ViTAL Chats: E-board spotlight with Shibangi Saha

Written by Thy Nguyen and Shibangi Saha

Welcome back to Vital Chats. My name is Thy Nguyen, the host for today’s podcast. I hope you enjoy our E-board members highlight series so far. Today’s episode is the last one of the series, so we would like to introduce you to Shibangi. She was the Executive Director of Vital from 2019–2020 and currently serves as the advisor of the club. Hi Shibangi, thank you for joining us today. To start off, can you introduce yourself to the audience.

Answer: I’m Shibangi, currently a graduate student in the Northeastern Bioinformatics Master’s program. I just graduated from Northeastern in May with my Bachelor’s in Biology and Computer Science. I will complete my current program in May 2021. After that, I look to continue working in bioinformatics research and healthcare analytics before applying to medical school to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a physician.

I must say that your background is really unique. So why did you decide to do a double major in Biology and Computer Science? What are the challenges when you pursue these two distinct majors?

Answer: The biggest drivers behind my unique major combination were curiosity and passion for healthcare innovation. I entered Northeastern as a typical pre-med biology major, but was so interested in the different areas of healthcare tech and the room for opportunity to improve healthcare as I volunteered in hospitals and became more aware of healthcare problems like access and quality of care. This merger between technology and healthcare translated to an interest in healthcare consulting analytics and bioinformatics. The biggest challenges I faced were that my coursework was so different and didn’t seem to relate till I was able to take more advanced Bioinformatics courses and professionally work in healthcare consulting.

Majoring in two different majors must give you the opportunities to obtain diverse co-op experiences. So share with us some of the most valuable things you learnt from your co-ops?

Answer: So I had originally planned for 2 co-op experiences- one research focused and the other clinical. Therefore, I first worked at a gene therapy lab with Harvard Med & Mass Eye and Ear and then as a PCT in a neurosurgical ICU. I saw the two experiences as two flip sides of a coin. While my first co-op involved bench research and no patient interaction, my second co-op was strictly clinical. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these experiences and learned a lot about myself in these experiences. My favorite part of my first research co-op was the intellectual stimulation and room for innovation to solve critical problems. My favorite part of my second clinical co-op was connecting with patients and working in the hospital & healthcare environment, which I aspire to be my future. I just accepted my third co-op at Repare Therapeutics as a part of my MS program. I will be working in the bioinformatics department in personalized medicine for cancer. I’m really excited for my first biotech pharma industry experience and look forward to using these diverse experiences to make an impact in cancer research.

Congratulations on your new co-op. I believe your experiences from the previous co-op will support your new role in the biotech pharma industry. Now, I bet the audience really wants to know what inspired you to create Vital — a healthcare innovation community for students at Northeastern?

Answer: My biggest inspiration for ViTAL was the lack of space to discuss and celebrate the amazing achievements in the holistic healthcare innovation space, especially being in Boston with Cambridge biotech over the river and Longwood Medical Area a block away. I saw many Northeastern healthcare groups, but they seemed to be very sectionalized. My favorite part of ViTAL is the interdisciplinary backgrounds of the members. We each bring diverse experiences and create a home for people passionate in healthcare, no matter their background.

And how did Vital strengthen your career goal as a healthcare professional?

Answer: ViTAL helped me to expand my horizons and network. I built great relationships with speakers, advisors and faculty, and my team members. Each person I met had a unique journey or interest in healthcare. Listening to and learning from these different stories kindled my own passion, educating me about fields I knew little about. For example, I barely knew anything about healthcare consulting before and now and am helping to build ViTAL’s venture arm and working as a Data Scientist in a healthcare consulting firm.

Yeah, I agree. ViTAL has helped me to explore non-traditional opportunities in healthcare. To conclude today’s podcast, can you share with us your future plan?

Answer: I will be continuing to work as a Data Scientist in a healthcare consulting firm and at my co-op at Repare Therapeutics as a Bioinformatics Research Assistant. After graduation from my Bioinformatics Master’s program, I look to continue working in bioinformatics research and healthcare analytics before applying to medical school to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a physician.

Thank you for your sharing. I wish you the best of luck in your future journey.

Thanks y’all who has followed our E-board members highlight series. We really hope to see you join ViTAL this semester. As always, to get updated with our activities and learn more about ViTAL, you can follow us on social media, @vitalnortheastern, and check for updates on our website, www.northeastern.edu/vital.

Listen to ViTAL Chats at: https://soundcloud.com/user-254266302/e-board-spotlight-with-shibangi-saha