My Story
My work examines global health through the lens of power and access, informed by training as a clinician and public health researcher, and field work across hospitals in the U.S., rural Nepal, India, and with at-risk youth in San Francisco. The trajectory began at fifteen, on a flight into Mumbai. From the window seat, I pressed my face to the glass, mistaking the expanse below for a forest. "Those aren't trees," my father said. "They're slums." Hours later, from a hotel room in South Mumbai, I watched women and children in the open sewers outside. Privilege and deprivation—separated only by glass.
That moment connected to something deeper in my family's story. My grandparents had fled Lahore during Partition, arriving in Old Delhi with seven children and starting over from nothing. Higher education didn't reach us until the third generation—now my extended family spans universities and professions that my grandparents sacrificed everything to make possible. I learned early what access can unlock when barriers finally fall. My mother embodied that conviction. She'd put herself through school against considerable odds, and she drilled into me: "Education is the one weapon no one can take from you." During my pharmacy training, as she battled leukemia, I balanced rigorous coursework with hospital visits. She refused to let me consider anything but finishing my degree, never wavering in pushing me forward. That strength continues to fuel my advocacy for women reclaiming their health, education, and independence.
