Annual Pub 2024 accessible 07262024 (1) - Flipbook - Page 16
KIRK K E RKO RI AN SCH O O L O F M E DICINE AT UNLV
THE POWER BEHIND
THE RESEARCH ENGINE
B Y PA U L J O N C I C H
F
rom her oïce in the Las Vegas Medical District, Kirk
Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV biostatistician Kavita
Batra, PhD, MPH, routinely ores off information-packed
emails to places like Turkey, Poland, and Italy.
Collaborating with researchers all over the world and
working on multiple projects at a time, the sheer volume
of information that nows back through Dr. Batra9s inbox would make
your head spin. There are data sets, spreadsheets, formulas, graphs,
and research-related queries. Not only must she stay organized, but she
must also compartmentalize and prioritize her workday to meet multiple
deadlines imposed upon her by similarly overachieving types eager to
see their work go to publication. On top of that, as her reputation grows,
there are new requests to collaborate and invitations to sit on editorial
boards of science and medical journals, where she9ll be tasked with even
more responsibility to make unbiased decisions on the manuscripts
submitted by the scientioc community.
The latest editorial board invitation came from Scientioc Reports, the
ofth most cited journal in the world. Dr. Batra also sits on editorial boards
or consults for publications including Annals of Epidemiology and the
Journal of Medicine, Surgery and Public Health, among others.
Growing up in India, she attended one of the country9s most prestigious
dental schools and practiced dental surgery for five years before
becoming a public health oïcer, where she fell in love with statistics
that revealed disease trends. Moving to the U.S. at the age of 30, she
received her master9s and PhD in public health from UNLV.
In less than four years since joining the school of medicine, Dr. Batra has
collaborated with dozens of medical students, residents, fellows, and
faculty, publishing more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, including
full-length journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and books. Her
collaborations extend beyond the school of medicine as she also works
with the UNLV Schools of Public Health and Dental Medicine.
But that9s not all. She has nearly 100 additional scholarly outcomes,
including editorials, published abstracts, posters, and oral presentations
at various levels, ranging from local to international, resulting from her
independent research and mentoring efforts.
Busier than ever, Dr. Batra still manages to look up from her computer
screen and greet visitors with a smile.
