Pratistha Koirala

Pratistha Koirala, MD, Ph.D., was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in June 2021. Dr. Koirala is a gynecologic surgeon at the Norwalk Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Connecticut, and a health equity fellow at Boston Medical Center and Danbury Hospital.

Dr. Koirala’s health care journey began in Nepal, in the foothills of the tallest mountains in the world. In pursuit of education, her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. Her family story, of poverty and a lack of access to health care, inspired her to become a physician.

Dr. Koirala attended college at the University of Connecticut and graduated with a major in biology. She completed her MD, a Master of Science in genetics, and a Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her research has ranged from understanding the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in sarcoma to the genetic basis of cardiac development.