“Curiosity built into purpose.”
From childhood curiosity to purposeful pursuit, Student Doctor Anna Karina’s journey to medicine has always been shaped by the stories of patients who are too often overlooked.
Her fascination with rare diseases began in elementary school and grew as she personally connected with friends navigating life with conditions like moyamoya, PKU, and porphyria. Those relationships, paired with hands-on experiences in research and support groups, revealed a deeply underserved population — not just in biology, but in the broader medical system.
“Rare diseases are so mysterious and complicated… I believe that patients with rare diseases are an underserved part of the medical community,” she explains.
Across roles in urban and rural healthcare — from phlebotomy in Wisconsin to coordinating research in Seattle — Student Dr. Karina has seen firsthand how geography, culture, and trust shape access to care. Now at PNWU, she’s combining her clinical experiences with a passion for community-centered medicine, advocating for equity not just in treatment, but in opportunity.
“A strong community focus recognizes that a patient’s health is influenced by more than just their biology,” she shares.
It’s this insight — and the empathy behind it — that defines her alignment with PNWU’s mission to serve the whole patient, especially in rural and underserved areas across the Northwest.