Sharma Doctoral Fellowship Program

Overview

The Shreela and Vibhu Sharma Endowed Fund for Excellence in Community Nutrition, Health, and Wellness fellowship provides a $2,000 stipend and project experience opportunity to work with Brighter Bites, a non-profit organization that aims to improve eating behavior among predominantly low-income families by introducing them to a routine distribution of fresh produce, along with corresponding education in school and at home, ultimately helping to curb the childhood obesity epidemic in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. This program requires a research commitment of two semesters, at 200 hours per semester. 

The Shreela and Vibhu Sharma Endowed Fund for Excellence in Community Nutrition, Health, and Wellness fellowship program is administered through funding from the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, part of The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. 

School of Public Health faculty member and alumna, Dr. Shreela Sharma, along with her husband, Vibhu Sharma, have established the Shreela and Vibhu Sharma Endowed Fund for Excellence in Community Nutrition, Health, and Wellness at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.

For other fellowship program opportunities available for School of Public Health doctoral students, please visit the scholarship information page. 

Current Sharma Fellows

• Che (Qi) Xue, Spring and Summer 2024

Past Sharma Fellows

• Fangyu Li, 2020-2021, 2022-2023
• Heather Jones, Spring and Summer 2023
• Iheyinwa Odum-Nwabueze, Spring and Summer 2023
• Victoria Kwentua, 2021-2022
• Nivedhitha (Nivi) Parthasarathy, 2021
• Brittni Naylor, 2019-2020
• Jennifer Aiyer, 2018-2019
• Melinda Rushing, 2018-2019

For more information on the Sharma Doctoral Fellowship Program please contact:
Ru-Jye (Lindi) Chuang, DrPh, MS
Faculty Associate
Ru-Jye.Chuang@uth.tmc.edu

Application Information

1. Must be a doctoral student registered for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024
2. Located in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas. 

International students are eligible.

Submit applications through the School of Public Health scholarship portal.

Applications require:

1. A completed application form
2. A one-page statement of why the student is interested in addressing child obesity
3. 2 letters of recommendation
4. Copy of student grades and classes to date (unofficial transcript).