Phil was a TCI scholar until his graduation in December 2016. Phil’s research in the field of soil health centered on the development of an appropriate soil health assessment framework for Indian agriculture. He worked in collaboration with TCI’s partner…

Soumya Gupta received her PhD from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in 2015, after which she worked as a research economist at TCI. Her research interests lie at the intersection of food security, agriculture, and maternal and…

Anshuman Gupta received his Master of Public Administration with a concentration in international development studies from Cornell University in 2020. His primary interests lie in agriculture economics and he is passionate about creating sustainable value chains to enhance smallholder farmer…

Natasha Jha earned her PhD in applied economics and management in 2023. As a TCI scholar, her work examined price distortions and environmental externalities associated with agricultural policies and practices. Natasha holds an MA in economics from the Delhi School…

Ekta Joshi graduated from Cornell with a PhD in applied economics and management in 2024. She is an economist in the agrifood economics division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Her research at TCI focused on…

Naveen Sridhar Kottayil is a research support specialist at TCI. His primary interests lie in creating forward and backward linkages for farmers and producers in order to formulate sustainable agriculture solutions and improve the incomes of Indian farmers. Naveen previously…

Kavya Krishnan was a TCI scholar and doctoral candidate in the field of soil and crop sciences. Her primary research interest is soil health. For the fieldwork component of her doctorate, she worked with India-based agricultural universities like the Dr.…

Kathryn Merckel completed her PhD in international nutrition in 2020. She is currently the associate director for nutrition and food systems at the international development nonprofit ACDI/VOCA. Kathryn studied biofortification and its role in diversifying diets, particularly those of women…

Sumedha Minocha is a postdoctoral associate at TCI, where she specializes in women’s empowerment. As a TCI scholar, she received her PhD in applied economics and management from Cornell University in 2026. Minocha previously worked as a researcher at St.…

Amrutha Jose Pampackal earned her PhD in the field of development sociology in 2025. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Amrutha is interested in studying the sociology of access to food, particularly among marginalized…