Research Experience Opens Student’s Path to Patient Care
Growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania, Samrithaa “Sam” Balakrishnan developed an interest in health that would eventually take her in two seemingly different academic directions. At Rice University in Houston, she studied neuroscience and social policy analysis, examining both the biology underlying health and the social conditions that can influence it.
Now an M.D./M.P.H. student at UT Southwestern, Ms. Balakrishnan is bringing those interests together as she begins her medical education.
An important step along that path came in summer 2024, when she participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Internship in Kidney Disease, or SURISKD. Working with Dr. Keri Drake, Ms. Balakrishnan used mouse models to study kidney development and Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer that primarily affects children. Her project examined how mutations in the Wt1 gene affect kidney formation and the potential role of a related gene, Pax3, in the development of Wilms tumor.
But some of the experiences that proved most influential took Ms. Balakrishnan outside the laboratory. By shadowing Dr. Drake and other UT Southwestern nephrologists, she was able to see how the scientific questions she was investigating intersected with the care of patients.
“I especially enjoyed attending Grand Rounds, where I heard about the same kidney disorders I had studied in the lab, but this time in the context of real patients,” she said. “I loved seeing how physicians applied their scientific knowledge to each patient’s unique circumstances and thinking through how we could best approach their care.”
SURISKD also introduced Ms. Balakrishnan to another dimension of kidney disease. Learning about disparities in access to dialysis demonstrated how factors beyond a diagnosis can influence a patient’s health, while her laboratory research underscored how much remains to be understood about the biological mechanisms underlying disease.
“Participating in SURISKD introduced me to nephrology and helped me see how research and public health come together in medicine,” she said. “These experiences strengthened my interest in both understanding disease through research and improving how we care for patients.”
That connection has continued beyond the summer program. Ms. Balakrishnan remains involved in research with Dr. Drake remotely while attending medical school and continues to consider nephrology as a possible specialty.
Her decision to pursue the M.D./M.P.H. program at UT Southwestern reflects many of the same questions that first interested her as an undergraduate: how disease develops, how scientific discoveries can improve its treatment, and how social conditions and access to care influence what happens to individual patients.
“My research experiences sparked a curiosity about the science behind disease and the many questions we have yet to answer,” she said. “I’m excited to bring these interests together in medical school and start learning the science that helps us understand disease while also considering how we can apply that knowledge to each patient’s unique circumstances.”
For students wondering whether SURISKD is right for them, Ms. Balakrishnan offers simple advice: Apply, even without previous experience in nephrology or a firmly defined research interest.
“You don’t need to have a background in nephrology or know exactly what kind of research you want to pursue to benefit from the experience,” she said. “You may discover interests and career possibilities you hadn’t considered before.”
For Ms. Balakrishnan, that possibility became reality. SURISKD gave her experience developing research questions, interpreting scientific literature, conducting experiments, and presenting her work at a formal conference. More significantly, it introduced her to a specialty she is still considering and showed her how research, public health, and clinical medicine can converge around the needs of patients.
“I truly cannot overstate how foundational SURISKD has been to my personal and professional growth,” she said. “Looking back, I’m so grateful for the mentorship, skills, and perspective I gained through this experience.”