first year as an advisor for the Duluth REU program.

Sreekar Mantena

Sreekar Mantena graduated with honors from Harvard College, earning a degree in statistics and molecular biology. He is currently a medical doctor student in biomedical informatics in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST), working alongside Professor Soumya Raychaudhuri at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is also pursuing a PhD in bioinformatics and integrative genomics at Harvard Medical School. Mantena aspires to merge compassion with computation as a physician-scientist, utilizing machine learning and statistics to enhance equitable healthcare solutions.

The child of Indian-American immigrants, Mantena was brought up in North Carolina, where he enjoyed both cheese grits and his mother’s chana masala. Each summer during his youth, he stayed with his grandparents in Southern India, who instilled in him the importance of community investment and a passion for knowledge.

While studying at Harvard, Mantena was motivated by the capabilities of statistics and data science to fill gaps in healthcare provision. He founded the Global Alliance for Medical Innovation, a nonprofit organization that has teamed up with medical professionals in six nations to create data-driven medical technologies for underserved populations, including devices to identify corneal illnesses.

Mantena also conducted research in Professor Pardis Sabeti’s lab at the Broad Institute, where he developed new algorithms for diagnostic assays to enhance the detection of infectious pathogens in resource-constrained environments. He has co-authored more than 20 scientific publications, with his lead-author work featured in numerous journals, including Nature Biotechnology, The Lancet Digital Health, and the Journal of Pediatrics.

Arjun Ramani

Arjun Ramani, originally from West Lafayette, Indiana, is the son of immigrants from Tamil Nadu, India. He is currently working towards a PhD in economics at MIT, where he researches technological advancements and innovation. He aims for his work to influence policies and business strategies that foster broadly shared economic growth.

Ramani’s combined interests in technology and global affairs led him to Stanford University, where he studied economics as an undergraduate and pursued a master’s degree in computer science with a focus on artificial intelligence. In his role as data editor for the university’s newspaper, he initiated the Stanford Open Data Project to enhance data transparency on campus. During his college years, Ramani also spent time working on economic policy at the White House, assisted startups in Ghana, and worked in financial markets at Citadel—all of which enriched his interest in the economic landscape.

Upon graduating from Stanford, Ramani became The Economist’s global business and economics correspondent. He initially reported on technology and finance before shifting his focus to artificial intelligence as the technology gained prominence in 2022.

In 2023, Ramani relocated to India to cover the Indian economy leading up to its election, where he developed a deeper understanding of the social and institutional challenges hindering technological adoption and economic growth. Ramani wrote or co-wrote six cover stories and was shortlisted for U.K. financial journalist of the year in 2024 for his reporting on AI and economics, as well as co-authoring a six-part special report on India’s economy.

Jupneet Singh ’23

Jupneet Singh, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is a Sikh-American who has maintained a profound connection to her Punjabi and Sikh roots while growing up in Somis, California. The Soros Fellowship will aid her MD studies at Harvard Medical School’s HST program under the U.S. Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program.

Singh intends to complete her medical residency as an active-duty U.S. Air Force captain and, following her service as a surgeon in the USAF, she hopes to join the United States Public Health Commissioned Corps. Although she is the first in her family to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, Singh is honored to continue a longstanding Sikh military tradition.

Singh graduated from MIT in 2023 with a degree in chemistry and a focus in history and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to pursue two degrees at the University of Oxford: a master’s in public policy and a master’s in translational health sciences. At MIT, she held the position of commander (the highest-ranked cadet) of the Air Force ROTC Detachment and is presently commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. She holds the distinction of being the first woman Air Force ROTC Rhodes Scholar.

Singh has gained experience in de-addiction centers in Punjab, India. Furthermore, she has worked at the Ventura County Family Justice Center and Ventura County Medical Center Trauma Center, where she published a first-author paper in The American Surgeon. She is the founder of Pathways to Promise, a program aimed at improving the health of children affected by domestic violence. Additionally, she has conducted research on fatty liver disease under Professor Alex Shalek at MIT and has explored maternal health disparities at the National Perinatal Epidemiological Unit at Oxford.