The Promise of Precision Medicine with Nisha Janamanchi
In this powerful season 2 episode 8 of the podcast Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer™ podcast, Nisha Janamanchi, an Analyst at HealthScape Advisors (a Chartis company), shares a personal story about how personalized medicine saved a loved one when standard treatments failed, sparking her interest in developing tailored treatment options, aka personalized or precision medicine. This experience highlights the critical role of genomics, AI, computational biology, and medical research in advancing healthcare innovation and disease prevention.
A 2025 Bioengineering graduate from the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Nisha is a Gen-Z leader seeking to make an impact through science-based innovations in the area of precision medicine, physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK), and related fields.
With Host Katy Hansell who has guided hundreds of people in their career, Nisha and Katy discuss Nisha's early interest in math and science, how she navigated STEM, how she had internships on campus and over her summers that helped her to refine her career interests and develop transferable skills. This episode is for anyone who knows a young person trying to navigate STEM and land a job after completing university.
Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, The Impact Whisperer™, is an expert impact coach, strategic advisor, and Board Director, known for helping 500+ client organizations across three continents make the impact they care about.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Nisha
03:23 Nisha's Moment of Impact
06:36 What Is Personalized Medicine?
08:11 How AI Predicts Which Treatments Will Work for You
09:50 Breast Cancer & Precision Medicine
16:03 Internship Spotlight: PBPK Modeling & Drug Dosages
18:57 Why the Same Drug Works Differently for Different People
21:09 AI's Transformative Power in Healthcare
23:57 The Future: Your Genome in Your Health Record
25:22 Fostering a Passion in Science and Math
29:08 What Is Computational Biology?
30:36 Using AI to Research Gut Microbiome Stability
33:43 First Internship: Lab Work & Career Self-Discovery
38:07 How to Land Internships (Even When You're Starting Out)
41:58 Nisha's Analyst Role: Where Science Meets Business
47:25 Advice for Women in AI & Tech Fields
50:25 Should You Study Computer Science in the Age of AI?
52:31 What Gives Nisha Hope
55:21 Closing Remarks