CHN Member Spotlight: Meghana
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I grew up in the Quad Cities on the border of Iowa and Illinois. I came to California for college at Caltech and now live in San Diego.
Where do you work and what type of healthcare are you involved with?
I am an MD/PhD Candidate at University of California, San Diego, finishing up my PhD and returning to third year of medical school in 2022.
What was your "climate awakening moment," if you can think of a single one?
Meghana Pagadala
Meghana is an MD/PhD student at UC San Diego
Climate change was always something on my mind growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River. Surrounded by corn fields and the river, in school, we were constantly reminded of how important it was to preserve the lands around us. For our local science fairs, I would lead research projects on wind energy and ethanol development. My town is the headquarters for John Deere and very agricultural, so the bond with the land was so strong. Once I decided on a career in medicine, I became passive and thought climate change was not in my “lane”. In 2019, seeing the increases in climate-related deaths and intense fires in California, I realized that I didn’t have time to sit back and I had to take an active position on climate change. Especially with the COVID pandemic, I had so much free time to think about my career goals. I entered research and medicine to make a difference and I feel we are at time where we need to make a difference with climate change right now.
When and how did you become involved in climate advocacy?
I connected with Ashley McClure in 2019 about Climate Health Now. During medical school, I was part of the California and American Medical Associations and really loved health policy. When I got an email through the California Medical Association Medical Student Section about getting involved in climate health advocacy, I jumped on the opportunity. Especially being quarantined during the pandemic, I thought this would be great to learn more about how I can take action on climate change.
Who inspires you to do this type of work?
Ashley McClure was the first person who inspired me to get involved. Seeing her passion and energy for climate health advocacy still drives me today. I also think the other healthcare workers I’ve met through the Catalyst Collective led by Ashley and our Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy fellowship are so inspiring and I’m so honored I get to work with them.
Are you working on any environmental justice projects currently?
Most of my focus right now has been on using the California Medical Association and organized medicine to push climate health advocacy. Specifically, we are trying to get CMA to support at least one climate health-related bill each year and prioritize climate health education amongst physicians. The Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy fellowship I am part of is helping us build a plan to achieve these goals.
What do you do to recharge?
Traveling, eating and working out. I played volleyball at Caltech, so I really enjoy playing both indoor and sand volleyball in San Diego. Also, I love to dance and do aerial silks.
What are two books that made an impact on you?
Emperor of all Maladies and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. My PhD research is in cancer genomics and I think Emperor of all Maladies is one of the best written books about anything biological. It is basically a biography of cancer and is very engaging. I recently finished listening to the 21 Lessons for the 21st Century audiobook and climate change is mentioned several times. I really enjoyed the perspective of this book on some of the pressing challenges our generation is dealing with.
A huge thanks for Meghana for being interviewed and Chelsea Young for interviewing her. We'd love to spotlight a different member in each newsletter -- know someone we should spotlight? Let us know!