Ankita Jain, MS, is a fourth-year medical student in the Class of 2026 at New York Medical College (NYMC) School of Medicine.  Originally from Gaithersburg, Maryland, Ankita graduated with her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 and her M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University in 2018.  During her three consecutive terms as a Student Senator (2021-2024), Ankita led the planning and execution of several intra- and inter-class social networking events that were the first of their kind at NYMC, including Homecoming, M1-M2 Halloween Mixer, Winter Galas, and Spring Formal.  As a Student Senator, Ankita enjoyed helping to foster a strong sense of community and belonging among members of the student body.  After completing a one-year Neurosurgery Research Fellowship with the Departments of Neurosurgery and Neurology at Westchester Medical Center during which she helped lead 25+ clinical trials and published 30+ peer-reviewed journal articles, Ankita is applying to neurosurgery residency.  Her current interests within the field of neurosurgery include neuro-oncology, pediatric neurosurgery, global neurosurgery, neurotrauma, peripheral nerve, and the use of augmented/virtual reality in neurosurgery.  In the long-term, Ankita strives to pursue neurosurgical practice at an academic institution, lead large-scale clinical trials in neurosurgery, and work to improve and expand on neurosurgical access, education, and training worldwide.

I joined Student Senate as a first year medical student in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with the Deans and administration during this challenging time, my fellow Senators and I helped to organize community-building events such as the first virtual M1 Friendsgiving, NYMedTalks—a full-day campus-wide event on healthcare access—and socially distanced activities including a drive-in movie and virtual escape room. In my leadership roles within Student Senate, I have served as Treasurer, Vice President, and President. As Treasurer, I managed the Student Activities budget, organized our first post-pandemic club fair, and streamlined the student reimbursement processes. As Vice President, I organized course representative elections and developed mentorship and team-building programming. As President, I promoted a shared vision for the Senate, oversaw the execution of initiatives, and created leadership development sessions for my fellow Senators.

Currently, I am an Internal Medicine resident at University of California, San Francisco. I am in UCSF's Research Pathway and am working on projects aimed at improving COPD outcomes at San Francisco General Hospital. I am also involved in the Big Sib/Little Sib program and help with planning Wellness initiatives for the Internal Medicine program.