Sanjana Balachandra is a first-year medical student at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Arts in biology and a Business Foundations Certificate from The University of Texas at Austin. At UT Southwestern, Balachandra is the representative of her class to the Association of American Medical Colleges, where she advocates on behalf of her school on issues such as diversity, mental health and curriculum reform. She is also the co-founder of the Ambassadors Committee, a mentorship program to help new medical students transition into medical school. Prior to graduate school, Balachandra conducted research on high-risk pregnancies. She also volunteered to lead science projects with middle school students. Balachandra is passionate about health policy topics, particularly the Affordable Care Act and the opioid epidemic crisis. She hopes to pursue a career as an academic surgeon and continue her work in health policy. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, exercising and cooking, and she is looking forward to enjoying her hobbies in D.C. with her Graduate Program in Public Policy cohort.