Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology Archives

Lasya Kandukuri is an honors graduate of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, where she earned a BS in neuroscience, with minors in chemistry and creative writing. Having completed over 300 hours of emergency medical technician training, she is EMT certified in the state of North Carolina. As a research assistant with UNC Neurology’s Dementia with Lewy Bodies Consortium, she has managed large public health datasets, contributing to novel research in understanding symptom progression within the disease, and presented at both the 2026 Celebration of Undergraduate Research at UNC as well as the 4th Annual Symposium for Learning about Alzheimer’s disease-related Medical Research at Duke and UNC (SLAM-DUNC). She has also accumulated over 900 hours as a healthcare provider through her work as an EMT, as an overnight caretaker through CareYaya, and as an intern at Jaipur’s Aarogyam Hospital and its affiliated slum clinic. As the president of the Union County EMS Explorers Program in 2021, Lasya mentored peers interested in emergency medicine through educational workshops and ambulance ride-alongs. Further, as the president of UNC MEDLIFE from 2023 to 2025, she led volunteer initiatives with students and hosted fundraising campaigns for medical aid and education in underserved communities. As a recipient of the 2024 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, she completed an eight-week intensive Hindi program at the American Institute of Indian Studies in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where she achieved near-native fluency in the language. Her clinical, research, and leadership experiences have equipped her to navigate complex team dynamics, manage multifaceted projects, and practice collaboration with empathy in service-oriented work. In the long term, she sees herself as a researcher and professor who encourages student inquiry into global health systems, advances accessibility in emergency care, and amplifies the voices of those in need.

Lasya’s Fulbright-Nehru research is investigating how geography and socioeconomic factors impact 108 Ambulance Service response times and thus patient outcomes across urban and peri-urban regions of Jaipur. In collaboration with her host institution in India, she is using multivariable regression and GIS mapping on anonymized EMS datasets to identify predictors of delays, along with a deprivation index constructed from census indicators to capture socioeconomic variation. She is also conducting interviews with first responders, hospital providers, researchers, and policy experts to gather insights into potential strategies for intervention, and analyzing patterns in order to minimize delays and mortality rates.

Nundini Varshney is a public health advocate and aspiring physician with a strong background in clinical research, health education, and community-based initiatives. She graduated cum laude in human biology and with a minor in business from the University of California San Diego. Her academic foundation is complemented by extensive clinical research experience across Southern California, where she has contributed to studies focused on Alzheimer’s dementia, anemia in chronic kidney disease, and novel cancer therapies targeting genetic mutations.

In parallel with her scientific work, Nundini has led efforts to increase access to life-saving education and resources. She is the founder of a student-led organization that has trained over 4,000 middle- and high-school students in CPR and AED (automated external defribillator) usage. Her advocacy work has contributed to the development and co-sponsorship of legislation mandating annual CPR and AED training for students and teachers across California.

Her interests lie at the intersection of medicine, policy, and education, particularly in the fields of cancer prevention, adolescent health, and reproductive justice. With a commitment to serving marginalized populations and a deep appreciation for culturally informed care, Nundini seeks to bridge the gap between science and community impact. She aims to pursue a career in oncology that integrates clinical care, research, and advocacy to advance health equity at both local and global levels.

Nundini’s Fulbright-Nehru public health project in Rajasthan is focusing on improving adolescent awareness of cervical cancer and increasing the HPV vaccination uptake. In collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology, she is surveying students, parents, and educators in Jaipur, Rajasthan, to identify gaps in reproductive health education, particularly omissions related to HPV and cervical cancer in national guidelines. The project is also developing context-sensitive interventions shaped by cultural, gender, and economic factors. Nundini will use her findings to deliver evidence-based policy recommendations to support equitable vaccine access across state-funded health systems.