Research Fellow - University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine - Pittsburgh, PA, United States
(2026-01)
- Leading research on the role of artificial intelligence in the medical education space, aiming to publish results in the form of a manuscript on "Journal Clubs" hosted by my mentor
- Participating in a self-directed research month under the mentorship of Dr. Buckley
- Participating in a self-directed clinical elective in GI Psychiatry under the mentorship of Dr. Buckley in UPMC Digestive Health Center
Research Fellow - Binion Lab, UPMC IBD Center – Translational Research - Pittsburgh, PA, United States
(2024-01)
- Leading research on the incorporation of polygenic risk scores with healthcare charges and biomarkers present within electronic health records among IBD patient registry of over 5000 patients
- Awarded 2024 NIH T35 summer award for project titled "Creating a Polygenic Risk Score by Leveraging Multiyear Mean Healthcare Charges as a Novel Clinical Phenotype" (Deferred the Dean's Scholar Research Program award)
- Awarded 2024 Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Student Research Fellowship for project titled "Creating a Polygenic Risk Score by Leveraging Multiyear Mean Healthcare Charges as a Novel Clinical Phenotype"
- Awarded ADVANCER II Fellowship to further research efforts with formal support and funding of up to $1,000 from the UPMC and University of Pittsburgh affiliated Institute for Clinical Research Education
Bioinformatics Lead - Verzi Lab, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University – New Brunswick - Piscataway, NJ, United States
(2018-01 - 2023-12)
Worked under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Verzi, Professor in the Department of Genetics, to focus on computational genomics related projects. Completed 3000+ hours in this experience.
- Co-authored on eight full length articles published or accepted into peer-reviewed journals
- Presented research on Vitamin D deficiency at 2019 Aresty Undergraduate Symposium
- Presented research on genome-wide alternative splicing in murine intestine at 2023 Quantitative Genetics and Genomics Gordon Research Conference
- Completed and presented an honors thesis titled "Investigating Transcriptional Mechanisms and Alternative Splicing in Response to TGF-β and BMP Signaling in the Intestinal Epithelium"
- Secured the 2018 – 2019 Aresty Research Assistant Fellowship, 2020 Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey Summer Fellowship, 2020 – 2021 Lloyd C. Gardner Fellowship in Leadership and Social Policy, and 2021-2023 NIH NIDDK Diversity Supplement Grant
- Analyzed transcriptomics datasets with computational techniques such as RNA-seq in various contexts including developing gut of mice, vitamin D deficiency, moringa seed extract, inflammatory bowel disease, and alternative splicing
- Mentored Sohaib Hassan, an incoming PhD candidate at Stanford University and Goldwater Scholar, and Evan Cohen, a current medical student at New Jersey Medical School
Clinical Research Assistant - Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - New Brunswick, NJ, United States
(2021-01 - 2023-12)
Worked under the mentorship of Dr. Lea Ann Chen, a leading physician-scientist who focuses on Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the microbiome.
- Recruited, consented, and retained study subjects from diverse ethnicities for three clinical studies on topics such as a prognostic blood-based test for treatment planning around inflammatory bowel disease, fecal microbiota transplantations, and genetics of inflammatory bowel disease within families
- Helped increase the number of patients consented or enrolled into the study during my employment for the industry-sponsored PRECIOUS (Predicting Crohn's and Colitis Outcomes in the United States) study
- Collaborated with a group at Cedars Sinai Medical Center to investigate genetic inflammatory bowel disease risk using biostatistics on the same subjects who I helped enroll and collect data from
- Handled creation and management of documents such as consent forms for the Institutional Review Board
- Aided in the handling, processing, and shipping of biospecimens collected from study subjects
- Contributed to a successfully accepted abstract as a co-author and attended the 2023 Crohn's and Colitis Congress
Clinical Research Intern - Albert Einstein College of Medicine - Bronx, NY, United States
(2018-01 - 2022-12)
Served as a clinical research intern with a focus on digital health research under the mentorship of Dr. Sunit Jariwala, an allergist and immunologist and director of clinical research and innovation at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Completed approximately 100 hours in this experience.
- Compared ASTHMA-Xcel, a novel guideline-based, patient-facing mobile app with similar apps in the digital health space which culminated in a publication in the Journal of Asthma
- Helped with original research on a systematic review about how technological innovation is taught in medical education and facilitation collaboration with other undergraduate students
- Beta-tested the ASTHMA-Xcel app and a recent COVID-19 toolkit
Public Service Fellow - Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement - New Brunswick, NJ, United States
(2020-01 - 2020-12)
Selected as one of five students in a competitive process. Completed approximately 50 hours in this experience.
- Helped conduct research on food pantry practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic through interviews and focus groups
- Met with representatives from food pantries and soup kitchens operating in the Metuchen and Edison townships
- Published the following report: https://rwv.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Voorhees-Fellows-Report-1.16.21.pdf
Lead and Ambassador - New Jersey Governor's STEM Scholars - New Jersey, United States
(2017-01 - 2021-12)
Accepted to the 2017-2018 New Jersey Governor's STEM Scholars program, led then by Mr. David Hodges, as a college student team leader. Completed approximately 350 hours in this activity.
- Led a team of five high school students in conducting an independent project on implications of the 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (OGG1) with regard to metabolism and inflammatory diseases under the mentorship of Dr. Harini Sampath, culminating in a poster presentation during the 2018 New Jersey Statehouse STEM week
- Served as an ambassador to guide prospective applicants with information on the application, research, and conferences
Student Course Assistant, Genetics (Honors Computational Genetics) - Rutgers University, Nelson Biological Laboratories - New Brunswick, NJ, United States
(2020-01 - 2020-05)
Invited to teach Honors Computational Genetics after taking inaugural course offering. Completed approximately 60 hours in this position.
- Assisted first and second year students with in-class guidance and supplemental instruction alongside Dr. Christopher Ellison
Patient Education Coordinator - South Asian IBD Alliance - International
(2023-01)
Past: Patient Engagement Leader
- Serve as a national task force representative for the IBD Disease Prevention Survey study, sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, with over 1798 responses to date
- Advocate for the rising patient population of those who identify as South Asian and have IBD like me on social media outlets including Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter): https://southasianibd.org/rohit-reflects-on-saias-event-at-ddw-2024/ and https://southasianibd.org/patient-perspectives-discovery-of-inflammatory-pathway-in-ibd/
- Coordinate patient education with events such as "Family Matters: How to Support a Loved One with IBD" and "How to Manage Perianal Fistulas: Patient & Clinician Perspectives"
- Presented my experiences as a patient panelist at the 2024 Digestive Disease Week conference "Bridging the Communication Gap for Better IBD Care: A Collaborative Approach"
- Presented my experiences as a roundtable participant on clinical trials with Asian IBD patients in partnership wit
