IST alumni accept postdoctoral appointments at Harvard and Yale medical schools

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two graduate students from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) have joined Ivy League medical schools as postdoctoral researchers. Sanjana Mendu and Sahiti Kunchay each completed IST’s doctoral program in informatics with a focus on digital health that combines human-computer interaction and data-driven health interventions.

Sanjana Mendu — Harvard Medical School

Mendu has joined the Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery (MRCAS) Lab at Harvard Medical School, which is known for its interdisciplinary research occurring at the intersection of complex surgery, cognitive engineering and computer science, according to its website.

At the MRCAS Lab, Mendu is supporting teamwork within the cardiac surgery operation room context.

“Our work involves using technological sensors, cameras and supportive artificial intelligence systems to understand cognitive load and better integrate teamwork in such a high-stress, high-demand workplace,” she said.

Mendu earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia (UVA), where she was matched with a mentor who supported her work on health-focused projects and applying technology to real-world health problems. There, she worked to develop a virtual agent to help Hispanic women in rural Florida, a high-risk population, learn more about cervical cancer.

“That project had a huge impact on me because it showed that programmers do more than sit at a computer screen to make technological systems go,” Mendu said. “I felt that my work was making a difference to real people, and that feeling was addictive.”

At Penn State, Mendu focused on developing conversational user interfaces to provide health interventions that are traditionally delivered in person.

“Our findings showed that technology has an important place in providing real-world medical solutions,” she said.

Mendu wanted an interdisciplinary environment for her postdoctoral work and just happened to find it in a medical school, she said.

“I’m surrounded by medical doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants doing remarkable things in surgery that I could never do,” she said. “But they turn to me when it comes to what technology is needed to improve workflows and communication.”

Beyond her technology skills to assist, Mendu brings an openness to insert herself into the lab’s collaborative environment.

“Digitized health spaces require more than medical training,” she said, “ and computational skills are highly prized right now.”

Sahiti Kunchay — Yale School of Medicine

Kunchay has joined the Digital Insights for Treating and Assessing Lifestyle Risk Behaviors (DIGITAL) Lab at the Yale School of Medicine, which applies digital health technologies and state-of-the-art data analytics to advance precision medicine for substance use disorders, according to its website. The lab’s research is closely related to the work Kunchay did for her thesis.

“For my doctoral studies at IST, I set out to understand how we could use smart devices and wearables to collect information about how substance use plays out in the real world in young adults,” she said. “And I wanted to look at how we take this technology further in terms of providing interventions for these young adults.”

The field studies conducted by Kunchay showed that “wearables are indeed a good way to collect this really interesting information.” Her postdoctoral appointment at the DIGITAL Lab provides an opportunity for her to carry that work forward.

“I wanted to find a position where my skillset could translate really well in the behavioral and health sciences,” she said. “Researchers in these fields are becoming increasingly focused on how computational sciences can advance their work. The DIGITAL Lab at Yale is a really good match for me.”

Even before coming to Penn State, Kunchay was interested in learning how technological systems could contribute to social technical issues and help understand and address various aspects of mental health. She earned a bachelor of technology degree in computer science with a minor in sociology from Shiv Nadar University in India.

Later, as she began considering a postdoctoral career, Kunchay focused on medical schools.

“More and more, medical schools are bringing in interdisciplinary scientists,” she said. “IST provided experiences that gave me equal exposure to computation and health. Now, I am precisely in the right intersection of medical sciences, behavioral sciences and computational sciences.”

Saeed Abdullah, associate professor in the College of IST, served as a graduate adviser to Mendu and Kunchay.

“These postdoctoral positions at top medical schools are an excellent fit for Sanjana and Sahiti and a reflection of their persistence, focus and high-quality work,” he said. “Further, their achievements are a testament to the interdisciplinary focus and strength of IST.”

According to Abdullah, IST schools, also called iSchools, should continue to promote building not just the skills that enable people to shift from one domain to another but also to having an openness to do so.

“Building up interdisciplinary networks and workflows has become increasingly important,” he said. “Sanjana’s and Sahiti’s trajectory from IST to medical school is an excellent example of this. I look forward to the contributions they will make to advancing both computational and health outcomes.”