MENTOR

“I listen, nurture, and remain committed to social justice in academia. My mentorship activities foster diversity and inclusion, and I have been successful at leveraging federal funds to formalize and strengthen the pipeline to public health careers for students, teachers, and faculty.”
— Dr. Megha Ramaswamy, Mentor + Professor

My goal as an educational leader has always been to have an open door for students, staff, and trainees, especially those who are the most marginalized in the academic enterprise. I am uniquely able to impart skills, content expertise, and strategy for helping early stage investigators apply for NIH funding, given my own track record of success and experience as a grant reviewer. The most unique aspect of my mentoring approach is compassion and a whole person approach to career development that includes both professional and personal challenges and opportunities. I try to both model and encourage contentment as a success indicator in the academic enterprise. I currently serve as Chair of the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

I have mentored over 250 high school, undergraduate, graduate, nursing, medical students, and faculty in my positions as:

  • Co-Director of an undergraduate public health program at Hunter College City University of New York (2007-2009)

  • Site-Director of a master of public health (MPH) program at University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) (2009-2012)

  • Trainer of junior faculty and staff | four National Institutes of Health (NIH) diversity supplements (2017-2023)

  • Primary mentor for five NIH early career development awards from (2019-2027)

  • Director of the NIH-funded University of Kansas Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Award KL2 program (2021-2023)

  • Associate Director for Cancer Workforce Equity in the University of Kansas Cancer Center (National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer center) (2022-2023)

  • Leadership role as PI on two NIH Science Education and Partnership Awards (2017-2026)

  • Regular teaching activities since 2005

MENTOR + TEACHING RECOGNITION

  • Four Excellence in Public Health Teaching Awards (2012, 2016, 2020) From The KUMC MPH Program

  • The Soaring Star Award | Role In Mentoring From KUMC Women In Medicine And Science

  • The Ruth Bohan Teaching Professorship For Excellence As A Medical Educator

  • The Excellence in Mentoring Award From The University of Kansas School of Medicine

  • The Director’s Mentoring Award from the University of Kansas Cancer Center

MENTOR

See my YouTube @DrMeghaRamaswamy for my tips on research in jails and communities, building teams, teaching, and writing grants.