Ram Kizhakkancherry Ganesh

I grew up in the Silicon Valley of India - Bangalore and in high school I thought I was predestined to become a software engineer since I loved math and enjoyed programming. But I switched gears to pursue a path in medicine as the sheer complexity of the human body baffled me. At Ramaiah medical college I soon discovered that while I got into medicine for the science it is the humanities of the field that made me fall in love with it. After completing medical school, I decided to stay for an extra year in the position of a junior resident at the department of Hematology-oncology. It is here that I came upon the happy realization that my curiosity and compassion culminated in Oncology. During this tenure I contributed in the ongoing efforts to build a cancer registry which helped me recognize that this wealth of data can be utilized to build machine learning models to help improve cancer care. Eager to work at the intersection of medicine and tech, I embarked on a journey to the US and my first stop was at New York City where I completed my pediatric residency training at Mount Sinai and Elmhurst hospital center. Witnessing immense social disparity in the diverse neighborhoods of New York helped me develop cultural humility and emphasized the need for a holistic approach. I hence wish to utilize these experiences to develop personalized cancer care to minimize suffering and maximize outcomes. At St. Jude, I believe that this dream can be nurtured to fruition. Outside of medicine, I love to read, paint and spend time in nature. I am a theater enthusiast and enjoy Indian classical music.