Nithya Trichy

"I want to improve the health of the community by educating and making healthy food options more affordable for under-resourced populations and, ultimately, alleviate food insecurities."

Education & Experience

• First Year Medical Student at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences, Minors/Certificate in Public Health, Nutrition, and Global Health Studies from the University of Cincinnati
• She currently serves as a Bearcat Mentor and Lead Teacher at New Leaf Kitchen. She also helped develop the Bearcats Food Recovery Network, a public health program in partnership with the University of Cincinnati, to distribute extra food from campus dining locations to communities in need.

What do you hope to gain from participating in the Integrative Medicine MSSP Program?

I hope to learn about the cultural and historical backgrounds behind integrative therapies and the systemic challenges associated with implementing them. Utilizing this knowledge, I will read, learn, and share existing journals focused on current innovations in Lifestyle Medicine and Integrative Health with my colleagues during journal clubs and interest group meetings. After consolidating this information, I aspire to contribute to research oriented around identifying the health disparities that exist within the community and developing effective avenues to address them.

Megan Knauer

“We must shift medicine to emphasizing prevention and meeting people where they’re at in their journeys. This begins with figuring out what patients can control, and what lifestyle factors are mutable.”

Education & Experience

• First Year Medical Student at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• Bachelor of Sciences in Medical Utilitarianism from Duke University
• She also worked as a research assistant and as an intern at Duke University’s healthcare policy center

What do you hope to gain from participating in the Integrative Medicine MSSP Program?

I hope to participate in the integrative medicine MSSP because I want to understand how to incorporate stress management, dietary changes, and every other aspect of holistic care into my practice. Further, I want to make this model of care possible for every patient. Further, I want to make this model of care possible for every patient. I hope that participating in this MSSP program will expose me to the different tools that integrative medicine incorporates, will allow me to make connections with leaders in the field so I can discover where I can be useful in expanding this model, and will teach me to connect with patients in a way that sees each as their story, not as their diagnoses.