NASHVILLE, Tenn. Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance (MVA) intern Rohini Chakravarthy knew early on she wanted to be a doctor. Both of her parents were physicians, and she always appreciated how they could empathize with people and offer the help they needed.
The path of a young physician
Rohini is a Nashville native. She attended Harpeth Hall High School, a private college-preparatory school for young women, before attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. While there, she studied neuroscience and earned a Bachelors of Arts degree.
“I did some volunteer work during high school with kids with developmental disabilities,” Rohini recalled of the path leading her to the medical field. “Also, I always liked math and science.”
She returned to Nashville to study at Vanderbilt University. Ultimately, she intends to enter hospital administration and work to improve value-based care.
“Value-based care is the idea that we should reduce healthcare waste and improve healthcare outcomes,” she explained.
Tackling health disparities
Rohini was drawn to the MVA because of its efforts to eliminate health disparities. She’s passionate about doing whatever she can to improve the lives of the underserved.
“I had an experience in college, volunteering with Health Leads,” she recalled.
Health Leads is a national healthcare organization that connects low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy. Its goal is for healthcare providers to routinely take into account the social and economic reasons people get sick.
“Through that experience, I met a 17-year-old who’d grown up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood with little access to food, health insurance and other basic necessities,” she said. “That moment epitomized health disparities to me.”
That defining moment started her on the path trying to improve the lives of people that, as she described it, “were basically born in the wrong zip code.”
Precision medicine
Rohini will intern with the MVA for the next year. During that time, she’ll work on a key precision medicine initiative – to look at how social determinants impact cervical cancer outcomes.
“I’m also interested in what types of data researchers can collect to help make the story clear that we need to invest more in things that aren’t traditionally within the healthcare space,” she added. “Like patients’ access to housing and food.”
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research in three primary areas -- community engagement, interprofessional education and research -- by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the communities they serve. Through community engagement, the Alliance serves a large community of stakeholders including surrounding universities and colleges, community organizations, faith-based outlets and community health centers. Its interprofessional education enhances students' interdisciplinary understanding and improves patient outcomes through integrated care. The research conducted provides access to experienced grant writers and materials supporting the grant application process and facilitates grant-writing workshop.
