I’m a student, writer, and aspiring journalist interested in health equity.

My main areas of interest are global health, infectious disease, climate change, and human rights. My long term goal is to become a physician-journalist.

I am from the Bay Area and currently attend Purdue University, where I study Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology with minors in the Human Rights Studies and a certificate in the Medical Humanities. As of the Fall 2026 semester, I am an undergraduate research intern in the LaCount Lab exploring filovirus-host interactions. At Purdue, I am also the Treasurer of the Medical Humanities Book Club and an EMT at the Purdue University Fire Department.

In 2026, I was a Stanford University School of Medicine Storytelling & Medicine Summer Scholar, where I received one-on-one mentorship from Dr. Michael Nedelman (CNN, CBS, ABC News) on writing for health journalism. My latest freelance work covers current challenges to HPV vaccination on Youtube @PatKellyTeaches.

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Contact: rsikand@purdue.edu