My name is Ashwin, and I’m an MD student at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. I grew up in a suburb outside of Indianapolis, though I moved the US when I was young. I received a BS in Biochemistry and a BS in Neurobiology and Physiology from Purdue University in West Lafayette.
As an undergraduate, my research focused on molecular biology. I worked in the Tantama Lab in the Department of Chemistry. For my undergraduate thesis, I studied optimum expression conditions for protein sensing domains of fluorescent optical sensors. Since starting medical school, I have developed an interest in epidemiology and social determinants of health, and have conducted a variety of investigations in large, multi-center cohorts.
I currently work in the Climate Change Research Group (CCRG), advised by Professor Dan Horton. My research goals are to study the determinants of vulnerability to extreme heat at the community level, and to construct a heat vulnerability index for the city of Chicago. I will achieve this by using a combination of community indicators, geospatial considerations, and individual health factors, such as socioeconomic status, built environment, and medical comorbidities.
