It took three attempts for Anvita Ambardekar to get accepted into the highly coveted Medical Intelligence and Innovation Institute’s (Mi4) Summer Internship Program, but she finally got the opportunity between her third and fourth years of high school.
It wasn’t that Anvita wasn’t qualified. The STEM standout always has been interested in the medical field, a passion further strengthened by her journey as a Crohn’s disease patient at Rady Children’s Health Orange County.
It’s because the program has become increasingly more competitive.
This year, more than 1,140 students applied for 75 internship positions, a reflection of both the program’s reputation and the growing interest among young people who want early exposure to healthcare.
Opening doors
Last summer’s eight-week internship, says Anvita, empowered her for a college adventure that begins this month at Johns Hopkins University, where she’ll study to become a researcher in the medical device industry.
“The Mi4 summer internship opened a lot of doors for me and helped me become more confident in my career choice,” says Anvita, a glowing example of how the Mi4 Summer Internship supports not just aspiring healthcare professionals, but Rady Children’s patients themselves, equipping them with the tools and support they need to shape their futures.
For 14 years, the Mi4 Summer Internship has introduced students to the many ways they can have an influence in healthcare with a unique program that provides experiences in clinical care, research, innovation, data science, and leadership.
What began as an opportunity for one student who asked to shadow Dr. Anthony Chang, a pediatric cardiologist and chief intelligence and innovation officer, has grown into a meaningful pipeline for those who want to explore futures in healthcare and pediatric medicine.
Over the years, more than 1,000 students have completed the program, with over 95% going on to pursue healthcare careers.
So far this year, 16 Mi4 alumni have shared that they matched in residency programs, and one of them will be joining the UC Irvine Health/RCH residency program.
Many have become providers, including several physicians and nurses now working at Rady Children’s Health Orange County, including neurologist Dr. Adam Kalawi, who was in the program’s first cohort.
Active in iCAN
Anvita was diagnosed in 2022 with Crohn’s disease and has been a patient here ever since. The long-term inflammatory bowel disease causes chronic swelling and inflammation anywhere along the digestive tract, leading to painful flare-ups alternating with periods of remission. There currently is no cure; the condition can only be managed.
After her diagnosis, Anvita came across the International Children’s Advisory Network, or iCAN, an international consortium of advisory groups designed to give children and families a voice in medicine, research, and innovation.
Advocating for patient-centered solutions and to reduce the invasiveness of medical procedures for children, Anvita now is an Advisory Board member for iCAN and leadership advisor for the Rady Children’s OC iCAN chapter. She also serves as a liaison between the chapter and the MI4 Internship leadership.
Anvita, who loves public speaking, recently represented Rady Children’s Health Orange County at the Patient Safety Movement Foundation’s World Patient Safety Summit, founded by RCH-OC Board member Joe Kiani, where she spoke about the importance of including pediatric patients as part of the care team.
A novel capsule system
During her time in the Mi4 summer internship, Anvita was selected for the data science cohort. She developed an abstract exploring a novel, less invasive, AI-enabled approach to 3D gastrointestinal diagnostics which she presented at grand rounds and later won the high school abstract competition at the International AIMed Conference, which Dr. Chang hosts every year.
The LiDAScan novel capsule system integrates LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to capture real-time, three-dimensional depth data of the intestinal wall. The system enhances spatial mapping and localization and uses AI to identify abnormal structures. Current capsule endoscopes have a limited field of view, leading to missed abnormalities.
Anvita’s abstract idea stemmed from her experience as a patient. She underwent a capsule endoscopy a few times and it was difficult for her to swallow the capsule. She wondered how the process could be improved.
Global travels
This summer, Anvita visited India for the first time to see relatives, then jetted to Ireland to attend her third iCAN summit. Alternating between North America and Europe every year (Anvita previously attended summits in Montreal and Italy), the event provides iCAN youth members with an opportunity to gain experience from one another, and to network with leading professionals, including industry and clinicians, from around the globe.
Anvita hopes to develop pediatric-focused medical devices and pursue a career that combines biomedical engineering, entrepreneurship, and public policy to create innovative solutions that improve patients’ lives and make healthcare accessible to everyone.
“I’m very excited,” she says. “Mi4 was a life-changing experience for me. Being able to network with various healthcare professionals and like-minded peers gave me the opportunity to explore how I can make an impact in healthcare.
“The experiences, mentorship, and connections I gained through the program shaped my vision for what I want to pursue and gave me the confidence to take the next steps towards that goal.”
Learn more about medical innovation at CHOC
The CHOC Sharon Disney Lund Medical Intelligence, Information, Investigation and Innovation Institute, known as Mi4, is the hub for innovation at CHOC. Mi4 accelerates innovation and insight that will advance the health and well-being of children.
