India Tribune Newsdesk

Stanford University’s Surgery Interest Group (SIG) has named its student leadership board for the 2026–27 academic year, with two Indian-origin medical students selected for key leadership roles. Rising first-year medical students Rishik Bethi and Rayyan Darji will serve alongside Brianna Brasko and Brenda Yu on the four-member board.

SIG is a student-led organization at Stanford dedicated to promoting surgery as a career path, strengthening surgical education for medical students, and creating opportunities for leadership, mentorship, and professional growth in the field of surgery.

Bethi, originally from Dallas and New Orleans, attended Vanderbilt University, where he majored in neuroscience and medicine, health and society. At Stanford School of Medicine, he is conducting research in the Delitto Lab, focusing on the tumor microenvironment, an area closely tied to cancer research and treatment. Bethi has expressed a strong interest in surgical oncology.

In the announcement introducing the new leadership board, SIG said Bethi aims to foster stronger relationships between medical students and surgical faculty members through hands-on skills training and open discussions about careers in surgery.

Outside academics and research, Bethi enjoys listening to music, playing basketball, and exploring restaurants across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Darji, another first-year medical student at Stanford, hails from Tallahassee, Florida. Before enrolling at Stanford, he studied neuroscience and data science at Yale University. At Stanford, Darji is involved in research on strictures in pediatric Crohn’s disease in Professor Jeong Hyun’s lab. His academic interests are centered on general surgery.

According to the SIG announcement, Darji hopes to create a welcoming and supportive environment for students interested in surgical careers by connecting them with mentors, educational resources, and clinical experiences.

Outside medicine, Darji said he enjoys soccer, cricket, and sampling spicy cuisines from around the world.

SIG said its broader mission is to create a collaborative community for medical students exploring surgical careers. The organization works closely with faculty mentors and surgical residents while also providing educational workshops, networking opportunities, and leadership experiences for aspiring surgeons.