OB/GYN Resident Physician
University of Chicago School of Medicine
Dr. Sandhya Chandrasekaran is currently a third-year OBGYN resident at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She grew up in the Bay Area and completed her undergraduate education as a double major in biology and chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. During her time there, she realized her dual love for scientific investigation at the bench and patient care at the bedside. Subsequently, she moved to Manhattan to pursue her MD PhD training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She successfully defended her thesis in neuroscience in 2020, elucidating the epigenetic sequelae of stress on neuronal brain cells. She also spent nearly a decade caring for patients the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) clinic, a student-run, attending-supervised clinic, serving in several capacities. She graduated in 2022 as the only MD PhD trainee to have received a trifecta of recognitions - Gold Humanism Honor Society inductee, Distinction in Medical Education, and Distinction in Research.
Her passion for OBGYN blossomed during her graduate training, when disparities in reproductive rights became increasingly evident amidst a charged political climate. She was particularly struck by the relative lack of basic science research in obstetrics, limiting evidence-based advances in both clinical practice and counseling. During her time at UCMC thus far, she has been active in recruitment events and community-based outreach initiatives with the South Side community. Most recently, she was elected as Academic Chief (2025-2026). She has additionally been involved in several clinical research projects centered on preeclampsia, twin placental pathologies, fetal growth restriction, and cervical insufficiency. She plans to apply to MFM fellowship this upcoming spring. Her career goal aspirations include ultimately heading a lab bridging her interests in epigenomics and obstetrics exploring the placental molecular changes mediating prenatal maternal stress with fetal neurodevelopmental outcomes.
