Born and raised in West Hartford, Aleena grew up with her older brother and parents, both Indian immigrants. With many family members in healthcare careers, including her mother, Aleena became interested in pursuing a path in healthcare from a young age. Her passions for public health and pharmacy gradually emerged as she saw family members struggling to understand their doctors because of language barriers, and her uncle’s journey as a kidney transplant recipient.
With her heart set on studying pharmacy, Aleena followed in her older brother’s footsteps and became a Husky. Enjoying her first two years as a pharmacy student while wanting more opportunities to explore her passions in public health, Aleena decided to become a dual-degree student as a Master of Public Health candidate. Already excited to dive into a career with lots of patient interaction, Aleena chose to pursue a degree in public health to increase accessibility for underserved communities.
“People can interact and talk with pharmacists regularly. I think there’s a lot of power in that.”
Although she didn’t declare a dual degree right away, Aleena began exploring her passions for helping her community in her first year at UConn. Admitted into the Urban Service Track (UST) at the School, Aleena developed her interprofessional skills by working with medical, dental, physician-assistants, and social work students. Participating in outreach events in different communities, especially in underserved populations, Aleena administered blood pressure and glucose screenings at pop-ups in Hartford while providing health and prevention education.
After a clinic in a series of four Interprofessional Education (IPE) clinics for UConn students shut down because of the pandemic, Aleena and other UST students helped create the Keney Park clinics in Hartford. In one Keney Park clinic, Aleena worked with UConn Professor Chinenye Anyanwu (Pharm.D., MPH) and other UST students to create an event in Keney Park in tandem with the Keney Park Sustainability Project. Providing medication education to community members, Aleena taught community members how to read nutrition labels, understand the difference between various over-the-counter drugs, and recognize different food interactions.
After her first year in UST, Aleena became a leader in the program. Facilitating events, Aleena connected with community members while educating them on important topics, including lead poisoning and the importance of reading to young children. Also attending learning retreats through the program, Aleena attended educational interactive sessions where she learned how to best treat specific patient populations, including veterans and LGBTQ+ individuals.
As one of the student team leaders for the Northeast Connecticut Family Health and Wellness Day in 2025, Aleena worked with faculty members and other students in UST and in the Master of Public Health program to create a large pop-up event at Killingly High School last April. With professionals working in a variety of healthcare fields in attendance, families learned about healthy habits and measures to prevent health issues. Working with UConn Professor and UST faculty lead Devra Dang (Pharm.D.) and another UST student to facilitate this event, Aleena’s looking forward to the second Family Health and Wellness Day event on April 25th, 2026.
Aside from her work in the Urban Service Track, Aleena also conducts research with UConn Professor Chinenye Anyanwu (Pharm.D., MPH). Through the Community Asset Mapping Project and Public Health Immersion (CAMP-PHI) program, Aleena spent time in the Blue Hills neighborhood of Hartford. Working with other healthcare students from UConn, Aleena conducted asset mapping to understand the unmet health needs and disparities within the neighborhood. Observing a strong sense of community, Aleena and other students decided to propose and facilitate the creation of a community garden as an intervention, promoting nutrition while emphasizing the strengths already present in the neighborhood. This project fostered Aleena’s interest in public health, transforming it from an interest to a deep-rooted passion.
Throughout her time at UConn, Aleena has been Head Secretary of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Diversity Committee, a Society Representative of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Corresponding Signare of the Alpha Zeta Omega Pharmaceutical Fraternity. She has also been a Pharmacy Ambassador, a mentor in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Peer Mentoring Program and has volunteered at the Queer Science Conference.
Aleena has received several awards, including the Urban Service Team Lead Excellence in Service Award and Semi-Finalist in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Clinical Skills Competition.
Her most recent award, the USPHS Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award, has been the most prestigious award Aleena has received. Excited that this award reflects her passion for the integration of pharmacy and public health, Aleena views this honor as a full-circle moment for her. With a goal of helping underserved populations and being an advocate for the most vulnerable communities, Aleena believes awards like the one she received will inspire other students to follow their interests in public health and pharmacy.
“I’m proud to represent UConn on a national stage like this. I’ve left an impact.”
Another goal of Aleena’s is to demystify what it means to be a pharmacist. While people may be unsure of what pharmacists do and turn to stereotypes, Aleena hopes to spread awareness of the countless career opportunities in pharmacy, along with the responsibilities of each. With a future of interacting with patients ahead of her, Aleena’s looking forward to educating people on the roles that pharmacists have to provide for and protect their patients.
Next year, Aleena will join Tufts as a post-graduate year one pharmacy resident (PGY1). Working in a community-based residency program, Aleena will be traveling to primary care and specialty clinics to work directly with patients. As part of the 12–month postgraduate curriculum, Aleena will learn to integrate direct patient care, pharmacy drug distribution, teaching, and management to prepare for a career focusing on community-based pharmacy. With a potential goal of becoming a professor in the future, Aleena is most excited about the teaching aspect of the residency program, even obtaining a teaching certificate during her time in Boston. Living in West Hartford or Storrs all her life, Aleena is looking forward to experiencing city life, where her work can have an even greater impact.
