Hey everyone, my name is Stuti Panchal, and I am a rising senior at Pitt! I am a pre-medical Neuroscience major with minors in Chemistry and French, and I am also pursuing the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine certificate. Originally from New Jersey, I chose Pitt for its amazing STEM resources. 

At Pitt, I am a member of the undergraduate pre-medical club AMSA, an undergraduate teaching assistant for Dr. O’Reilly’s Biochemistry course, and a volunteer at UPMC Presbyterian hospital and the local animal shelter. I am also an undergraduate researcher at the Cunningham Laboratory, where we investigate auditory deficits and hearing loss. In my free time, I love to spend time with my friends, binge TV shows, read books, and travel! 

I chose the Comparative Healthcare in Graz program because of its relevance to my future career path. With aspirations of becoming a future physician, I am dedicated to obtaining an immersive, transdisciplinary educational experience to allow me to create sustainable, holistic solutions for medical treatments. This program will introduce me to the field of health policies and governmental impact in nationalized health systems. Knowledge of the healthcare system is needed to promote health and empowerment, prevent diseases, manage illness and disabilities, and improve the quality of treatment. Therefore, studying in Austria, in a European healthcare setting with a rich and unique history, would allow me to compare across global medical systems, which will aid me in contributing to better our American healthcare policies in the future.