Dr. Manali Desai’s Population Science Research to Advance Health Equity
- Physician-scientist who is focusing on promoting HPV vaccine uptake, preventive screenings for cancer and cancer survivorship at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas.
- Her ecological study found that low-income areas had higher HPV vaccination coverage in Texas, also known as reverse disparity.
- Her research highlights that the insurance status and quality of patient-physician interaction impacts uptake of cervical cancer screenings.
- Additionally, her research reports younger, educated, higher-income internet users are the primary users of digital health and wellness apps for seeking cancer information.
After completing her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) along with an internship at Mahatma Gandhi Mission Institute of Health Sciences (MGMIHS) in Navi Mumbai, India, she moved to the US to seek graduate education in the field of public health. Fueled by a deep interest in population health and a desire to work at the intersection of clinical practice and public health research, she transitioned from clinical patient care to population science research, completing a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics from Texas A&M School of Public Health, College Station, TX and eventually pursuing her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX in US.
Dr. Desai has spent time teaching as well. She worked as a Teaching Assistant for several graduate-level public health courses, including Epidemiology, R programming, and data analysis. Along the way, she has guided many students helping them with their studies and also offering advice on how to work in research settings across different countries. Her research interests expanded further during her time at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and Texas A&M University, where she contributed to projects related to HIV disparities and perinatal mental health, respectively. She further enhanced her analytical expertise by earning a professional certification in SAS Base programming. Today, she is a Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology and an experienced researcher, educator, physician-scientist, mentor, and public health advocate.
Manali’s PhD research looked at how doctors and other healthcare workers in Texas feel about and recommend the HPV vaccine. She also studied the differences in HPV vaccination rates among cancer survivors in the U.S. Her work has led to several well-known publications and shows how strongly she cares about preventing cancer and making healthcare fair for everyone. Over the years, she has helped write many research papers that have appeared in respected journals. These papers cover topics like why some people don’t get the HPV vaccine, how often people go for cancer screening, how doctors and patients talk to each other, and how telehealth is being used to support preventive care. Her research has also been shared at major public health events like the APHA, SER, and AACR, where it has drawn interest for highlighting important health issues.
Manali found that people living in low-income areas sometimes had better HPV vaccination rates, which might be because more of them had insurance that paid for the vaccine. She also noticed that things like race and whether someone has health insurance can affect if they get checked for colorectal cancer. In another part of her work, she saw that younger people, those with more money or education, and people who use the internet often are more likely to use apps to learn about cancer. She also found that when doctors talk clearly and listen well, more women go for cervical cancer screening. All of these findings point to one big idea: making vaccines and cancer checks easier to get could really help people live healthier lives.
Dr. Desai has a solid background in both clinical medicine and public health. This helped her land a competitive position as a Research Assistant at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. With her expertise, she’s working to make a real impact on global health, especially by reducing health inequalities and improving cancer prevention. Dr. Desai is passionate about fairness in healthcare and hopes to close the gap in public health policies through community research. “Public health tells the stories of people, shown through data,” she shared. “I want my research to connect the numbers with real change, especially for underserved communities around the world.”
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