Aspiring Physician, Stem Cell Researcher, Rutgers-Camden Student

Most students don’t conduct stem-cell research and sit on a national board with a $3 million budget. Tej Nuthulaganti isn’t like most students.

After earning his undergraduate degree in biology from Rutgers-Camden in 2007, Tej is on track to earn his graduate degree in biology this May, thanks to the five-year combined bachelor and master degree program in biology at Rutgers-Camden. In addition to finalizing his thesis on leech embryo stem cell research and conducting two case studies at a local hospital, Tej continues to maintain a leadership position representing pre-med students in the American Medical Student Association, an organization representing 68,000 members.  

For the past two years the 2003 graduate of Highland High School has been working with Daniel Shain, an associate professor of biology at Rutgers-Camden and one of the nation’s leading experts on leech research. Nuthulaganti has furthered Shain’s research on identifying key genes that are pivotal in the stem cell formation in the leech, which gives a simple model system for more complicated research. Their research could be beneficial in the early detection of cancerous cells.

In addition to presenting his research at major conferences, including one at the University of California-Berkeley, Nuthulaganti has also made sure that his fellow students who are considering careers in medicine also have a forum to ask questions and think deeply about what kinds of doctors they’d like to be. Nuthulaganti and Farhad Modarai, a graduate biology student at Rutgers-Camden, have increased the Rutgers-Camden American Medical Student Association (AMSA) from seven members to more than 100. In fact, AMSA is the largest student group on the Camden campus and is the Camden AMSA chapter is the largest of all Rutgers campuses.

“We wanted to offer students an outlet to explore the medical field and the important issues surrounding medicine today without having to do additional coursework as well as provide them with opportunities to become leaders and attend conferences,” says Nuthulaganti.

As Nuthulaganti was rallying his fellow students to join AMSA, he traveled to national conferences in Washington, D.C., where he was able to meet notable personalities like Barack Obama. Both Nuthulaganti and Modarai ran for and were elected to serve in positions for the national organization. Nuthulaganti serves as trustee-at-large for AMSA’s national board, where he works to involve 7,500 pre-med students across the nation in a debate about the future of medicine. He’s up for re-election next month.

He is applying to medical schools this summer and is considering programs focused on public health.