As the son of Indian immigrants, Dr. Naveen Kishore Balakrishnan always felt drawn to diverse patient populations. During his medical education, he sought out experiences involving community health research that included working with the homeless or those with psychiatric issues. Ultimately, his goal is to work in internal medicine and assist underserved populations.

Dr. Naveen Kishore Balakrishnan

What this award means: “I hope to be at the frontiers of internal medicine care and serve underserved populations. To receive an award from my role models who have previously given this award to students I’ve looked up to is quite possibly the second best affirmation of my efforts that I could receive right now (after making my parents proud, of course!).”

Mentor comment: “Naveen is a well-rounded student with a strong foundation of clinical skills and an earnest communication style that makes patients feel comfortable – allowing him to deliver evidence-based, personalized care. Inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, Naveen is invested in addressing social barriers to care and strives to work with disadvantaged communities. Naveen has a bright future ahead of him and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue to watch him grow in the next three years as a resident at UTSW!” – Dr. Ahmad Anshasi, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Background and family: “I was born in Croydon, the United Kingdom, to two Indian immigrant parents. I have a younger sister, and we all moved to the United States when I was 7. I’ve lived in Rhode Island, Texas, and England.”

What led to your career path: “As the son of a physician and due to personal medical experiences, I found myself interested in medicine. Meeting people from different walks of life, learning to recognize my privilege, and learning to process my own identities and experiences as an immigrant really helped me develop a passion for serving underserved populations. I spent medical school obtaining experiences that might help me become a leader in bringing equity and justice to our communities, and I believe I can do that in internal medicine.”

UTSW activities: “I helped create a hepatitis C screening program with linkage-to-care at the local homeless men’s shelter. I also helped grow the student advocacy group (now Student Patient Advocates for the Rights of our Communities, or SPARC) and learned about community-based participatory research, for which I’ll graduate with a distinction in community health. I also served as a Gold Humanism Honor Society co-Chair for the Humanism elective, which is open to all UTSW professions schools.”

Surprising fact: “I used to play competitive chess nationally and was ranked in the top 100 for my age. I went on to represent my undergrad class at the pan-collegiate tournament, and I wish I had more time to dedicate to chess.”

Future plans: “I hope to serve underserved populations at an academic center in an inpatient care setting. I hope to teach and to continue community-based participatory research. I also hope to bring different types of patient advocacy to the forefront of a physician’s modern role.”

About the award: The award is given annually to one or more graduating medical students who excel academically during clinical rotations and exhibit an interest in and compassion for patients.