Sanvi Bhatnagar ’26 has a plan: after graduation from Lehigh University’s College of Health (COH) this spring, she will attend Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health to pursue her MPH. Afterwards, she plans to attend medical school in order to bridge clinical practices with population health and community-centered innovation.
Her education at the COH is making this vision possible. The Ridgewood, New Jersey native initially started at Lehigh as a pre-med student in the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) biology program. During her sophomore year, she transferred to the COH in order to focus her studies on population health. Since then, she has taken advantage of multiple experiential learning opportunities that provide real-world learning in health.
For instance, in January 2024, Bhatnagar participated in Lehigh’s Global Social Impact Fellowship, a program that allows students to address sustainable development challenges in low-resource countries. The program, TrackTB: Transforming TB Treatment Through Patient-Centered Digital Health Solutions, is an innovative digital health initiative dedicated to transforming tuberculosis (TB) treatment adherence and communication between patients and providers in the Philippines. This system features a digital health platform where patients can track their TB medication through daily surveys; this data is integrated into existing health records used by the Filipino healthcare system.
Under the mentorship of Sean Vasillaros, adjunct professor of computer science and business, and Khanjan Mehta, vice provost for Creative Inquiry and director of the Mountaintop Initiative, Bhatnagar helped to design this platform. The work was completed alongside capstone students from the Computer, Science and Business major, a joint program between the College of Business and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. According to Bhatnagar, the Philippines has one of the highest rates of medication non-adherence; it is difficult for many individuals to communicate directly with their doctors because they lack the time or resources. The health record system is also heavily paper-based.
In the summer of 2024, she spent three weeks in the country meeting with healthcare workers from various clinics and beta-testing the program. “We really had to build from the ground up, make all these connections and reach out to these innovation hubs and other tuberculosis groups in the Philippines,” she said. “It was really nice because our product was well-received, and people could see it in their lives.”
Bhatnagar spent two years supporting the project and concluded her work in December. She had the opportunity to write a research paper, which was published by the Global Health Technology Coalition (GHTC). In addition to presenting the research at the GHTC, she also shared it at the New England Science Symposium, hosted by Harvard Medical School, and at Mountaintop on Lehigh’s campus.
In the spring 2025 semester, Bhatnagar also conducted research with Lehigh’s Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center, focusing on postpartum mental health among women from different cultures. This opportunity was facilitated by the College of Health. The COH also helped her secure a summer 2025 internship with Tilray Brands in the area of health policy, learning under Denise Faltischek ’95, chief strategy officer and head of M&A. Faltishek recently participated in the COH’s Population Health Colloquium event, “Understanding Healthcare Finance Today.”
In her spare time, Bhatnagar serves on the College of Health’s Student Advisory Council as its Academic Excellence Chair. In this role, she collaborates with college leadership to facilitate mentorship and tutoring opportunities for the newer student body, develop panels featuring alumni and professors and create networking opportunities for students. She is also a member of the Lehigh University Student Senate’s Health Safety Committee and an assistant teacher in freshman biology classes in the CAS.
Reflecting on her most valuable takeaway from the College of Health, Bhatnagar said that everything she has learned has stayed with her. “I’m going to need to know it in my future. The professors that I had really cared about every student because every class that I’ve been in for the College of Health has been small enough where I can create relationships with all my professors. It’s very natural, and it’s truly helpful.”
The College of Health has prepared Bhatnagar to embark on her next chapter.
“The professors do a really good job of showing you what's out there, what's possible, and making sure that you're ready to face it after you graduate. I really appreciate it,” she said.
