AAAS Recognizes Mitra for Mentorship Work

• By Mark Hendricks
• October 31, 2025
• Research

Amal Mitra, Dr.P.H., professor in Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center's (TTUHSC) Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health, was recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his work with the AAAS Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Making and Innovation Initiative when he received the 2025 HBCU Making & Innovation Advisor Award. Mitra received the honor Sept. 25-27 at the 2025 AAAS HBCU Innovation Showcase in Washington, D.C.

Mitra, an internationally recognized scientist with expertise in both medicine and public health, has spent the last 28 years teaching at several universities: the University of Southern Mississippi (1997-2013), Kuwait University (2014-2016), Jackson State University (JSU; 2017-May 2024) and TTUHSC (since June 2024). During that time, he has served as a mentor for many students working toward their master’s degree or Ph.D. in public health and for some faculty members in the U.S. and across the globe.

“As a founding director of Global Health Initiatives at the Jackson State University School of Public Health, I developed research collaborations with many scientists around the world, such as those in Ghana, Hong Kong and Kuwait, and I have ongoing research collaborations with scientists in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Nepal,” Mitra said. “I enjoy mentoring students’ research; in my present position at TTUHSC, I’m still looking for opportunities to take that role as a mentor for interested students and early career faculty. This mentorship award is a true recognition of what I enjoy doing.” 

Mitra began mentoring student projects with AAAS in 2019 as a professor at the JSU School of Public Health. He was invited to apply for a Student Mentorship Grant, which AAAS receives from the National Science Foundation. He initially mentored three Ph.D. and two Master’s students who were interested in working on a project with Mitra. He mentored them through the “A to Z” process of planning a research project,  including selecting and narrowing down a topic, conducting a thorough literature review and designing methodology for the research.

“The theme of the research was one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Mitra said. “We picked up one goal that was appropriate for Mississippians, and my students collected and analyzed data and then presented it as a showcase video at the AAAS/HBCU national conference in Washington, D.C.”

Mitra continued to apply for the grant until 2025, working on a project with a team of four to five graduate students every year. Under his mentorship, the teams competed with those from other HBCU institutions across the nation.

Mitra also has received the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of State in 2022-2023, an award that helped him connect with and develop new collaborations with many more scientists. At TTUHSC, Mitra is currently working with Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health Dean Gerard E. Carrino, Ph.D., and other faculty on a new initiative to develop a Research and Training Center, which he believes is an appropriate step to encourage more collaborations from within and outside the university.

“I think all of the collaborating, mentoring and coaching matter and went toward my recent Mentorship Award from AAAS,” Mitra said.  “This is just an inspiration to work hard with everybody together for our next generation. It is important to work as a team because research is always about team work.”