R. Sonia Batra, AB ’94, MD ’00, MPH ’00
I recently attended the Los Angeles wedding reception of a colleague’s daughter, who will graduate from Harvard Medical School this spring. The newlyweds met while moving into Vanderbilt Hall and were both completing combined MD-MBA programs at Harvard while awaiting Couples Match results. Talking to the couple and their classmates gave me hope; it also underscored to me what an incredible privilege and responsibility it is to be part of the HMS alumni community. I am honored to serve on the HMS Alumni Council, as our outstanding medical education has provided us with a foundation not only to support our university and fellow graduates but also to promote societal trust in evidence-based medicine.
The HMS Alumni Council can play a crucial role in supporting a network of alumni to advise each other, offer mentorship, and foster collaboration. I recently signed up for MD Connect and was happy to see various filters by geography, specialty, and interest that could introduce me to colleagues across decades. I think this platform could be expanded to provide webinars from current HMS faculty that span topics from clinical updates to cutting-edge research on the Quad. Broadening access to resources at Countway Library would also be helpful, especially for alumni outside academia.
As graduates of Harvard Medical School, our unmatched education has equipped us with the tools to understand and interpret new areas of research along with rapid improvements in technology. However, scientific advances are sometimes depicted as confusing or contradictory in the media—this contributes to a growing distrust of true expertise and even science itself. In an era where influencers are believed over physicians and harmful myths spread rapidly online, it is especially important that the HMS Alumni Council supports a community of experts who work to restore public faith in medicine.
R. Sonia Batra, AB ’94, MD ’00, MPH ’00, is a dermatologist, micrographic dermatologic surgeon, and media expert who balances her clinical work with public health education in television and print. After studying history and science (biochemistry) as an undergraduate at Harvard, Batra earned an MSc in molecular genetics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. She returned to Harvard for medical school and designed a dual-degree program to graduate with MD and MPH degrees in four years. She completed her internship, residency, and chief residency in dermatology at Stanford. She went back to Boston for a fellowship with her mentors from medical school, pursuing research at the Clinical Unit for Research Trials in Skin at Brigham and Women’s Hospital while completing procedural dermatology training at SkinCare Physicians of Chestnut Hill.
Batra came home to Southern California to serve as head of dermatology and dermatologic surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center. She subsequently founded a private practice in Santa Monica, California. She was tapped as a dermatology expert for CBS’ Emmy-winning talk show, The Doctors, for several years and was grateful to be asked to co-host the show covering all aspects of medicine for its final six seasons. Through her media work, Batra saw the rise of harmful medical myths spread online and via social media and has sought to combat this by providing trusted, evidence-based information. She frequently collaborates with journalists ranging from NPR to Oprah Daily to educate and explain complex health topics to the public.
Meanwhile, she is a busy clinician, clinical researcher, and reviewer and editor for three dermatology journals. She is fortunate to mentor students from USC and UCLA as they embark on their medical training. She has won awards for research and clinical work throughout her career.
Batra has been dedicated to her classmates at HMS since she was a student and their Student Council president. She has been a co-chair for the Class of 2000’s 5th, 15th, 20th, and 25th Reunion Committees. After a virtual 20th Reunion during the pandemic, she is excited to meet in person at the upcoming 25th Reunion in June.