House Professors: Prerna Masih and Tanay Kesharwani
Prerna and Tanay’s goal is to give students in Levine House a sense of community separate from their academic courses or dorm life.
Prerna and Tanay’s goal is to give students in Levine House a sense of community separate from their academic courses or dorm life.
About Levine House
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Prerna Masih and Tanay KesharwaniPrerna Masih and Tanay Kesharwani joined the Bard community in fall 2025, bringing with them prior experience from the University of West Florida (UWF), where they both served as faculty. They have an 11-year-old, soon-to-be sixth grader who enjoys soccer, reading, piano and guitar, and coding. They are keen on participating in the Bard House program, which integrates innovative education with residential life to foster close-knit faculty-student communities.Prerna Masih and Tanay Kesharwani
Prerna Masih and Tanay Kesharwani joined the Bard community in fall 2025, bringing with them prior experience from the University of West Florida (UWF), where they both served as faculty. They have an 11-year-old, soon-to-be sixth grader who enjoys soccer, reading, piano and guitar, and coding. They are keen on participating in the Bard House program, which integrates innovative education with residential life to foster close-knit faculty-student communities. Born in India, Tanay earned his BS and MS in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and completed his PhD in organic chemistry at Iowa State University in 2008. Following his doctorate, he held a postdoctoral fellowship at NewLink Genetics, where he was a co-inventor of the investigational cancer drug Navoximod. He later continued his postdoctoral research at Northwestern University. Tanay previously taught at Bard College before his tenure at UWF. Tanay is the recipient of the prestigious Cottrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation and the Noland Award from Organic Syntheses, Inc., both of which recognize his contributions to sustainable chemistry. He has coauthored several patents, book chapters, and journal articles. At Bard, he will continue his research in green, material, and medicinal chemistry.
Prerna’s research focuses on biotherapeutics. She earned her PhD in molecular and cellular biology from Roswell Park Cancer Institute and pursued postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health. She then joined NewLink Genetics, where she worked on the research and development of cancer vaccines that reached Phase III clinical trials. At Bard, she joins as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Citizen Science Program and the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing.
Outside the classroom and lab, Prerna and Tanay share a deep passion for cooking, spending time in nature, and immersing themselves in different cultures through food, traditions, and storytelling. They see these interests not only as personal joys but also as meaningful ways to build community. Whether experimenting with recipes from around the world, hiking through scenic trails, or exchanging cultural anecdotes over a home-cooked meal, they value opportunities to connect with others in thoughtful and engaging ways. They are excited to host a variety of Levine House events at Bard’s Gray Cottage on Annandale Road, including weekend brunches, cozy tea gatherings, hands-on cooking classes, and relaxed board game nights, as well as guided nature walks throughout the campus. -
Did You Know?Levine House is named for Stuart Stritzler-Levine (1932–2020), professor emeritus of psychology and dean emeritus of the College.Stritzler-Levine joined the Bard faculty in 1964, and remained there for the next 56 years. He served as a clinical psychologist before coming to Bard, which informed his teaching and research interests. These included social psychology, conformity, attitude measurement, and change; moral development; and experimental design. In his 21 years as dean, he oversaw innovations in the admission process, the growth of enrollment and curriculum, and the College’s expansion into graduate education. He also worked to extend liberal arts and sciences education to underserved communities. A man of many passions, he loved trout fishing, Wagner operas, the photography of Berenice Abbott, and sports, especially basketball.
