Name: Sravya Pailla
Hometown: Edison, NJ
Undergrad: Rutgers University – New Brunswick
What brought you to Georgetown? Having experienced the community firsthand through the SMP program, I was drawn to Georgetown because I saw a medical school where values are embedded in the way students are taught to care and genuinely serve patients and peers. I knew I wanted to continue growing in this mission-driven environment that had provided me with incredible mentors. Georgetown felt like the place where I could become the kind of physician I hope to be as someone who authentically pursues advocacy, service, and healing while honoring and carrying patients’ stories with the utmost sense of responsibility. And DC is a great place to be!
What are your post-med school career or specialty goals?: I’m undecided on my exact specialty, but I’d love to provide care for children.
What are you working on as a BellRinger Fellow this summer?: I am working with Dr. Joyce Slingerland, studying why obesity is linked to a higher risk of developing breast cancer and worse outcomes for patients who develop the disease. The Slingerland Lab’s research focuses on how estrogen and inflammation may work together to help breast cancer cells survive, spread, and become more resistant to treatment. In the lab, it’s been especially meaningful to learn new techniques while working closely with a graduate student. I have grown breast cancer cells in the lab and tested how they react to different forms of estrogen and estrogen-blocking drugs. Now, I am analyzing RNA sequencing data from cells to see if exposure to estrone (a specific type of estrogen common after menopause) causes them to begin to resemble cells that have developed resistance to tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer treatment. By connecting what we observe in cells in the laboratory with patterns found in existing databases of past cancer research, we hope to better understand how estrogen contributes to treatment resistance—and ultimately find better ways to help breast cancer patients survive and recover.
Why are you passionate about cancer research?: My passion for cancer research began with seeing firsthand how deeply a cancer diagnosis can impact not only a patient’s life, but an entire family’s. In many ways, pursuing this work has also become a way for me to honor my father’s story and the experiences that first shaped my understanding of cancer. Research gave me a way to turn that uncertain experience into action in asking why cancer cells behave the way they do and how we can fully appreciate the process of research in asking meaningful questions and developing methods to find answers, certainties amidst the chaotic confusion of disease, that will hopefully translate into better treatments. I hope to stay involved as a researcher and build a career where caring for patients and investigating the mechanisms of their disease continually inform one another.
Have you previously been involved in BellRinger?: Yes! I had the chance to volunteer for BellRinger 2024 & 2025, it was amazing to see the entire community!
How do you plan to be involved in BellRinger this year?: I am Riding 25 miles!
