Sahana Khanna
YEAR TWO:
Prompt: What specific experiences (honors or otherwise) in the past year have had the most impact on your personal, academic, or professional goals and life trajectory? Which future experiences will further encourage this growth? Please articulate specific academic and/or professional goals for the next year.
There were a plethora of experiences that I am grateful to have had within this past year! Between attending conferences, presenting research, and traveling abroad, each experience provided me with the opportunity to explore something new.
Gastroenterology Research
In November, I flew out to Hollywood, Florida to present my research in NASPGHAN, short for “North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition”. I research part-time in the CCHMC Gastroenterology Department under Dr. Neha Santucci, and was able to submit my research to present in the conference.
The experience was eye-opening. Not only was it the first time I presented research, but it was also the first time attending a conference! I was amazed at all the different presentations, how each discovery opened up more knowledge within the world of medicine. I presented my research, which investigated how various social determinants of health, the non-medical factors that can influence one’s health and well-being, influence patients with disorders of the gut-brain interactions (DGBI’s) and the effects on their clinical outcomes.
I was also able to present this research at the Digestive Health Center Annual Scientific Symposium hosted at Cincinnati Childrens. CCHMC is one of the leading research hospitals in Gastroenterology, and I was able to meet with world-renowned physicians and discuss how my research impacts the DGBI field.
This had an immense impact on my professional goals. Participating in RaMP freshman year enabled me to consider research as a parallel career path to medicine, and this conference only further solidified that desire. I had the opportunity to interact with so many medical and research professionals who proved to me that practicing medicine and research simultaneously is the dream.
Strange Tools: Artistic Inquiry & Embodied Cognitive Science
I travelled to Europe this year! I took the UHP Study Tour called “Strange Tools”. This tour took us to Amsterdam, Netherlands to explore art and its intertwined connection with society and cognitive science. We learned about how some tools, once dubbed strange, actually led to innovation and progression within various societies, focusing deeply on Amsterdam. I understood how to apply the concepts of a strange tool to my own field of interest, healthcare.
Travelling to Amsterdam was quite the experience! I was able to visit world-renowned sites, such as the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum! I went on boat rides down the various canals of Amsterdam, shopped in the trinket shops, tried out the different modes of public transportation, and gained a new obsession with Miffy, a character that was actually created in Amsterdam (pictured to the right)! On the last day, some of the students went to a little town called Zaanse Schans, near the suburbs of the main city. This town was known for their windmills - while walking through the entire town, you couldn't go more than a quarter mile without finding another windmill!
This was a big win for both my academic and personal goals. I’ve never been to Europe before, so finally gaining exposure to the architecture and way of life was very riveting to experience. Academically, Strange Tools allowed me to observe how science is seen through a creative perspective. Science has always been taught separately from art and philosophy in school, and seeing them being used simultaneously throughout various cultures helped to broaden my view of the subject. I was amazed to see how different periods utilize these seemingly-different yet vaguely-similar topics through design.
I hope that experiences such as continuing my research on gastroenterological diseases, and taking courses more creatively challenging will help to further encourage the growth I’ve gained over the past year. I hope that by this time next year, I’ve taken the MCAT and have started preparing to apply to medical school; hoping to look back at the past three years with no regrets!