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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 5 CITY VIEWS July 11, 2025 Dr. Tina Shah Announces 2026 Bid For US Congress From New Jersey’s 7th District P racticing physician ofWestfield, NJ, Dr. Tina Shah announced July 1, 2025, that she is launching her campaign to be elected to the US Congress from New Jersey’s 7th Congres- sional District. She wants “to put insur- ance companies and career politicians like Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. on notice that it is time to fix what is broken in our healthcare system and inWash- ington,” the Indian American candidate declared. “I’m running for Congress because America is in critical condition and enough is enough,” said Dr. Shah. Congressional District 7 is highly competitive, with several candidates vy- ing for the seat. According to New Jersey Globe, Shah has already put together her campaign team and hired veteran strate- gist Mollie Binotto, and as her campaign manager Rachel Berlowe, both experi- enced politicos. Back in 2023, Shah had looked into run- ning for Congress, but decided not to, the Globe reported. In October 2024, Cook Political Report, rated NJ 7th District as “Lean Republi- can” and news reports consider it one of the most competitive districts. But Shah’s campaign noted that the Center for Politics rated incumbent Republican Tom Kean Jr. as highly vulnerable and District 7 as one of the only “toss-up” congressional races for the 2026 general elections. Ad- ditionally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has included Tom Kean Jr. in their 2026 “Districts in Play” list, notes Shah’s campaign. The New Jersey native draws heavily on her professional experience to define her run. “As a physician I took an oath to first do no harm, but when I go to work in the Intensive Care Unit, I’m up against a system that is designed to make patients broke and sicker, prioritize insurance companies’ profits above all else, and burn out a workforce trying to save lives.” She accused her opponent of doing nothing to lower healthcare costs or ex- pand access to care. “Instead, he’s dodging his constituents while casting the deciding vote to gut Medicaid and attacking access to essential care, including abortion, in New Jersey,” Dr. Shah said. Dr. Shah continued: “Kean Jr. also sup- ports Donald Trump and RFK Jr. who, with no medical training, are actively gutting lifesaving medical research and putting vaccine deniers in charge of our vaccine system.” She went on to add, “If we keep going down this road, there’s only one outcome: people will get hurt. What we do next is critical. I’m running for Congress to fix what is fundamentally broken and stand up for my patients, my neighbors, my community, and New Jersey.” Dr. Shah, who has worked in both the private and public sector, is triple board- certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine, and has worked at the local and national level on healthcare issues. She served as senior advisor to US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy during the Biden administration, and was aWhite House Fellow and special advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Obama administration. By a StaffWriter PHOTO:@GhazalaforVirginia Virginia Senator Ghazala Hashmi, candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia. MIT Gets First Indian American Provost D r. Anantha P. Chandrakasan, with his appointment as the Provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has become the pride of the Indian American community. A celebratory event to felicitate Chan- drakasan was jointly organized in New York July 1, 2025 by the Foundation of Indian Americans of New England and Indian Consulate of NewYork. It was at- tended by several diplomats, academic leaders, dignitaries, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, community leaders and other members of the Indian American community. Beginning his new role as Provost on July 1, 2025, Chandrakasan will lead the academic and administrative operations of MIT, including resource management, strategic planning, oversight of faculty and staff, and external relations, reporting directly to the President. Chandrakasan joined MIT more than 30 years ago in 1994 after getting his bachelor’s, masters and doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkley. Over the three decades, he has excelled in many roles, directing the Microsystems Technology Laboratories, heading the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and leading the School of Engineering as the Dean. Last year, as MIT’s Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, Chandrakasan launched many cross disciplinary initia- tives including MIT Human Insight Col- laborative aiming to bridge STEM fields with humanities and social sciences, MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium and MIT Health and Life Sciences Collabora- tive. “As Provost, I am committed to advanc- ing excellence in research, innovation, and education. Together, we will shape a future defined by meaningful progress and global impact,” Chandrakasan said, expressing his appreciation of the support of the Indian American community. Lauding Chandrakasan’s academic achievements of three decades, Consul General Binaya S. Pradhan said his ap- pointment reflects the growing contribu- tion of Indian Americans in international education and innovation. “We look for- ward to deeper India-MIT collaborations in research, entrepreneurship, and emerg- ing technologies,” Pradhan said. Congratulating Chandrakasan, Boston’s Deputy Consul General Shruti Prushottam praised Boston diplomatic community’s role in forging academic and cultural partnerships. President Abhishek Singh of the Foun- dation of Indian Americans of Boston spoke about the honor Chandrakasan has brought to the Indian American community. “Dr. Chandrakasan’s accom- plishments will inspire countless young Indian-Americans to dream bigger and lead boldly,” Singh said. Chandrakasan’s colleagues and MIT Faculty including Prof. Iqbal Singh Dhali- wal, South Asia specialist Prof. Sana Ayer, Vice President Prof. Jenny Liu of Boston Children’s Hospital Trust and more also applauded his achievements. Other guests included Chairman Sushil Tuli of Leader Bank, Chairman Dilip Patel of Jamson Hotel Chain, philanthropists Prashanth and Anuradha Palakurthi, com- munity leaders Sandeep Asija and Inder Kaul, chip design researcher Brij Bhushan Garg of Bell Labs, Vice President Sanjay Gokhale of Foundation of Indian Ameri- cans, and founders of Dev Patel Hospital- ity and podcasters Manju and Deepak Seth. MIT boasts of many Indian Ameri- can scholars on its faculty list, including Abhijit Banerjee who won the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Other scholars at MIT include Associ- ate Professor of History Sana Aiyar; STEM professor Sanga Batia; Science, Tech- nology and Society Associate Professor Dwaipayan Banerjee; and Mechanical Engineering Professor Rohit Karnik. By a StaffWriter PHOTOS:FIA NewEngland Dr. Anantha Chandrakasan (second from right) and NY Consul General Binaya S. Pradhan (second from left) at a dinner July 1, 2025, in New York to celebrate appointment of Chandrakasan as Provost at MIT. Colleagues and special guests at the celebratory dinner July 1, 2025 to felicitate Dr. Anantha Chandrakasan on his appointment as Provost at MIT.