On the Fast Track, Rutgers Pre-Med Student Pursues Health Equity and Community Impact 

Pre-med student Animesh Borad is taking the accelerated aspect of his seven-year BS/DO program quite literally

Animesh Borad has packed quite a few highlights into his three semesters at Rutgers University–Camden. And he’s only getting started. The biology major and BS/DO joint program student is on an accelerated medical track, earning research accolades and a health care internship. He has also helped launch a new on-campus initiative that brings hygienic resources to the Camden community.

All three Borad siblings—Animesh, his older sister, and his twin brother—are currently pursuing degrees in the medical field. He is especially proud of his sister, who will match with a residency program this spring.

“I have wanted to become a physician since I was a kid. I've looked up to my sister, and seeing her pursue that career path has reinvigorated my passion each year,” Borad said. 

Borad chose Rutgers–Camden for its proximity to hospitals and health programs in South Jersey and nearby Philadelphia, and for its accelerated joint medical program, which offers research opportunities as early as year one. Research experience was important to Borad, as COVID-19 shut down all of his high school’s in-person lab activities. He secured an undergraduate research position during his first year in the lab of biology professor Kwangwon Lee.

Working in Lee’s lab, Borad and research partner Anisha Snell studied the impact of FDA-approved drugs and mainstream medications on circadian rhythms and sleep disorders in fruit flies. They presented their work at Rutgers–Camden’s Spring Biology Day—the only first-year students to participate—and were pleasantly surprised to win an award for the most innovative poster presentation.

The experience propelled Borad to pursue other clinical research opportunities, particularly in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This summer, he interned for the Children’s Specialized Hospital in its Research Center, studying ways to treat toe-walking and abnormal gait in children with neurological and motor disorders.

Borad continued his work with the hospital in the fall and was chosen as a Governor’s STEM Scholar. He was one of 128 high-achieving college and high school students in New Jersey to receive research, networking, and professional development support as part of a public-private partnership to retain top STEM talent in the state.

Each scholar pursues a research project with community impact; Borad is leading a team of five high school students in a study that addresses the state’s EMT shortage. His knowledge of the subject runs deep, as he and his twin brother have volunteered for their local ambulance and rescue squad since high school.

“Through our research, we hope to enact legislation that will not only address the EMT shortage but will also educate high schoolers on basic first aid,” Borad said.

Borad is also addressing the shortage of food and hygiene products in the community through RU Caring for Camden, a student organization he co-founded in his first semester at Rutgers–Camden. This fall, the group teamed with the SGA and Walmart to assemble and donate close to 90 hygiene kits for the Rutgers–Camden Police Department and Wellness Center, partnered with the Philadelphia-based organization Sharing Excess to host free pop-up produce stands in the Campus Center, and distributed more than 500 period products to individuals in need.

As RU Caring for Camden’s vice president, Borad is growth-minded, exploring new areas of funding and ways to transition the organization into a nonprofit. “We are looking to expand our organization, develop new partnerships, and come closer to our overall goal of serving the Camden and campus community,” he said. An economics minor, he is interested in the business side of healthcare. While medicine remains his passion, he has considered building a career that converges science and business.

I want to do something that combines the entrepreneurial aspects of medicine and health in order to help more people.

–Animesh Borad