Priyanka Senthil is maximizing her opportunities at Rice University through her research and advocacy work related to lung cancer screening.
Senthil, a third-year student at Rice majoring in health sciences and minoring in medical humanities, has been working on clinical research related to improving lung cancer screening guidelines and treatment for the past three years.
“I’ve always been intrigued by lung cancer after I learned that it’s the deadliest cancer in the U.S. and the world,” Senthil said. “And that’s because a lot of people who are at high risk for lung cancer are not getting screened, which is the best way to catch lung cancer early. That’s what really drew me into both the research and advocacy work that I do now.”
Senthil is the executive director of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI), which is a national nonprofit organization of over 300 students and doctors across the country dedicated to raising awareness of and access to lung cancer screening.
Senthil is the president of ALCSI’s Rice chapter, which recently held a White Ribbon Build event where participants painted and signed wooden white ribbons for lung cancer patients.
“We have held over 490 community events and taught over 25,000 individuals about lung cancer screening,” she said. “We’ve also worked with mayors, governors and national leaders to issue proclamations and public service announcements encouraging constituents to get screened in addition to passing legislation around lung cancer screening.”
Senthil has published 10 papers related to lung cancer screening, including a first-author review paper that provides an update on the current lung cancer screening guidelines.
In March, she and her team published a study in the “Journal of Clinical Oncology” showing that using smoking duration, instead of pack-years, to determine lung cancer screening eligibility is more equitable and greatly increases opportunities for early lung cancer detection.
She also recently gave an oral presentation at the 2024 Academic Surgical Congress on a study regarding disparities in the surgical treatment of lung cancer between males and females in the United States. The study has found that females are more likely than males to receive inferior treatment for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.
Senthil said her research has made her passionate about finding ways to address underserved communities when it comes to accessibility of cancer treatment.
“I think it’s really important for groups to be doing research that highlights limitations and disparities in order to push for health policy change,” she said. “It goes back to trying to be a voice for people in communities that are oftentimes silenced or just not heard.”
Senthil’s time as a student at Rice has provided her with ample opportunities to pursue these passions boundlessly, she said.
“I have absolutely loved my time at Rice,” she said. “What I really liked about Rice early on was how collaborative the atmosphere is. Everyone is here to help and push everyone else up, and I really love that about Rice.
“Secondly, it’s the opportunities. We’re right next to the Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical center in the world, so if you’re interested in research or anything related to medicine, there isn’t a better place to be.”