Purvi Kunwar credits her interdisciplinary double major with laying the foundation for a dynamic career that has spanned public health, education and biotechnology.
Kunwar graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in political economies of industrial societies (part of the political economy program) and development studies (part of the global studies program). She then received her master’s in public health from UCLA.
From there, she began her career in healthcare, working at Kaiser Permanente and UCSF. She then transitioned to education, serving on the boards at Hillsborough Schools Foundation, Menlo School and Design Tech High School.
Today, she serves as vice president of strategy and operations at Precision Neuromed, a clinical-stage biotechnology company she co-founded with her husband, Sandeep Kunwar (a Berkeley neuroscience alumnus). Precision Neuromed is focused on transforming drug delivery to the brain. They are currently using new mechanical hardware and software to reintroduce a drug for glioblastoma (brain cancer) into clinical trials. The drug had previously reached phase III trials in the early 2000s.
Berkeley Social Sciences spoke with Kunwar about the lessons she learned at Cal and how she has applied them throughout her career. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What was your degree in and why did you choose it?
Purvi Kunwar: As a double major in political economies of industrial societies (PEIS) and development studies (DS), I was definitely drawn to the economic and political aspect of both. While PEIS really focused on industrial societies, DS focused more on developing societies. I felt like both of them gave me a different viewpoint into how economies were growing and how they were interrelated.
What was your experience like at UC Berkeley?
Purvi Kunwar: Honestly, it was a dream. I was so in awe of being surrounded by the people at Cal, both professors and the student community. At that time, it felt like everything was open, and you could just learn. That's what I really wanted to do: learn. I would attend all kinds of extra lectures. I really felt that I got a liberal arts education, because I did everything from math, to public health, to organic chemistry. I really tried to run the gamut of knowledge.
Cal felt like a place that was super open to ideas and learning, and people were very accepting of each other. I was friends with all kinds of people; and it was a very welcoming place for everyone.
What are some of the lessons you learned at Cal that helped prepare you for your career?
Purvi Kunwar: What Cal gave me was the ability to “learn how to learn.” I learned to never be afraid of not knowing, and that when you don't know something, to not be afraid of asking. Cal also taught me to surround myself with multitudes of viewpoints, and to not get stuck on my own or come into something thinking I already understand it. Doing PEIS and especially DS, you really want to come into it ready to learn from others and to understand what their experience is. People bring together their different talents, and that's how you find solutions.
The other thing I learned is to not be afraid to pick up the phone and call people. That actual touchpoint with people is super important, and has served me really well. I know at Cal you can be one of thousands, and it feels like there's no way to connect. But if you take that effort to make those connections with actual people, that will take you so far. That's how you learn — from actual people.
Lastly, I learned to do more with less and figure it out. If you run up against a problem, don't be afraid of the problem — figure out a workaround. That “don't give up” attitude has been a major advantage.
What advice would you give Berkeley Social Sciences students who wish to pursue a similar career path?
Purvi Kunwar: I've had a multitude of layers to my career. It's always been around healthcare and education, but it hasn't been linear. When you're starting out, you think it’s going to go a certain way. With this generation especially, everybody thinks that the next decision they make is the most important one. When, honestly, it's not the most important one — it's just the next one.
Don't try to overthink everything about one decision. Just make it, and give yourself time to see how it goes, to learn from it and to learn from the people there. There’s going to be pros and cons to every decision you make. There will always be something you feel like you’re leaving on the table. And yes, for now, you are leaving that on the table. But that doesn't mean that you can't go back and revisit it again. Just make that next decision. Don't wait for it to be the perfect one.
Additionally, with every experience that you have, show up wanting to leave it better than you found it. Don't go into something thinking, “I need to maximize my returns on this experience.” Instead, show up and ask yourself how you can do your best for this shared task or shared mission. Ask yourself how you can grow. Develop really good relationships and stay in touch with people. I know that, right now, picking up the phone is passe, or nobody really does it. But if you do, you become somebody who's young and actually wants to talk to people. Everybody loves it when people actually want to talk to them, and you get so much more from those interactions.
Lastly, I think it’s important to not work from home remotely all the time. Life is not meant to be lived alone. You get so much more out of showing up. I always told my kids growing up that 80% of anything is just showing up. When we started Precision Neuromed a few years ago, I went to Biocom, which is an organization for biotech companies. I made it a commitment that I was going to show up, because this was new to me. And because it was new to me, I needed to learn. When I showed up to one of these events, I met somebody who has been a biotech entrepreneur for decades. As I was telling her about this idea of just showing up, she said, “Oh, you'll learn that it's not 80%. 90% of things happen when you show up.” So I would say, show up in person and don't be afraid of the interaction.
How have you given back to UC Berkeley?
Purvi Kunwar: Prior to the pandemic, I gave to the alumni club off and on, and was a reader for people applying to Cal. I nominally helped, but not really that much.
About five years ago, I became part of a Women in Leadership group — and through that, because of my own interests, I ended up with the Berkeley Liberty Initiative (BLI). I'm a really big believer in freedom of speech, freedom of thought and being able to learn from others. Given my experience at Cal, I saw the decline of these values on high school and college campuses everywhere, not just at Cal. So when this opportunity came up, it felt so aligned.
Since then, Sandeep and I have been part of the BLI, and we're on the founding membership board. We have hosted several events at our home and will be hosting the BLI’s annual gathering at our new place of work, bringing together people interested in how Cal is approaching freedom of thought and civil discourse.
I’m also always looking for ways to help young people grow. Once Precision Neuromed gets to the point where we can hire interns, I would love to do that.