Vivasvan Vykunta : Soros Fellowship

Vivasvan Vykunta (’20, MCB) was born in Berkeley, California to parents who immigrated from India. Vivasvan is currently in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD) at UCSF and studies fundamental mechanisms that regulate how immune cells detect and respond to target proteins, hoping to apply this deeper understanding to develop more effective therapeutics. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, Vivasvan studied Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Immunology. He credits the supportive mentors he found at Berkeley–Astar Winoto, Robert Beatty, and Lok Siu, among many others–for nurturing his exploration of various disciplines across the sciences and humanities, integrating his varied interests throughout his undergraduate years.