Health
Neerav Handa: Amplifying cancer research and student research opportunities
Neerav Handa, Senior Director of software development at Oracle, established the Manjusha Handa Memorial Scholarship in memory of his late wife, Manjusha Handa. The scholarship supports students pursuing cancer research at UC Santa Cruz.
Neerav Handa has more than 30 years of experience in software development and has been part of the UC Santa Cruz Science Division’s Dean Council for about a year.
Neerav Handa’s connection to UC Santa Cruz began the way it does for many parents, dropping his two daughters off at college. It has since grown into a personal commitment to cancer research and a belief in giving students the hands-on experience that prepares them for their careers.
Neerav’s support of cancer research at UC Santa Cruz honors his late wife, Manjusha Handa, who passed away from breast cancer in 2020. Neerav recalls exploring every treatment option available to Manjusha.
“I could see that there’s a lot of research needed, especially in the health side of things, and that’s what drives me to focus more on that area.”
Neerav established the Manjusha Handa Memorial Scholarship at UC Santa Cruz in 2023, which is awarded annually to one undergraduate student working on cancer research. Neerav hopes that the scholarship will provide students with the opportunity to participate in cutting edge cancer research, giving them the experience they need to continue in the field after graduating.
“When I look at any research that has succeeded and has gone into medicine, if you look at the history of it, it all started from the labs, from the university labs, in small pieces, and then it was expanded,” Neerav said. “If I can help that area, I think it achieves a bigger purpose.”
Neerav has more than 30 years of experience in software development. He has been part of the UC Santa Cruz Science Division’s Dean Council for about a year, helping to advise Science Division leadership on how to increase fundraising, enhance research, and develop career opportunities for students.
For Neerav, working with UC Santa Cruz has a personal touch. He has met faculty including Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Shaheen Sikandar. Neerav has had the opportunity to sit in on Sikandar’s research.
“That’s not something that you can generally find outside [of UC Santa Cruz],” Neerav said.
Neerav’s connection to research opportunities at UCSC was further strengthened by his younger daughter, who participated in undergraduate research at the university. She worked with the Treehouse Undergraduate Bioinformatics Immersion group and secured an internship through QB3. For Neerav, watching her grow through those opportunities reinforced his belief in the value of hands-on training for students that helps them to “see how their skills would be useful outside” the classroom.
The Manjusha Handa Memorial Scholarship expands that opportunity to more students.
In the 2025–2026 academic year, the Manjusha Handa Cancer Research Award was awarded to Leela Ghassemi, an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Shaheen Sikandar. Her project investigates how recovering from severe respiratory infections, such as influenza, may influence the spread of aggressive breast cancers—particularly triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype known for its high rates of metastasis and limited treatment options.
Building on preliminary findings that mice recovering from infection show increased cancer spread to the lungs, Ghassemi is using a mouse model to determine whether these effects persist across different types of breast cancer cells. By examining how prior infection may leave lasting changes in the lung environment that make it more hospitable to cancer growth, her research aims to uncover a potential link between immune response and cancer progression.
Ghassemi’s project findings could significantly deepen our understanding of how infections impact cancer outcomes, potentially informing new approaches to treatment and prevention.
Through the Manjusha Handa Memorial Scholarship, and by participating in the Science Division’s Dean’s Council, Neerav hopes to support research that leads to real treatments, and give students the chance to be part of that work.