Graduation 2014 Profiles: Krishn Khanna

By Joseph Neighbor

As an undergraduate at Columbia, Krishn Khanna studied engineering, his first love. It didn’t take long into medical school for him to see the parallels between this background and orthopedics.

“In the first block of anatomy,” says Mr. Khanna, “I immediately saw the connection between physics and the mechanics of a body: The arm is a beam and the shoulder is a pulley. I saw a way I could use my engineering background to help people.”

He cultivated this understanding with the help of his mentor Chrisopher Ahmad, MD, professor of orthopedic surgery. “He approaches problems very systematically, always calculating 10 steps ahead,” Mr. Khanna says about Dr. Ahmad, who also serves as head physician for the New York Yankees. “While some people would just see cutting and assembling, he sees it very methodically. I love how he intellectualizes it that way.”

Mr. Khanna also describes William Levine, MD, professor of orthopedic surgery (and recently named chair of orthopedic surgery), as a “guiding force.” Dr. Levine is also the residency program director for orthopedic surgery, which means his expertise was helpful leading up to Match Day.

“He’s insanely helpful,” says Mr. Khanna, sharing stories of his late-night, panicked emails to Dr. Levine that were met with immediate responses. “He’s supportive, approachable, and honest. If your application is weak, he won’t sugarcoat it. I really appreciated that.”

In the summer following his first year, Mr. Khanna was awarded an NIH summer research fellowship. With the guidance of Drs. Ahmad and Levine, Mr. Khanna worked in the biomechanics lab, performing surgical procedures on 3-D models that had been created based on patients’ CT scans.

In the 2014 residency match, Mr. Khanna matched to the University of California, San Francisco, in orthopedic surgery, though he intends eventually to return to India, where he was born, and where his parents live. But first he wants to develop a unique skill set that he can offer his native country.

Of the challenges ahead, Mr. Khanna betrays little fear. “At Columbia, it’s very ‘sink or swim’; you’re thrown in and expected to perform. It was by no means easy,” he says, “but I’m sure all my colleagues will say they couldn’t imagine better training. We’re resourceful and gritty. When there’s a problem, we jump right in. That’s what we’re been doing here all along.”