Sowmya Doni

Sowmya Doni is a graduate student at Boston University School of Public Health pursuing an M.P.H. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. As a physician, she became interested in how environmental hazards shape health across geographic locations and populations. Through clinical practice, she observed how poor air quality could exacerbate asthma and persistent upper respiratory inflammation, while occupational hazards contributed to conditions such as COPD and skin irritation. She also observed distinctive disease patterns associated with local environmental resources, including dental and skeletal fluorosis among patients from Nalgonda, Telangana, associated with fluoride-contaminated groundwater. These experiences led her to recognize environmental health as an important component of preventive medicine and to pursue epidemiologic and biostatistical approaches to identifying environmental risks, informing health policy, and advancing health equity. She is particularly interested in environmental health challenges in urban communities and their impact on vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and children during critical periods of growth and development.