TEAM: NEOMED Ignite
Our Team
Poornima Oruganti
Team CaptainI enjoy good coffee, yoga, and time spent with my family and friends.
I do not enjoy studying for hours.
What keeps me going through of hundreds of lectures, countless pages of reading, and endless days spent in the library quiet section? Knowing that at the end of it all, my knowledge will transform into services for those in need. After a summer spent in Washington D.C. as an American Medical Association Government Relations Intern, and as a Health Policy Fellow with the American Association of Public Health Physicians, I learned that healthcare is complicated system. I make sense of the complications by staying active in the medical community and keeping the goals in mind. As a public and global health advocate, I’m in it for my patients, my community, and the world. I am ignited by global healthcare.
Gowri Kabbur
Team MemberThe meaning of the name “Gowri” is a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Parvati. Living up to my namesake, who symbolizes power and strength, my passion for global health is truly ingrained in my upbringing. I was born in Sacramento, California and grew up in 8 different towns before enrolling in NEOMED’s 6-year BS/MD program. I have lived in Japan, Germany, Hawaii, Texas, Maryland, and Ohio! As a world-traveler in the medical field, I’ve immersed myself in a variety of cultures and have fallen in love with learning how to address health disparities. In my spare time, my hobbies include exploring, reading books, painting, and snowboarding. As a daughter of active duty military, it’s been an honor travelling the world. After working in the OB/GYN department in inner city Akron, I saw the vast diversity of patients in just one hospital. I’m looking forward to coalescing my passions for medicine and global health in order to truly make an impact on an international scale.
Yahui Li
Team MemberI immigrated to the US from China when I was a little girl, and it was like stepping into a completely different world. The food, the language, the people…the contrast between rural China and my suburban home was black and white. Growing up in Ohio, I had hobbies like any other kid – playing piano, painting, and hanging out with friends. But part of me never left Jiangsu Province. The diversity that exists on our planet is truly amazing. Although I have helped out in many ways in my own community through volunteering and research, I want to be able to give back to the globally underserved population. This desire is what prompted me to pursue medicine, and is what continues to ignite my passion.
Zi-Qi Liew
Team MemberNorthwest Ohio, born and raised. At the park is where I spent most of my days, Chilling out, running and studying, all cool, Worked hard to get myself to med school. When a couple of docs they were up to do good started volunteering in the Kenyan neighborhood I got in one big trip and flew through the air to a rural community to provide health care.
After living with Africans for a fourth of a year, I want to help more, I must persevere! If anything, I would say that the earth needs to be more aware; I vow that human rights of the world to be shared!
Now I’m aiming for an equal global health state, Helping places from prime meridian to equator! Working with my colleagues, we’re on our way there, To eradicate hunger from a world health affair.
P.S. Read it to the theme song of “The Prince of Bel-Air”
Ajleeta Sangtani
Team MemberHere’s a little story, a bio about me. I was born in India, in Mumbai, you see. Raised in Dubai, then moved to the U.S. Living in Ohio, was destiny, I guess I speak English and Hindi and I’m learning to sign And music and books are passions of mine I have two sisters, both of whom I surely love dearly, And I travel out of the country, usually yearly.
Spent a summer in Poland, another in Germany My best quality? Well, I’d like to think I’m funny.Nowadays you’d see me sipping on my coffee Reading First Aid or watching a Hindi movie.
Team Essay
Ruth Abiola’s cracked and blistered feet hits the floor of her Nigerian home. Her fifteen year-old back throbs. She is not sure if it is the unsteady roads or the weight of her unwanted, growing belly. Since that traumatic night, Ruth now lives outside the community, banished by her village elders. Sighing, she strikes a match and throws it into the charcoal pit. Watching the smoke fill her cramped hut, Ruth tosses in the only fish she caught that day. Without warning, she grips her belly in pain as she falls to the floor. In agony, she is alone.
Ruth’s situation epitomizes common challenges in global healthcare that our dedicated team can address. For instance, student-physician Gowri, a summer OB/GYN research fellow, works with women during vulnerable times in their pregnancy. In a world where neonatal and perinatal care goes ignored, Gowri helps patients get the care they need.
Ruth worries about being mistreated by physicians, so visiting the clinic is unfathomable. Women like Ruth deserve care that is respectfully in line with their culture and moral values. Student-physician Zi-Qi, who spent months volunteering in underserved clinics in Kenya, can provide this service for Ruth. Medical management with the best intentions sometimes can lead to unethical consequences. With her background in global justice, Zi-Qi can foster honorable and humane care.
To effectively treat patients, physicians need to quickly find information on patient point-of-care. Student-physician Yahui conducted research on medical technology integration to benefit patients worldwide. A lack of access to information technology may hinder Ruth’s quality of treatment, but Yahui’s work prevents delays in medical care. Resource disparities between countries make it difficult to dispense public health policies and spread health education. Proper use of resources saves lives.
Working with Ruth can be challenging due to her cultural background. Student-physician Ajleeta spent time in Central Europe, learning to bridge communication between culturally diverse patients and medical professionals. If someone like Ajleeta approaches Ruth in a medical setting, Ruth might be more willing to receive medical care in the future.
Ruth never learned about the importance of prenatal vitamins, resulting in a dangerous and, unfortunately, unsupported pregnancy. Student-physician Poornima formerly worked as an American Medical Association Government Relations Intern. Using her experience, Poornima can implement public health policy in Ruth’s community. With help, Ruth can obtain information about preventing unwanted pregnancies, reporting sexual crimes, and receiving appropriate prenatal care.
Ruth’s story is, in a sense, very real, spanning several cultures and encompassing many different social classes and age groups. Though Ruth’s tale is fiction, our experiences are not. We cannot just tell you our stories: we want to show you. Together, we can make an impact and help change the lives of hundreds of other Ruths (or Ryans) to prevent a tragic end. Our team is equipped to tackle diverse and multifocal global health problems.