Usha Periyanayagam completed a combined MD/MPH program at The Feinberg School of Medicine, which included an additional year of study to earn a Master of Science in Engineering Design and Innovation at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. She was a member of the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern, completing her undergraduate work magna cum laude in Medical Engineering. Usha has been named a Northwestern Ford Dean’s Scholar and has been the recipient of summer research fellowships in orthopedics and international public health. Her work with the NUvention Cardiovascular Team led to the development of a novel technology used to close a heart after transapical surgery, with design of a prototype and a business plan to advance production of her team’s work. Her MPH thesis examined the association of risk factors for trauma in pregnancy. Usha has volunteered her time with NU-AID in Jamaica, the Community Health Clinic of Chicago, Medical Students for Choice, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.