Associate Professor, Department of Medicine

Dr. Natarajan received his medical degree from Madras Medical College, India, and a master’s in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. A physician–investigator with formal research training and clinical research expertise, including methodological skills, he has a long-standing interest in cardiovascular disease and diabetes, especially in finding ways to prevent adverse outcomes. He has devoted the past 15 years to finding ways to optimize care using randomized clinical trial designs to test behavioral and systems approaches. In additional to clinical trials, the other major focus of his work is to analyze large national databases to estimate and understand the effects of different variables on clinical outcomes in the population. He is excited to work with this energetic, idealistic team to address important healthcare issues like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other serious conditions.

Emily grew up in New Jersey and recently graduated from NYU with a BA in global public health and anthropology. Emily began working at the Natarajan Lab in June 2021, and her research has primarily focused on veterans navigating the challenges of diabetes or hypertension through projects at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System. During her time at NYU, Emily spearheaded a tutoring fundraiser for COVID-19 relief and conducted research evaluating racial and ethnic representation disparities in clinical trials for digital health technologies. In addition to conducting research at the VA, Emily likes to spend time at the New York City Free Clinic, crochet, visit museums, and travel. Emily hopes to attend medical school in the future.

Sophia is a sophomore studying global public health with a concentration in biology at NYU. Having grown up in New York City, Sophia is passionate about her work with veterans and hopes to use what she learns at the Natarajan Lab in her future pursuits within medical and public health research. After graduating, she hopes to attend medical school. Through research projects and volunteering in local hospitals, she aims to gain a well-rounded understanding of how our health systems serve the local communities and the ways in which they can progress. In her free time, Sophia also enjoys taking choreography classes and baking new recipes with her friends and family.

Arsh grew up in New Jersey and is a junior studying neural science with a minor in mathematics at NYU. He hopes to enter medical school and is excited to be a part of clinical research working to optimize care for diabetic veterans. His research projects at the lab involve evaluating the long-term effects of diabetic neuropathy and new measures of obesity. When not studying at NYU or working at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, Arsh enjoys volunteering at Lenox Hill emergency room, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

Leah grew up in Northern California and is a senior studying psychology at NYU. She greatly values being a part of research that will advance care for veterans with diabetes. When not at the VA, she is likely to be found running at Central Park as she is captain of the NYU cross country and track and field teams.

Sangmin received a BA in psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a EdM in psychological counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University. She joined the team in 2010 and served as a research phone counselor delivering theory-based tailored behavioral interventions to veterans with diabetes and hyperlipidemia, heart failure, and diabetes with a high risk of foot ulceration. She was also project coordinator for SMILE BP, a project to disseminate a successful intervention for patients with hypertension as well as for VICTORY, an initiative to improve care for veterans with heart failure. She is the senior staff member and is involved in providing support and mentorship to the junior staff.

Preethi is an undergraduate student majoring in biology at NYU. She is from Long Island and has been a researcher at the Natarajan Lab since January 2022. Her research interests include examining behavioral changes due to disease, especially in relation to infectious and chronic diseases. Preethi is excited to evaluate behavioral interventions, which focus on the health of veterans with diabetes and hypertension. With qualitative research methods, she hopes to help convey the veteran patient experience of the STEP UP intervention and evaluate how the SMILE BP behavioral intervention can be implemented in clinical practice. In addition to working at the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, she enjoys painting and reading. She hopes to apply what she has learned from her time at the VA to help people in the future as a clinician.

Kelsey is completing her senior year at NYU with a major in biology and a minor in child and adolescent mental health. Growing up in New York City, she’s always had a passion for serving underserved populations in the community. Kelsey is excited to work with veterans, reduce their risk for preventable diseases, and make medicine more accessible. In the future, she hopes to enter medicine to advocate and work to improve patient’s health. During her free time, she is interested in photography and traveling. She will be spending her last semester in Florence, Italy.

Amanda grew up on Long Island and graduated from Cornell University with a BS in communication and a minor in business. As a career path changer, Amanda went on to complete pre-medical classes at Hunter College and hopes to attend medical school in the future. She is very excited to be working with the veteran population to improve foot care for diabetic patients.

Yunika grew up in New York and she loves the diversity and energy of the city. She has been actively participating in the analysis and reporting of qualitative and quantitative projects related to the clinical trials being conducted in the lab. In her free time, she likes cooking, going to new restaurants with her friends, and watching Netflix. Currently, she is a junior at NYU majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. At NYU, she plays an important role in clubs such as Polygeia and Bioethics. She also volunteers at NYU Langone and as a tutor teaching Nepali to Nepali Americans. After graduating, she hopes to continue her love for learning and pursue a career in medicine.

Madison grew up in Montana where she attended Helena High School and trained in ballet for 15 years. After graduating high school, she continued her academic career at Columbia University where she was involved in numerous extracurricular groups such as serving as the assistant artistic director of Columbia Ballet Collaborative (CBC), dancing with CBC, starting the St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn program, and serving as the executive director of the program for two years. Madison graduated from Columbia in May 2017 with a degree in psychology and having completed the pre-medical curriculum. She hopes to pursue medical school in the near future.

Andrew He graduated from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2017 with a Masters of Science in Public Health and a concentration in Human Nutrition. Prior to Hopkins, Andrew worked as a research assistant in a cancer research lab at Columbia University Medic al Center and received his BS in Biochemistry and Spanish from SUNY Geneseo in 2013. His primary research interests include: noncommunicable diseases, the intersection of human nutrition and chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, CVD, and health systems strengthening. Andrew was born and raised in Westchester, NY.

Maria has a BA in psychology from Pace University and a master’s in clinical psychology and PhD in clinical psychology with a health emphasis from Yeshiva University. Her research interests include designing, implementing, and evaluating counseling interventions for people with cardiovascular-related chronic illnesses. She is also interested in the application of mixed methods to explore family-related health constructs in diverse populations.

Avani grew up in New Jersey and is a junior studying global public health and biology at NYU. After undergrad, she plans to pursue her life-long goal of going to medical school. Avani has been working at the VA since the end of her freshman year of college and is very excited to continue working alongside like-minded peers. Besides being involved in research projects at the VA, Avani loves to cook, explore the city with her friends, and spend time with her dog.

Haohan is a junior at NYU majoring in biology and minoring in nutrition and dietetics. Having been brought up in Tianjin, China, she came to NYU for college in 2016. She is interested in human physiology and metabolism, and she likes to study the interaction between the internal human body and the external environment. During her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, singing a few pieces of random song, or playing table tennis at the NYU school team. She sees cooking as fun experiments to do and will try new things out from time to time. On weekends, you can find her shopping for apples like crazy in various markets.

Issa grew up in New York City and is majoring in psychology on the pre-health track at NYU College of Arts and Science. He plans to attend medical school after he graduates and is excited to participate in clinical research oriented at improving care for veterans with diabetes. When not at the VA, he volunteers with patients at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn and connects with other pre-professionally oriented students. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing board games, and exploring the city.