Women Scientists in Action
Nancy Pandhi, M.D., M.P.H.
Nancy Pandhi, M.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her research is directed towards redesign of outpatient health care to improve the health outcomes for older adults.
Dr. Pandhi received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and her M.D. from Medical College of Virginia. She decided to go into medicine after learning about the striking health disparities that exist for underserved populations. She then chose Family Medicine as a specialty because of its emphasis on developing a comprehensive, holistic approach to caring for patients in the context of their community and culture.
After receiving her medical degree, Dr. Pandhi continued her training as a resident at the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice where she developed and implemented a curriculum focusing on spirituality and medicine with funding from the John Templeton Foundation. This curriculum focused on identifying and maintaining sources of well-being for residents, faculty, and patients. Dr. Pandhi was a recipient of the American Academy of Family Physicians Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education and the Resident Teaching Award and has served in several national leadership roles, including participation as the resident member of the Family Medicine Residency Review Committee and the resident representative to the board of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors.
Dr. Pandhi moved to the University of Wisconsin where she has been funded by a series of NIH training and career development programs. Initially a fellow in the Department of Family Medicine’s Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) training grant program, she later became a scholar in the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Research (BIRCWH) program. Dr. Pandhi was recently awarded a Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award by the National Institute on Aging. She credits the strong mentorship aspects of these programs as a critical component of her success to date, saying. “I have been so fortunate to have enthusiastic and supportive mentors that are helping me acquire the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to attack my research questions with appropriate rigor. Their guidance is critical as I develop a research program that combines my passion for scientific inquiry with a desire to improve the lives of vulnerable populations on a larger scale than the individual needs that I assist with in the clinic.”
While progressing as a researcher from a fellow to an Assistant Professor, Dr. Pandhi has also continued as a student and a clinician. At the same as pursuing a successful research program as an NRSA fellow, she also earned a Masters in Public Health and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Population Health Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Maureen Smith. Dr. Smith, an Associate Professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Family Medicine whose research program examines the effectiveness and equity of the health care system for aging and chronically ill persons, notes that “Dr. Pandhi brings extraordinary creativity and commitment to improving care for vulnerable patients in both her clinical practice and her research.” Dr. Pandhi maintains a clinical practice at with Access Community Health Centers. She also is the medical director for the Southside MEDiC clinic, a student-run free clinic whose mission is to provide medical care to uninsured members of the Madison community while enhancing practical educational opportunities for health professions students. “Practicing in clinical settings that care for the underserved gives context for my research questions and keeps me in touch with questions that are important to answer,” she says.
The long-term goal of Dr. Pandhi's research program is to develop and implement a redesigned medical home with optimal continuity of care supporting vulnerable older adults' health. The medical home provides the individual with a more comprehensive approach to the management of chronic or acute conditions, incorporating preventive care by facilitating partnerships between the individual, his or her personal physician, and when appropriate, the patient’s family.
Dr. Pandhi is using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to research the effects of continuity of care on older adults' health. Her specific research questions are: 1) whether continuity of care with an individual physician has an effect over and above continuity with a health care site; 2) the characteristics of vulnerability in older adults and how they relate to continuity and health outcomes; and 3) the effects of distinct aspects of continuity of care (such as the sharing of information and the components of the doctor-patient relationship) on older adults' health.
With her diverse background and extensive training and research experience, Dr. Pandhi hopes to help change the way older adults receive their health care. Her work is both topical and timely as the US population ages and health care costs continue to spiral upwards. It is her hope that her research will result in improved quality of life for older adults by determining which aspects of the ambulatory care experience can best support the health of this population.
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