Jun 29, 2026

Bridging Gaps and Building Bridges

Irisa Gold

From its founding, Jefferson’s leaders have believed that students should have access to education, no matter their financial circumstances. The original charter stipulated that 10 students of “talents” but limited means should be admitted. Those were Jefferson’s first scholarship recipients.

Today, more than two centuries since, scholarships continue to make the dream of a Jefferson education possible. They are also vital catalysts, transforming not only the lives of students throughout their educational journey, but also creating a profound, lifelong impact on their futures — and the futures of the patients, families, and communities they will serve. Just as importantly, they exemplify for these students the importance of giving back — and paying it forward.

For Akshay S. Krishnan, a member of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College Class of 2027 and recipient of the James D. and Mary Jo Danella Family Scholarship, his scholarship does not only provide him with the opportunity to continue his medical education. It is also allowing him to save for an additional degree.

“Receiving this scholarship has allowed me to start saving for a master’s in public health, to deepen my understanding of complex public health issues and how I can have an impact to help a larger group achieve better health outcomes,” he says. “I hope to spearhead programs to expand access to care for those with limited access and to improve my community’s overall health and well-being.”

Upon completion of medical school, Krishnan plans to become an emergency medicine physician. “Often these patients are in the emergency room not because they want to be there, but because they have no other place to go for care,” he shares. “These shortfalls can manifest in different ways, such as a patient unable to get regular screening for a disease, or to see a primary care doctor to manage a chronic health problem. With my MD and MPH I will not only be able to help the patient who is in front of me, but I will also have the tools to design programs to address barriers and help future patients more easily access care.”

With my MD and MPH I will not only be able to help the patient who is in front of me, but I will also have the tools to design programs to address barriers and help future patients more easily access care.

Krishnan is proud of his role as president of the SKMC Student Council, working to improve students’ non-academic lives while fostering community among students and strengthening connections both within, and between, classes. “Having a strong community improves our medical education, because students do not view their classmates as competitors, but instead as colleagues who are learning together and working toward the common goal of becoming the best physicians possible,” he says.

Digital tools that enable patients to better access their health information, manage their care, and contact health professionals are associated with better health outcomes. While in recent years the number of these resources available to patients has increased, their benefits have not been spread equally. Those with greater access to technology, higher socioeconomic status, and better digital literacy derive greater benefits than those without. Krishnan is committed to bridging this “digital divide.”

“To help all patients regardless of socioeconomic status get the same benefits from these digital health tools, I started a project called the Jefferson Digital Onboarding Taskforce with some of my fellow students and faculty members,” he shares. “Targeting patients from underserved ZIP codes, this utilizes the time patients spend in the hospital to teach digital health skills for better health management both inside and outside the hospital.”

He credits the mentoring he received from Wayne Bond Lau, MD ’04, RES ’07, professor and associate dean of student affairs, and David Nash, MD, MBA, the Dr. Raymond C. & Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy, with shaping his approach to patient care and leadership. “Dr. Lau has taught me many important lessons about leadership and has always been there for me with the right advice at the right time,” Krishnan says. “Dr. Nash has taught me the importance of passing down knowledge to the next generation of students. His passion for population health and mentorship is among the reasons I hope to get an MPH and stay in academic medicine.”

Krishnan was inducted into both the Hobart Amory Hare Honor Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which reinforces and supports the human connection in healthcare. “I want to ensure that the human side of medicine is at the forefront of my daily interactions with patients by always seeing them as more than just their diagnosis,” he says. “I do my best to learn about their life beyond their illness, including their goals, intentions, and other obligations.”

He has already applied this philosophy in the clinical setting when working with an elderly patient during his internal medicine rotation, helping to create a care plan that took her priorities into account.

Receiving the Danella scholarship has inspired Krishnan to look beyond its incredible financial benefits to its powerful ramifications for his future. “Scholarships are vital because they allow students like me to step back from worrying only about financial concerns and think about the type of impact we want to have as physicians and how we will work to help our community,” he says. “This support has also driven me to look beyond the next few years of my life and consider how I want my life as an attending to look, how I want to be part of academic medicine, get involved in community programs like JeffDOT, and work with students and residents to pass on my knowledge to the next generation of medical students.

“Because of the Danella family’s generosity, I’ll be able to walk into residency not just as a well-trained intern, but as someone ready to lead programs that expand access to care from day one.”

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