I am Akila, a medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Currently, I am pursuing an NIDDK-funded research training fellowship investigating the effect of nutrition on nephropathy risk in patients with sickle cell anemia. Outside of school, I also volunteer in our student-run free clinic, mentor first-generation college students, and serve in leadership roles in the national American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American College of Physicians (ACP). I am passionate about medical student well-being and serve on my university’s Medical Student Council and Student Wellness and Resilience Committee.

Growing up in Bangladesh, my interest in advocacy developed as a high schooler in Dhaka implementing service projects at my school. Moving to the U.S. for college deepened my interest in health equity. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Biological Sciences in 2016, I pursued a career in public health developing equity-oriented solutions for patients experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Broadly, my research and advocacy interests include global health justice, medical education, AANHPI data disaggregation, bilingual and bicultural/immigrant health equity, and cancer screening disparities.

I plan on pursuing a long-term career in academic internal medicine investigating factors that contribute to global health inequity, particularly for marginalized and immigrant patients, and implementing interventions to combat that. I am humbled to be training to become one of the first female physicians in my family and enjoy serving as a mentor to students, especially those who are first-generation, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and immigrants. In my free time, I love exploring independent bookstores, reading diaspora fiction, cooking fusion meals, and listening to music, particularly Bengali classics.