Mass General Brigham is home to a research community of thousands of individuals working to understand disease and develop solutions to medicine’s most pressing challenges.
But who are they, and what do they do when they’re not conducting research? Learn more about them in the Researchers Unplugged series!
From clinical research coordinators to postdoctoral fellows, research technicians, graduate students and principal investigators—they are all part of Mass General Brigham.
Our next guest in the series is Maya Srinivasan, MD.
Q: What lab/department do you work in and what is your role?
Maya Srinivasan, MD
A: I am currently a general surgery resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). Before residency, I graduated from Dartmouth College in 2018 with a BA in Math and Studio Art, and completed medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
My research interests include visual arts-based educational models for medical and surgical trainees. I plan to apply into colorectal surgery for my fellowship following general surgery residency.
During my two professional development years between my second and third years of clinical residency, I have been working with the Visual Arts in Health Program at BWH as the Bonomi-Matty Visual Arts Scholar.
In this role, I have worked on several educational research projects integrating arts-based and museum-based education into medical and surgical education. Specifically, our team as created arts-based programs for general surgery and plastic surgery residents adapted from programs already in place for the department of medicine.
During these two years, I am also pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Q: Can You Tell Us More About Your Artwork?
A: My art practice incorporates several printmaking techniques, including woodblock relief, intaglio, letterpress and lithography.
Woodblock relief involves carving into wood, rolling ink over the surface, and placing paper over that surface while running the wood (matrix) through a printing press. The image that is created becomes everything that has not been carved away (in relief).
Intaglio includes copper etching, which involves many kinds of drawing processes on a copper plate surface, sometimes etching the copper in an acid bath, rubbing ink over the surface, and running this matrix with paper through a printing press.
Letterpress printing is a technique that can involve various forms of printing but often involves more text-based relief prints with metal or wood type that is set in sequence to form text-based imagery.
Stone lithography is a technique that requires drawing, painting, or other types of mark making on limestone, which is then etched with an acid solution, inked, and printed in a planar fashion on a lithography-specific press.
Q: When and why did you get interested in the work that you are doing?
Dr. Srinivasan in the operating room.
A: I first developed an interest in integrating art into medical education while I was in medical school.
At the time, I created artwork reflecting my experience choosing general surgery and the patients I learned from along the way.
Now, as a resident, I continue to create art based on my experiences in and out of the hospital.
In residency, I began to develop an interest specifically in integrating arts-based curriculums for residents in all specialties, particularly for surgical residents.
This interest led me to my fellowship as the Bonomi-Matty Visual Arts Scholar at the Visual Arts in Healthcare Program at Brigham.
Q: What do you like to do outside of the lab/work?
A: I definitely love to create. I also love to be outside, mountain biking, snowboarding, and climbing. I spend the rest of my free time with my friends and family!
Q: What is your favorite TV show, podcast, book, or movie?
A: Most recently, I enjoyed reading the fantasy novel The Will of the Many by James Islington. The next book in the series, The Strength of the Few, recently came out!
Q: Why do you like most about performing research at MGB?
A: : I am so thankful to the faculty in the Department of Surgery at BWH and our residency program for the opportunity to combine my interests in both art and surgery into my academic and research time over these past few years.
Q: If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: This is a really tough question because I love so many different kinds of food! If I had to pick one cuisine, it would be Indian (specifically, my mom’s South Indian Tamil cooking!).
Q: What’s your favorite way of spending a Sunday morning?
A: Going on a stroll with my husband, stopping for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Why Not Both? Lessons From a 19th Century Surgeon
Editor's note: In a recently published piece in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Maya shares her experience as a surgical resident who is also a printmaker. She explains how the hands‑on work of surgery feels similar to carving woodblocks and etching metal, both physically and emotionally.
Through stories from the operating room, time spent in the art studio, and learning about a surgeon‑artist from the past, she explores her doubts about whether it’s possible to pursue both art and medicine.
By turning her patient experiences into visual art, Maya finds a way to process difficult emotions, better understand her patients, and bring more humanity into her medical practice.
Subscribe to BenchMarks!
Subscribe to our monthly research newsletter and be the first to know what’s shaking in science at Mass General Brigham. From groundbreaking discoveries to the latest “you-heard-it-here-first” breakthroughs, we’ve got the updates that’ll keep your curiosity grooving.
Leave a Comment