Biography

Puja Shanbhag is the Spring 2023 India Center and HTMS Center Intern for the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives. She is a senior at UCF pursuing an undergraduate degree in biology in the pre-professional track. Puja is a member of the College of Science Ambassadors and a frequent volunteer at Shepard’s Hope clinic in Orlando. Her research interests include mapping trends in public health specifically around fertility and birth rates, how environmental factors may affect these subjects, and how behavioral and societal perceptions around women and childbirth further impact public health trends. Upon graduation she plans on taking a gap year and volunteering, working within the healthcare field, and hopefully doing research. In her time in college, Shanbhag has travelled to India, Greece and Mexico and became a lifelong student and lasting fan of both the incredible literature and the food of all these countries. In this position, she’s excited to assist the GPI office to analyze and review developments and trends related to specific areas/regions within the international community as well as within her own research interests.