About Arya Rao

Raised in rural Northern Michigan, Arya Rao grew up in the hospital, watching her parents, Konkani immigrants from India and two of the area’s only physicians, care for generations of families. Her grandfather, a biochemist, instilled in her a love of science, continuing a tradition of educators in her family dating back to the 1800s. Equally inspired by these legacies, Arya always imagined a career that could leverage scientific innovation to improve patient care, especially for communities without access like her own.

Arya was accepted to Columbia University at the age of 16 and graduated in 2022 with degrees in biochemistry and computer science. While there, she was named a Laidlaw Scholar, earned the Bridges and Sturtevant Prize for the most outstanding undergraduate research in biology, and received the David B. Truman Alumni Award for the most distinguished contribution to the academic affairs of Columbia College. She also captained the Women’s Water Polo team and was named an Outstanding Scholar-Athlete by the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Arya is now pursuing her MD and PhD degrees through the joint Harvard Medical School/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology MD/PhD program, to which she was accepted at age 20. Working with Professor Pardis Sabeti (Harvard) and Professor Sangeeta Bhatia (MIT), she uses evolution as a lens for therapeutic design, developing artificial intelligence (AI) methods that can read the genetic record and guide new approaches to intervention. Leveraging her dual training in medicine and computer science, Arya also leads the MESH AI Research Group at Mass General Brigham, where she develops simulation-based tools that test clinical AI systems in realistic educational settings before they reach patients. She has been recognized for her work with Forbes 30 Under 30, the Massachusetts Medical Society Information Technology Award, the Harvard Presidential Public Service Fellowship, a Harvard Medical School Dean’s Innovation Award, and a Ladders to Cures Accelerator Award. She has published 30+ manuscripts in venues including JAMA, Nature, and NEJM AI, and was the youngest speaker invited to the World Medical Innovation Forum, among several other national and international invited talks.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Arya is an accomplished conductor, composer, vocalist, and saxophonist. A graduate of Columbia University’s Music Performance Program (in addition to her primary degrees), she was selected to perform a saxophone duet at Carnegie Hall in April 2022. She currently serves as assistant artistic director for the Longwood Chorus, an auditioned ensemble composed of 100+ healthcare and science professionals.

Going forward, Arya envisions a career as a surgeon-scientist that keeps her close to patients while taking on leadership that shapes how new technologies are evaluated, implemented, and made usable in the places that need them most.