Vyshak Chandra MD was born in Flushing, NY, but raised for the majority of his life in sunny Saint Augustine, FL. He attended Duke University and graduated with a dual major in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical/Computer Engineering. In college, Dr. Chandra helped found a student organization, DeltAids, that raised funding and awareness for an HIV/AIDS orphanage in Tanzania. In addition, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Miguel Nicolelis and studied Parkinson’s disease treatments via the utilization of spinal cord stimulation. He also was a teaching assistant for Organic Chemistry while at Duke, and during that time developed a great love for teaching and education.
After college, Dr. Chandra decided to work towards bridging the educational gap that exists in the United States, and applied to work for Teach For America. He taught Chemistry, Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology at Ballou Senior High School in Washington, DC. Eventually, Dr. Chandra’s interests led him back to medicine, and before entering medical school he performed neuroimaging data analysis and clinical trial research on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) at the Massachusetts General Hospital under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Gerstner. His preliminary work at MGH led to him earning a Medical Student Summer Fellowship sponsored by the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) to continue brain tumor research. Dr. Chandra went on to receive his MD from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 2018. During medical school, he continued his research in neuro-oncology under the direction of William Broaddus, MD, PhD.
Dr. Chandra is thrilled to join the University of Florida for his neurosurgical training beginning in 2018, and plans on completing his training in 2025. Outside of neurosurgery, he enjoys playing basketball, traveling, reading, and loves watching Duke Basketball, Gator Football, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is excited to return to Florida after a 12 year hiatus and can’t wait to truly understand why “it’s great, to be, a Florida Gator.”