Amgen Scholars Program expands to India at IIIT Hyderabad

A select group of talented undergraduate students from India and across Asia spent their summer at IIIT Hyderabad, pursuing frontier research under leading faculty as part of the Amgen Scholars Program hosted in India for the first time.

Every summer, hundreds of undergraduate researchers come together through the Amgen Scholars Program that nurtures the next generation of scientific innovators by providing hands-on research experience at leading universities. Since its inception in 2006, the program has offered talented students the opportunity to work alongside renowned faculty, tackle real-world scientific challenges, and build global research networks. It builds on successful programming in the United States, with over 4,000 U.S. students having benefited from the program. In a landmark milestone, the program arrived in India for the first time this year, with IIIT Hyderabad selected as its inaugural host, joining leading Asian network that includes the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, National University of Singapore, and Tsinghua University.

The program is a signature initiative of the Amgen Foundation and is hosted at 26 leading educational and research institutions globally. While host campuses in North America, Europe, and Asia focus on diverse areas of biomedical research, IIIT Hyderabad Scholar’s site (from 6 June- 6 August 2026) focuses on its strength in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computational sciences. Supported through a two-year commitment from Amgen through Summer 2027, the program reflects the company’s long-standing commitment to advancing science education and inspiring future innovators.

Each scholar was assigned to a faculty advisor based on their research interests. IIIT Hyderabad faculty mentors included Prof. Deva Priyakumar U, Prof. Praveen Paruchuri, Prof. Nita Parekh, Prof. Abhishek Srivastava, Prof. Vinod P. K., Prof. Krishna Reddy P., Prof. Bapi Raju S, Prof. Marimuthu Krishnan, and Prof. Jawahar C.V.

Further, the students conducted AI driven healthcare and drug discovery research projects across various labs at IIIT Hyderabad addressing contemporary scientific challenges. To foster scientific independence while providing close mentorship, Scholars present their research plans at the beginning of each week, followed by progress presentations every Friday, creating regular opportunities for feedback, reflection, and academic guidance.

Selection process 
In its first year, the IIIT H program witnessedan overwhelming response, receiving over 700 applications. Conducted by an internal committee, the scholar selection is evaluated based on institutional criteria aligned with the Amgen Scholars Program objectives. Key evaluation metrics include academic excellence, demonstrated interest in scientific research, motivation to pursue doctoral studies and research careers, and a strong inclination toward research. Through this rigorous selection process, the program identified 10 highly motivated undergraduate students with significant potential to contribute to future scientific innovation and research.

The 2026 cohort comprised 10 undergraduate scholars, including students from India, Vietnam, Qatar, and Dubai. Scholars are enrolled in undergraduate programs at a diverse range of institutions.

Key Interdisciplinary Research 
The 2026 Amgen Scholars cohort at IIIT Hyderabad is working on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational biology, healthcare, and biotechnology. A significant portion of their work focuses on enhancing clinical decision-making and diagnostic precision through advanced machine learning. Scholars are developing safe reinforcement learning models for maternity care prioritization, applying weakly supervised deep learning to predict glioma mutations from histopathology images, and leveraging knowledge graphs to reduce errors in large language model (LLM) radiology reports. Complementing these computational approaches are bioengineering breakthroughs, such as energy-efficient wearable devices for home sleep tracking and rapid electrochemical biosensors capable of detecting critical bacterial pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Alongside clinical applications, the Scholars cohort is applying data-driven strategies to structural biology, drug discovery, and smart agriculture. Using cutting-edge tools like Equivariant and prototype-based Graph Neural Networks, Scholars are modelling complex biomolecular structures—such as RNA-protein interactions—and creating interpretable models to map protein-protein interaction sites. To accelerate drug discovery, Other Scholars are passionate about harnessing artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery, applying approaches such as to screen massive molecular libraries against disease targets like the EphA2 recepto active learning and Bayesian optimization are being deployed to screen massive molecular libraries against specific disease targets like the EphA2 receptor. These projects represent just a snapshot of the breadth of research pursued by the Scholars. While some are accelerating drug discovery, others are applying computer vision to agriculture, developing non-destructive methods to monitor fruit ripeness and nutritional profiles and optimize food supply chains 

All work and Some play
Beyond their academic research, the scholars benefited from a comprehensive blend of professional development and cultural immersion. The program’s itinerary featured industry visits to Amgen, participation in Yashoda Hospital’s AI in Healthcare Conference, visit to Genome Valley and various social events. 

Additionally, city tours offered the scholars a firsthand taste of Hyderabad’s heritage and tourist attractions—an experience highlighted by a Vietnamese scholar who declared Old City mutton biryani his standout favourite of the trip!

Tokyo Finale 
As this special program comes to an end, preparations are in full swing for the Amgen Scholars Asia Symposium, hosted by the University of Tokyo, Japan, from 4 – 6 August 2026. Selected scholars will represent IIIT Hyderabad at the Symposium and deliver an oral presentation alongside peers from across Asia. The scholars are excited to fly to Tokyo, interact with scholars from diverse backgrounds, and acquire knowledge benefitting them in their interests. 

Financial support
A key attribute of the program is financial assistance for students and travel to the symposium to present their research, which aims to guarantee that qualified students can take part regardless of their financial situation.

Commenting on the first Amgen Scholars cohort in India, Prof Deva Priya Kumar, Dean of R&D at IIIT Hyderabad, said, “It is a privilege to bring the Amgen Scholars Program to India for the first time. Hosting India’s inaugural Amgen Scholars Program is a major milestone for IIIT Hyderabad. This initiative perfectly reflects our commitment to research-driven education, offering undergraduates a rare opportunity to engage in high-impact research alongside top-tier faculty. Education here is rooted in research and discovery, and this program opened doors for passionate undergraduates to work on cutting-edge projects alongside some of the best minds in academia.”

Scholar Testimonials
Anurag Aryal from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar said, “The Amgen (Scholars) Program was an incredible experience. From a research standpoint, receiving structured feedback from my mentor, Dr. Praveen Paruchuri, was invaluable. His pioneering work at Los Angeles International Airport actually inspired me to apply in the first place. Since my focus has always been on the efficiency and trustworthiness of Systems AI—which aligns closely with Dr. Paruchuri’s work—I was eager to gain a fresh perspective on the field. Beyond the lab, exploring Hyderabad for the first time was a blast. Highlights included visiting Charminar and the Old City, , and diving headfirst into authentic Hyderabadi cuisine!”

Gayathri Jyothirmai Dharmavarapu from PACE Institute of Technology and Sciences, Ongole said, “It was always my dream to join IIIT Hyderabad. and working under the mentorship of Prof. Krishna Reddy P.— an incredible researcher — that dream a reality. His foundational guidance gave me the confidence and clarity I needed to put theory into practice. Overall, the Amgen Scholars Program was a deeply transformative experience that reshaped me both professionally and personally.”