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Vyshnave Jeyabalan: Improving knowledge translation

By Gabriel Rees Dabbs

Vy's hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

MHIS candidate Vyshnave Jeyabalan takes life on one smile at a time.

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Twenty-three-year-old Vyshnave Jeyabalan is currently in her first year of the Master of Health Information Science (MHIS) program at Western University.

Vyshnave, or Vy, came to the program after completing a BSc in Biology at Western with a specialization in Genetics. Her passion for biology was ignited when she became fascinated with the science of heredity in high school. This interest made the decision to study genetics obvious, but she found the choice of what to do after much more difficult.

While deliberating what step to take next, she had a chance encounter with her current supervisor, Dr. Elysée Nouvet, at a global health conference. Her natural urge to connect sparked the conversation that would lead her back to Western. By the time she left, she’d been invited to the program and persuaded by the opportunity to integrate technology.

"As a kid I always wanted to help people. This program gives you the opportunity to look at healthcare and say, 'how can we make it better?'"
For Vy, it's all about connection. While the natural progression always seemed to be graduate school, the practical focus of the MHIS program excited her. Concerned with the lack of health equality and how research wasn’t being implemented into health systems, the program seemed to provide the answer. The ability to easily access various disciplines within the FIMS faculty created the ideal situation to best apply her scientific research.

Fun Fact

Vy learned Bharathanatyam for 12 years.

Now Vy finds herself on the frontlines of an exciting new field: drone usage in health care delivery. The chance to integrate technology into the process of providing medical supplies to disadvantaged people struck a chord with her. Not only does she see issues with the implementation of research results, she laments the lack of uniformity in its delivery. Once again, her drive to connect shines through. While drone technology in medicine is generally reserved for emergencies, Vy is confident it can be an asset in the fight against inequality.

She is the first to admit she still has plenty to learn, but already feels more capable of contributing thanks to the MHIS program. While the opportunity for a PhD certainly exists, the lure of applying the practical skills she’s acquired entices her most.

One thing’s for sure, Vy isn’t short of options.

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Profiles in the Meet Our Students section are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.