About

Dr. Parvathy Pillai is an Assistant Professor (CHS) of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, beginning her position in June 2013. She holds an MD from Northeastern Ohio University's College of Medicine and an MPH from the University of Michigan. Her training includes pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases, and she is board certified in public health and general preventive medicine. Dr. Pillai completed a two-year CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) program assignment, followed by a post-EIS practicum to bridge healthcare and public health while working with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Her academic contributions include course coordination and facilitation in population health and public health, emphasizing principles of population medicine, epidemiology, and project planning. Her professional focus is on population health sciences, integrating clinical and public health perspectives to improve health outcomes.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Computer Science
• Programming language
• Astrobiology
• Physics
• Engineering ethics
• Medical education
• Psychology
• Engineering
• Economics
• Pedagogy
• Ophthalmology

Selected publications

• The Climate Health Curriculum Tool (CHCT): an assessment framework for integrating climate health education in U.S. undergraduate medical curricula

  BMC Medical Education · 2026-02-03 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Climate change poses urgent and complex threats to public health, yet major gaps persist in integrating climate health education into medical curricula. We developed the Climate Health Curriculum Tool (CHCT), an evidence-based framework to guide medical educators in designing, implementing, and evaluating climate health content across U.S. undergraduate medical education. A transdisciplinary expert panel reviewed and integrated existing climate health competency frameworks with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) foundational competency domains. The panel utilized structured mapping, iterative review, and consensus building processes to develop domain-specific, measurable learning objectives. The CHCT, adapted from the validated AAMC Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training (TACCT), organizes climate health competencies across six domains: Patient Care, Knowledge for Practice, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Systems-Based Practice, and Professionalism. For each domain, the tool specifies learning objectives that can be mapped to existing courses or integrated in new courses, facilitating incremental integration into curricula. The CHCT provides a structured, adaptable, and competency-aligned framework for integrating climate health into U.S. undergraduate medical education. It addresses a critical educational gap and supports adoption across diverse institutional contexts. Future research should evaluate its implementation and impact on learner outcomes.

  PublisherDOI

• Integrating Medicine and Public Health Through Health Professions Education at a School of Medicine and Public Health.

  PubMed · 2026-01-01

  editorial1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• Evaluation of an Innovative Medical Student Course Integrating Medicine and Public Health.

  PubMed · 2025-01-01

  article

  INTRODUCTION: Educating medical students about the importance of integrating public health into their careers is challenging. METHODS: Medical student demographics, weekly written reflections, and course evaluations for a storytelling-based, public health-oriented elective were reviewed. RESULTS: Compared to students who did not enroll in the course, enrolled students were more likely to be female (71% vs 48%, P = 0.001). Student reflections revealed 2 major themes: (1) public health can be integrated into any specialty career; (2) career paths are often nonlinear. Students were highly satisfied with the course (mean 6.5, scale 1-7). DISCUSSION: Courses aiming to inspire medical students to integrate public health into their career should consider a similar storytelling approach.

  Publisher

• Statistical surgical process modeling of performance and workflow in bronchoscopy

  2025-04-07 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  <strong>Purpose</strong>. Transbronchial biopsy (TBB) is used in the diagnosis of lung cancer and has multiple approaches in clinical practice, including fluoroscopy with radial probe endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and CBCTGuided robot assisted bronchoscopy (CBCT-Guided RAB). This work employs a statistical surgical process model (sSPM) as a quantitative means to compare the workflows and outcomes of these approaches to TBB. <strong>Method</strong>. A sSPM was developed for each guidance approach, with parameterization performed via retrospective review of clinical dose reports which include timestamped dose events. The work reported below specifically details analysis of dose reports from 15 bronchoscopy cases over 15 months to inform and validate statistical distributions of radiation dose and cycle time in a CBCT-Guided RAB sSPM. Dosimetric and temporal segmentation of the time-stamped dose report provided a means of phase estimation, including differentiation of fluoroscopy and CBCT imaging activities and the duration of procedural phases. <strong>Results</strong>. Dose reports provided insight on the exposure ranges and cycle times involved in each phase of TBB. Fluoroscopy events in CBCT-Guided RAB produced DAP levels up 6.0 Gy.cm2 per event, with 76% of the events having dose levels &lt; 1 Gy.cm2. CBCT dose ranged from 6.0-19.0 Gy.cm2 per scan, with 68% of CBCT events having dose levels between 6.0 and 12.0 Gy.cm2. The mean cycle time for three phases in CBCT-Guided RAB were 9.0 min (SD = 3.2 min), 11.2 min (SD = 6.7 min), and 21.3 min (SD = 9.0 min). <strong>Conclusions</strong>. Retrospective review of clinical dose reports was found to be a useful method for phase estimation, parameterization, and validation of dose and cycle times in an sSPM for CBCT-Guided RAB. Patterns in radiation dose were found to distinguish fluoroscopy and CBCT scans and the occurrence and duration of activities surrounding these radiation events were successfully mapped to the phase of the procedure.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Integrating planetary health education into tertiary curricula: a practical toolbox for implementation

  Frontiers in Medicine · 2024 · 15 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Astrobiology

  Objective: To present a series of case studies from our respective countries and disciplines on approaches to implementing the Planetary Health Education Framework in university health professional education programs, and to propose a curriculum implementation and evaluation toolbox for educators to facilitate the adoption of similar initiatives in their programs. We emphasize the importance of applying an Indigenous lens to curriculum needs assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation. Methods: Case studies from Australia and United States were collated using a six-stage design-based educational research framework (Focus, Formulation, Contextualization, Definition, Implementation, Evaluation) for teaching planetary health and methods of curriculum evaluation. These components were then mapped to derive the curriculum implementation toolbox reflecting the six-stage design-based educational research framework. Results: The case studies demonstrated different approaches to successful integration of the Planetary Health Education Framework in medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health disciplines. This integration often involved Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship, holistic health, and community well-being into the curriculum. The case studies also highlighted the importance of community engagement, cultural competency, and interdisciplinary collaboration in curriculum development. Findings from case studies were used to propose a curriculum implementation toolbox to assist educators in adapting and integrating planetary health education into their own programs. Discussion: While valuable frameworks for teaching planetary health in health science programs exist, challenges remain in implementing these frameworks in real-world educational environments. The proposed curriculum implementation toolbox offers practical strategies and resources for educators to incorporate these principles into their teaching. Additionally, the case studies reported here contribute to the growing body of literature on planetary health education pertinent to addressing the triple planetary crisis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Surgical process modeling of image-guided spine surgery

  2024-03-29 · 2 citations

  article

  <strong>Purpose. </strong>Spine surgery involves complex workflows and disparate levels of system integration that challenge the introduction of emerging technologies. This work develops a computational simulation framework based on statistical surgical process models (SPM) to quantitatively evaluate variations in the workflow and implementation of image guidance systems in terms of key outcome measures in spine surgery. <strong>Method.</strong> A statistical SPM was developed for spine surgery to describe the effects of various intraoperative technologies (viz., fluoroscopy, CT, image-to-world registration, and planning methods) and a range of procedural variables (e.g., surgeon skill, patient body mass index (BMI), target vertebrae, and fusion length) on key outcome measures, including cycle time, radiation dose and the quality of surgical product (geometric accuracy in pedicle screw placement). The model was parameterized by statistical distributions informed by clinical observation, expert feedback, literature review, and clinical data. <strong>Results.</strong> The results quantify the advantages of intraoperative CT and/or long-length scout radiography for reduced cycle time in vertebral localization – (4.8-7.2) min, compared to (5.8-12.4) min by fluoroscopy. The models further demonstrate the cycle time for imaging, registration, and planning in surgical guidance: the mean procedure cycle time for 11-level fusion was 540 min by fluoroscopy compared to 441 min for CT + navigation. Analysis of radiation dose quantified the effective dose to the patient (and operating room) between fluoroscopy and CT. The geometric accuracy of pedicle screw placement showed median error of 2.7 mm for fluoroscopy compared to 1.8 mm for CT+navigation and a corresponding reduction in frequency of pedicle breach for the latter. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> A statistical SPM provides a powerful framework for procedure simulation, evaluation of emerging technologies, and optimization of procedural workflow. Such modeling provides a quantitative basis to evidence the value of emerging technologies and identify optimal means of integration / implementation in clinical workflow.

  PublisherDOI

• Identifying Community-Based Entrustable Professional Activities for Medical Students Through a Modified Delphi Process

  Family Medicine · 2024-07-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recognition of the need for medical education to train physicians who are skilled at supporting population health and work beyond traditional health care settings is growing. Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for medical students typically have centered around activities taking place in the clinical workplace; however, EPAs that involve working with community members in community contexts have not been clearly established. METHODS: We used a three-stage online modified-Delphi method to identify community-based EPAs for University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health medical students. We recruited key stakeholders to participate and asked them, based on their experience, to generate a list of community-based tasks that they believed graduates should be trusted to perform. Subsequently, using a five-point anchored Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree), we asked participants to rate their level of agreement with each identified task becoming an EPA. An a priori definition of consensus was established. RESULTS: Twenty-two tasks reached consensus as potential community-based EPAs. The tasks with the highest mean ratings were "addressing trust issues with the medical community amongst the local population" (mean=4.71), "meeting with community members around a health topic" (mean=4.64), "identifying opportunities for disease prevention" (mean=4.64), and "identifying policies that impact community outcomes" (mean=4.57). CONCLUSIONS: The identified community-based tasks can support the augmentation of existing community-based curriculum and help identify areas for novel curriculum and assessment development. Lessons learned from this local effort could be helpful to other programs seeking to establish and refine community-based curricula.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 6. The Social Determinants of Chronic Disease

  American Public Health Association eBooks · 2023

  • Medicine
  PublisherDOI

• Climate Change and Environmental Health Must Be Integrated Into Medical Education

  Academic Medicine · 2021-10-26 · 19 citations

  letter1st authorCorresponding

  To the Editor: We were delighted to read the articles by Goshua and colleagues 1 and Philipsborn and colleagues 2 calling for the inclusion of climate science curricula in undergraduate and graduate medical education and seeing this as critical to broader efforts to reexamine environmental health curricula in medical education. While medical schools now have greater emphasis on social determinants of health, including environmental health, this often focuses on individual risk assessment and treatment. Additionally, as Goshua and colleagues noted, climate health curricula are often relegated to elective instruction. At the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, we currently require a climate change lecture for medical students and offer a climate change elective. However, we recognize that this is insufficient to fully highlight intrinsic connections between the environment, climate change, and health. We are working to integrate environmental health across the curriculum, similar to the approach described by Wellbery and colleagues, 3 to more readily foster discussions about the impact of environmental changes on disease epidemiology and address the role of built and natural environmental factors in patient care. Furthermore, as Goshua and colleagues and Philipsborn and colleagues noted, climate change disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. As medical schools commit to training students to recognize injustice and promote health equity, we maintain that these goals cannot be met without greater emphasis on environmental health—including climate science—in the curriculum. Physicians must recognize the relationship between structural determinants of environmental health, the built and natural environments, and health disparities. As a growing body of scientific evidence points to climate change as a serious risk to human health, we support expanding climate science curricula while reenvisioning environmental health in medical education. Curricular experiences must shift from simply recognizing the environment as a determinant of health toward routinely incorporating environmental health and climate change into teaching. Such a change will elevate environmental health and communicate climate change’s relevance to health and thereby promote health equity.

  PublisherDOI

• Health Advocacy Learning Activities for Medical Students in Clinical Clerkship Training: Why We Are Changing Our Model

  Academic Medicine · 2021-10-27

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Purpose: Health advocacy is a key physician skill to address social determinants of health and promote health and health equity. 1 We noted a lack of medical school curricula that both address skills necessary to develop partnerships with advocacy stakeholders and students’ desires to self-determine advocacy topic areas. A novel learning project was therefore designed to address these goals. Outcomes were followed for 3 years. We aim to describe student and community health partner outcomes and key lessons learned through the delivery of this project. Approach: The health advocacy project (“HAP”) was incorporated as part of a required ambulatory clinical course at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW-SMPH). The HAP allowed medical students to identify a topic and community partner and required students to arrange meetings with the partner to identify shared goals and a mutually agreed-upon project. Students dedicated approximately 8 hours of work over the 10- to 12-week course to this effort. Projects were focused on community partner goals. At the end of the course, students delivered their project, wrote a summary paper, and completed a self-evaluation on changes in attitudes and practice. Community partners submitted qualitative feedback. Outcomes: After 12 cycles of the course (January 2018 through December 2020), 408 students completed the HAP and 328 students completed a self-evaluation. Of these, 218 (~66%) rated increased likelihood of “Doing Health Advocacy Work in the Future,” and 267 (~81%) rated increased “Comfort Level with Health Advocacy Work.” More than 250 different organizations partnered with students (some hosted >1 student) and 222 organizations gave a definitive response to a survey question regarding the helpfulness of the HAP. Of these, 220 (99%) of these indicated the HAPs were helpful, while the other 2 (1%) responses indicated that there was not sufficient time to complete the project. Additionally, 211 organizations gave a definitive response to question regarding interest in “Partnering with a UW-SMPH student in the future related to Health Advocacy.” Of these, 187 (89%) responded that they were interested in future partnerships; and among the 24 community partners who answered no, the need to have a preexisting relationship with the organization and limited organizational capacity were among the most commonly noted reasons. Discussion: Overall, the HAP was well received by community partners and promoted self-reported student comfort with and interest in future advocacy efforts. Despite these positive outcomes, rare negative feedback from community health stakeholders offered critical insight and clear opportunities for program improvement. The short nature of the HAP likely served as a barrier to successful relationship building in some cases, and possibly contributed to increased pressure on our community partners for capacity due to the recurring cycle of the HAP and student outreach. This prompted curriculum leaders to move beyond the short-term positive impacts and reflect on the long-term institutional footprint of this curriculum within the community. Consequently, after 3 years, we opted to discontinue the current HAP curriculum at the end of 2020, with these lessons informing the next iteration of the health advocacy curriculum. The reimagined health advocacy curriculum will have additional learning activities to address advocacy-related communication, including standardized training before engaging with community partners. In addition, standardized assessment will occur through use of simulated encounters with advocacy stakeholders. Finally, new curriculum will ensure sufficient time and support to community partners when students engage community partners on advocacy efforts. Significance: The HAP demonstrated the feasibility of medical school curricula that promoted student independence and skills in community partnership development; and the majority of student and community partner feedback was favorable. Nonetheless, it was important to address the few exceptions and design a curriculum that adheres to principles of community engagement. 2

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Heeyoon Cho

  Hanyang University

  8 shared

• Lucia Sobrin

  Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

  7 shared

• Laura Nicholson

  5 shared

• Betsy Foxman

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  4 shared

• R. K. Lee

  University of Miami

  3 shared

• William C. Taylor

  3 shared

• Joan DeBusscher

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  3 shared

• Stephanie M. Borchardt

  Wisconsin Department of Health Services

  3 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Public Health

  University of California, Los Angeles

  2000

• Other, Public Health

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1996

• B.A., International Development Studies

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1993