Wasan Kumar

University of Illinois at Chicago

Wasan Kumar, a third-year student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a student leader active in improving health equity on Chicago’s west side. As part of West Side United and Rush University Medical Center, he has been implementing a program to identify patients with social determinant of health needs and connecting them with the relevant resources. At UIHealth he has been studying contextualized care errors, which occur when physicians overlook crucial environmental or social factors when making medical decisions. He serves as a Leadership Council member in the UIC Peer Health Exchange chapter, a student organization which coordinates undergraduate student volunteers to teach a skills-based health education curriculum to first-year Chicago Public School students. He has also been an intern in the office of State Rep Theresa Mah. On campus he is involved in the South Asian community, serving as the president of the Indian Students Association. He has been working to combat political apathy and the effects of the model minority myth in this community. He is also heavily involved in research as part of the UIC College of Medicine Pathology Department, studying the effects of heavy metals on cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Michael Amiridis
Chancellor
University of Illinois at Chicago

Personal Statement

I believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to health, but the reality is one’s zip code can add or subtract decades from their life. Moving from the suburbs to Chicago showed me some of the struggles faced by others, and I realized I could do more to address these issues. I began to work on projects centered around health equity specifically on Chicago’s West Side through Rush Medical Center and UIHealth. These experiences taught me how various social and environmental factors can impact an individual’s health, but also how the proper allocation of resources and power can mitigate these effects. I went on to develop health policy and work in the office of a state legislator. I joined a student organization which teaches health education to high school freshmen who otherwise may not have access, and I hope to empower others to pursue collective action around these issues. More recently, I have been interested in the influence of progressive policy on improving people’s lives and have canvassed for political campaigns that share those views. In the future, I want to develop innovative nationwide policies that reduce the impact of the structural inequities that determine health.

Wasan Kumar
Neuroscience: Class of 2021
written 2020

2020 Fellows Alphabetical by Institution

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Alexander Kaye, U. of Central Florida Miyako Iwata, UC Berkeley M. Chiamaka Okonkwo, UNC Charlotte Noelia Michelle Flores González, Universidad de Monterrey Ashlyn Woods, University of Baltimore Greta Hacker, University of Central Arkansas Christian Coleman, University of Central Oklahoma Hailey Ettinger, University of Colorado Boulder Michael Hernández, University of Connecticut Claire Sullivan, University of Dayton Maggie Nelson, University of Delaware Tarun Ramesh, University of Georgia Gregoria Uroza, University of Houston-Downtown Wasan Kumar, University of Illinois at Chicago Kaitlyn Meyr, University of Kentucky Ana Benitez, University of La Verne Amanda Gardner, University of Maine at Augusta Stephanie Turcios, University of Mary Washington Nihira Mugamba, University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) Maggie Sullivan, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Danelia Ramirez Aguilar, University of Massachusetts Lowell Jendayi London, University of Miami Meredith Days, University of Michigan Lucy Grimshaw, University of Missouri – St. Louis Kortney Sims, University of Montana Dinesh Karki, University of Nebraska Omaha Alexandra Vergara, University of New Hampshire Keyri Ambrocio, University of New Haven Aryelle Jacobsen, University of North Carolina Asheville Katherine Torres, University of North Georgia Yarik Molina, University of North Texas at Dallas Cole Passick, University of Northern Iowa Evan McKenna, University of Notre Dame Justin Norris, University of Oklahoma Nisha Sridhar, University of Oregon Oluwatomisin Oyedele, University of Pennsylvania Stephanie Rose, University of Pittsburgh TJ Tann, University of Richmond Ana Trejo Aguilar, University of San Diego Evelyn Pedraza Fernandez, University of San Francisco Imani Sherrills, University of South Carolina Beaufort Patrick Mack, University of South Carolina Upstate Reylan Cook, University of South Carolina-Columbia - Columbia, SC Tyus Edmond, University of St Thomas Amber Heidenreich, University of Wisconsin - Superior Shehrose Charania, University of Wisconsin-Madison Tavyonia Davis, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Trenton Ebel, UW Green Bay
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