Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH, Recognized by Influential Women, Advances Global GI Health Equity
Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH, ORCID, is a nonprofit CEO, patient advocate, and healthcare educator dedicated to advancing health equity for minoritized communities, particularly within gastrointestinal and autoimmune care. As the CEO and Co-Founder of the Strategic Alliance for Intercultural Advocacy in GI (SAIA), she leads initiatives focused on patient education, research, professional development, and culturally competent care for South Asian patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Her work bridges lived experience with organizational strategy, ensuring that diverse patient voices are meaningfully represented in clinical research and healthcare delivery systems.
Tina’s advocacy is deeply rooted in her personal journey with Crohn’s disease, which required more than twenty surgeries and years of navigating a healthcare system that often failed to reflect the needs of patients like her. These experiences became the foundation for her lifelong mission to improve care delivery and patient empowerment. They also inspired her to co-found SAIA and OwnYourCrohns.com, platforms designed to educate patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals about the psychosocial, cultural, and systemic factors that impact health outcomes. Through these initiatives, she has built bridges between patients and providers, ensuring that lived experience is integrated into clinical understanding and practice.
With a background in finance and a Master of Public Health from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tina brings a unique combination of strategic, operational, and analytical expertise to her advocacy work. This multidisciplinary foundation allows her to translate patient needs into scalable programs, research initiatives, and institutional partnerships. She has collaborated with leading academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and industry stakeholders to advance culturally responsive clinical research and patient-centered care models in gastroenterology and autoimmune disease management.
Tina is also a respected global speaker, having presented at premier medical institutions and conferences, including Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Michigan, Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, Digestive Disease Week, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the European Crohn’s & Colitis Organisation. Her presentations consistently focus on improving patient outcomes, reducing disparities in care, and embedding cultural competency into clinical practice and research design.
Her thought leadership has been widely recognized across major media and academic platforms. Tina has been featured in Time Magazine as one of the top five influencers in the IBD community fighting stigma. Her advocacy work has also been highlighted in The New York Times, on the cover of American College of Gastroenterology Magazine, in Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, and in Health Magazine. In addition, she has co-authored and led research studies published in leading medical journals, including JAMA, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, further solidifying her role as a bridge between patient advocacy and clinical research.
Tina’s contributions have earned her numerous prestigious honors. In 2025, Excellence Awards Global named her CEO of the Year in Patient Education & Advocacy for her leadership of SAIA. The American College of Gastroenterology awarded her the Best Patient Advocacy Award in 2022 and the Best International Healthcare Education & Advocacy Award in 2024. Her advocacy platform IBDesis, along with SAIA’s patient advocacy arm, was recognized with the Healio Gastroenterology Disruptive Innovator Award in both 2019 and 2023. Additional accolades include the Verywell Health Health Impact Award, the Social Health Network Revolutionary Researcher Award in 2023, and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Above & Beyond Volunteer Award in 2021.
Tina attributes her success to her personal journey as a patient and advocate, which has profoundly shaped her understanding of healthcare disparities and inspired her commitment to meaningful systemic change. Navigating chronic illness and complex medical systems has reinforced her sense of purpose and dedication to improving outcomes for underserved communities.
Reflecting on the best career advice she has received, Tina emphasizes a guiding principle that continues to shape her work: “You can make a difference and be the change that is needed in a constantly evolving world.”
For young women entering the field of healthcare advocacy, Tina encourages passion, resilience, and intentionality. She underscores that patient advocacy requires leadership, emotional strength, and a deep understanding of disease, treatment pathways, research, and the broader nonprofit and healthcare ecosystem. She also urges emerging professionals to actively network, build relationships, and confidently pursue opportunities that amplify their impact.
Tina recognizes that one of the most significant challenges in her field is working within a healthcare system that was not designed to serve patients from minoritized communities equitably. At the same time, she sees this challenge as an opportunity to advance cultural awareness, build patient trust, and influence policies that better reflect the needs of diverse populations.
Across all aspects of her work and life, Tina values empathy, patient-centered care, and community support. She remains committed to building awareness, developing support networks, and creating spaces where patients and caregivers feel seen, heard, and empowered.
Tina Aswani-Omprakash continues to embody the change she seeks in the world, dedicating her career to advocacy, education, and systemic transformation in healthcare for patients everywhere.
Learn More about Tina Aswani-Omprakash:
Through her Influential Women profile, https://influentialwomen.com/connect/tina-aswani-omprakash or through her websites, https://saia-gi.org/ & https://ownyourcrohns.com/
Influential Women
Influential Women provides a platform where women from all backgrounds can connect, share their perspectives, and create content that empowers themselves and others. Through storytelling, thought leadership, and creative expression, Influential Women amplifies voices that inspire change.
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Influential Women
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