Supraja Saravanakumar , BS

Supraja Saravanakumar (she/her/hers) is a 2nd year MPH candidate in the department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She graduated from UC Davis in 2019, majoring in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. Following graduation, she worked as a Research Associate at City of Hope, developing CAR-T cell therapy models for melanoma and glioblastoma. Currently, Supraja collaborates with Curamericas Global in the KIKOP project to reduce maternal and child mortality, and gender-based violence in Kisii, Kenya. She has worked extensively with unhoused populations in Sacramento and Los Angeles, and serves as a Public Health Coordinator with the UCLA Mobile Clinic Project. Supraja is also a certified Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Counselor at Peace over Violence, providing support services in Los Angeles through a crisis hotline. Being a first-generation student in the US and a woman of color, Supraja holds a conviction to improve the livelihood of people with similar stories and contribute to the inclusion of underrepresented communities in academic and professional spaces. Outside of her professional life, Supraja enjoys cooking, reading a good book, and talking with her family and friends on Facetime calls.