Tina is a person living with Crohn’s & an ostomate based in NYC who has accumulated several digestive & autoimmune ailments over the years. She is an avid speaker, writer, and advocate for women’s health, cultural sensitivity in healthcare, and life-saving ostomy surgery. Contact Tina for speaking & writing engagements here!

Tina is the CEO & Co-Founder of 501(c)3 charitable organization, South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA), where she works tirelessly to create culturally sensitive resources, research and education for IBD patients and healthcare providers to minimize disparities, dispel stigma, promote early diagnosis and improve access to treatment.

Her interests include health equity, patient-centricity in clinical trials, and public health policy in addition to giving voice to the concerns of myriad folks like her suffering in shame and in silence. Her pathbreaking advocacy work has given rise to an emerging concept, cultural determinants of health, which emphasizes the consideration of cultural sensitivity & humility in healthcare.

Tina has been featured in Time Magazine as one of the top 5 influencers in the IBD community fighting stigma. Her trailblazing advocacy work has been showcased in The New York Times, on the cover of American College of Gastroenterology Magazine and in Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News as well as in Health Magazine. Tina has also spoken at multiple leading medical, clinical research, and patient conferences worldwide, including Digestive Disease Week, American College of Gastroenterology, European Crohn’s & Colitis Organisation. She has co-authored and led research studies in many prominent medical journals (JAMA, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, etc.). Access Tina’s publications here.

The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) awarded Tina the Best Patient Advocacy Award and the Best International Healthcare Education & Advocacy Award in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Tina and South Asian IBD Alliance’s patient advocacy arm, IBDesis, were both awarded the Healio Gastroenterology Disruptive Innovator Award in 2019 and 2023, respectively, for moving the needle on GI care for patients. Very Well Health presented Tina with the Health Impact Award and Social Health Network awarded her the Revolutionary Researcher Award in the patient advocacy space in 2023.  The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation recognized Tina in 2021 for her phenomenal leadership and powerful impact on the IBD community with the Above & Beyond Volunteer Award.

Tina is committed to embodying the change she wishes to see in the world, and she does that every day by advocating for patients like herself.

To work with Tina, contact her here. To read Tina’s articles, visit her blog here. 

Read more about Tina disease journey on the About Me page.