Ravina Anand, MD'23 | Diana Award Recipient

Ravina Anand, a first year Cumming School of Medicine MD student, received The Diana Award in recognition of her work advancing marginalized communities and promoting women’s rights.     

By blending technology and medical education, Ravina marries her two strengths to improve upon existing health care practices. As she embarks on the new year, she looks forward to identifying areas of need that she and her colleagues can impact.

"I’m excited to see the innovation that 2021 will bring to healthcare technology and the ways in which technology integrates into the health system. Medicine and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Physicians are problem solvers.  They make decisions that are at times based on incomplete information, dynamic personas and rapidly changing situations. Medicine is continually innovating in terms of technology, from augmented reality to femtech to robotics. I hope medical students tap into their inner entrepreneur to turn possibilities into reality at an accelerated pace and fearlessly pursue their convictions with courage."

Ravina has the courage to think broadly. Her expertise in using technology to dismantle boundaries enables her to take on big challenges. While her goals are ambitious, she recognized future challenges.

"I hope to continue to build inclusive technology that solves big problems, both on Earth and beyond, improving and personalizing health care for various demographics and propelling the future of space medicine. Working towards becoming a multi-planetary species will require us to come up with new solutions to manage medicine in space. The confidence to embark into the unknown requires tremendous humility - something very important to me. There will be countless risks, setbacks, and restarts during the process of creating but it is how physicians will approach and reframe their mindset that will determine success. The Cumming School of Medicine is one of the best places to be, with a focus on bringing together individuals from various educational backgrounds and experiences. They set us up to be in a community where we can all be challenged to think and create beyond the borders of the classroom."

Ravina is the COO and co-founder of FLIK, a platform and community which connects leaders and students who identify as female with meaningful apprenticeships across the world.  The goal of the platform is to be an inclusive and safe community to advance women’s global economic participation and emphasizes meaningful mentorship and career experience.  

"Receiving the Diana Award was an immense honour. Princess Diana faced tremendous external pressures that paved a path of resilience and grit, inspiring thousands to lead a path of service. She believed in the power of young people to change the world, the desire to resist the norm and pursue the unconventional,” said Ravina.  

Established more than 20 years ago in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Diana Award is a prestigious accolade awarded to a person aged 9-25 for their social action or humanitarian work.