Hi! I’m Maanasi.

I’m a multimedia journalist and strategic communicator passionate about telling stories that shape popular understanding of health and illness and transform the way our health systems serve patients.

I recently graduated from UCLA with my Masters in Public Health, specializing in health policy & management.

There, I developed and taught an original seminar about unpacking portrayals of chronic illness in popular media, training students in the craft of ethical and responsible health storytelling. With my students, I started UCLA’s first health humanities magazine dedicated to shining a light on the quiet human experiences of illness, healing, and caregiving called Beyond the Chart. I also covered patient stories, health policy, and emerging research on environmental justice, integrative medicine, and cancer care for the UCLA Health Newsroom and the Daily Bruin.

I took my eye for reporting to Cedars-Sinai, where I collected patient stories to investigate and drive improvements in care practices for elderly orthopedics patients.

I am seeking roles where I can continue to tell stories and shape narratives that drive behavior change, improve health equity, and support program goals in social impact settings.

Recent Projects

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Recent Projects ⟡

Connect with me on LinkedIn

  • Transforming care at Cedars-Sinai through patient stories

    I helped 6 ambulatory orthopedics clinics understand disparities in their patient experiences through surveys and patient narratives, driving improved care practices.

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  • The 'All-Nighter' Appeal: Investigating the influence of TikTok study content on student mental health.

    I analyzed TikTok study content for its promotion of academic anxiety, stumbling upon an influencer with 2M+ followers famous for her “all-nighter” content. We spoke about academic anxiety, mental health, and the health impact of her content for the Daily Bruin.

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  • Developing and teaching a unique course about media narratives around chronic illness at UCLA

    For the UCLA Biotechnology & Society cluster program, I developed a unique course about the social impact of chronic illness portrayals in popular media, training students in the craft of responsible & ethical storytelling around illness, healing, and caregiving.

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  • Beyond the Chart - Starting UCLA's first health humanities magazine

    My course inspired a student to start a magazine focused on sharing patient journeys with illness to transform healing practices. We built our editorial team from scratch, publishing our first issue this past June.

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Writing

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Writing ✦

I’ve covered research advances in environmental justice, integrative medicine, and cancer treatments, as well as feature stories and health policy changes for the Daily Bruin and UCLA Health Newsroom.

View my Writing Portfolio

  • Tai chi as mind-body medicine? A UCLA Health psychiatrist aims to take the practice nationwide (UCLA Health Newsroom)

    Students explore intersection of nature, health through ecological medicine class (Daily Bruin)
    Panelists highlight gender, class gaps in LA water conservation efforts (Daily Bruin)

    Hemorrhoidal artery embolization: A novel approach to internal hemorrhoids treatment (UCLA Health Newsroom)

  • Unique UCLA Health end-of-life care program celebrates 5 years – with plans for expansion (UCLA Health Newsroom)

    To spiritual care chaplains, healing goes beyond the physical (UCLA Health Newsroom)

    High school students can experience scientific discovery in UCLA labs (UCLA Health Newsroom)

    Q&A: Kay Chung, UCLA dental student and TikTok content creator, reflects on her journey (Daily Bruin)

  • Back-to-school: What are the signs of a child's test anxiety? (UCLA Health)

    For kids and teens, energy drinks may have harmful side effects (UCLA Health)

    How does grief affect your body? (UCLA Health)

    What you need to know about prostate cancer, prevention and treatment (UCLA Health)

  • Experts discuss health care challenges amid financial restraints at UCLA conference (Daily Bruin)

    UCLA students exchange AI-driven data solutions in Healthcare Analytics Symposium (Daily Bruin)