LOS ANGELES (TIP): Indian American doctor-economist Jay Bhattacharya has received the 16th Doshi Bridgebuilder Award in recognition of his consequential research focusing on the economics of health care around the world. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, the Stanford University professor whose research has a particular emphasis on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, turned his attention to the epidemiology of the virus and the effects of lockdown policies.

Named for benefactors Navin and Pratima Doshi, Loyola Marymount University gives the award annually to individuals or organizations dedicated to fostering understanding between cultures, peoples and disciplines.

Battacharya gave a lecture exploring “The Economic and Human Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Policy Responses” at the presentation ceremony on Sep13. “The Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone on the planet,” said Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies.

The event explored how we could have done better, whether in the US, India, China, or elsewhere in the world and what lessons can be learned to help public policy in the future. Bhattacharya is professor of health policy at Stanford and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His recent research focuses on the epidemiology of Covid-19, including the lethality of Covid-19 infection and effects of lockdown policies. He has published more than 160 articles in top peer-reviewed scientific journals in medicine, economics, health policy, epidemiology, statistics, law, and public health, among other fields. He earned his MD and PhD in economics at Stanford. Previous award recipients include Deepak Chopra, Zubin Mehta, Huston Smith, Vedana Shiva, Pratapaditya Pal, Tulsi Gabbard, Rev. James Lawson, among others.