Dr. Keerthan Somanath: MT “Pepper” Jenkins Outstanding Medical Student Award in Anesthesiology and Pain Management
By Gregg Shields
Armed with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, Dr. Keerthan Somanath helped develop an algorithm and software to analyze speech signals for which he holds a copyright, repeatedly earned recognition for his research, and even sang and played guitar for a band.
But in the end, he was drawn to anesthesiology.
“During my clinical rotations, I witnessed anesthesiologists relieve the fears and concerns of patients in their vulnerable moments before surgery,” Dr. Somanath said. “With my engineering background, I was drawn to the potential of improving patient monitoring in the operating room. Overall, I am attracted to anesthesiology because of the wide clinical acumen and pleasant bedside manner needed to successfully care for patients and develop strong relationships with surgeons.”
Dr. Somanath received the MT “Pepper” Jenkins Outstanding Medical Student Award in Anesthesiology and Pain Management, which recognizes a student seeking a career in anesthesiology who had an exemplary performance in medical school, takes an empathetic approach to patient care, and exhibits the characteristics of leadership, scholarship, and thirst for knowledge exemplified by the award’s namesake. The recognition is named for the late Dr. Jenkins, who established and served as Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management from 1948 until 1981.
“Dr. Somanath is an extraordinary human being,” said Dr. Charles Whitten, Chairman of Anesthesiology and Pain Management. “Like Dr. Jenkins, he has a high level of emotional intelligence and a sincere desire to strive for excellence in everything he undertakes both personally and professionally. We are exceedingly proud that he has chosen to continue his training within our department. I look forward to watching him grow and develop in the coming years.”
As an undergraduate, Dr. Somanath studied voice at UT Austin while obtaining a degree in electrical engineering. Though music took a backseat to engineering in his life, he sang in the University Men’s Chorus and performed at several venues around Austin and Dallas in his spare time. Dr. Somanath accepted a software engineering internship at National Instruments, and then took a position with the company as an applications engineer after graduation. Outside of work, he found time to volunteer at clinics and hospitals, including the People’s Community Clinic, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Dell Children’s Hospital, and before long he started thinking about a career in medicine.
At UT Southwestern Medical School, music was never far. He was co-founder, lead singer, and rhythm guitarist for The Associated Symptoms, a student band that performed at various locations and functions, and volunteered as a guitarist for Music Meets Medicine, a nonprofit organization that donates instruments and teaching time to hospitalized children.
After his first year in medical school, he conducted research with Dr. Ted Mau, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery who directs UT Southwestern’s Clinical Center for Voice Care, developing signal processing methods and an automated computer algorithm to analyze the electroglottographic signal in continuous speech. Voice data from patients and control subjects were then analyzed using the program, with the goal of distinguishing between the normal and diseased voice. Dr. Somanath further developed the software, pursuing a one-year Dean’s Research Scholar Fellowship after his second year of medical school.
Dr. Somanath, who credited Dr. Mau, and Dr. Kevin Klein, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, and Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, for their guidance and encouragement, received his M.D. with Distinction in Research, which recognizes students who have conducted meaningful clinical or basic research activities during the course of their medical school training.
His research culminated in first-author abstracts and poster presentations at the 10th Annual American Medical Association Research Symposium, American College of Physicians 2013 National Abstract Competition, and UT Southwestern’s Annual Medical Student Research Forum, where he received the “Outstanding Poster” award two years in a row. His research also resulted in a first-author publication and oral presentation at the 10th International Advances for Quantitative Laryngology Conference. He now has a copyright on the software he created as part of his research and is in the process of pursuing a patent.
