Harshman Sihra

Harshman Sihra is a 2025 Truman Scholar majoring in Liberal Arts with concentrations in Medical Sciences, Sociology, and Medical Humanities. As a queer South Asian immigrant, he is driven by his mom’s reproductive healthcare experiences to become an Obstetrician-Gynecologist and policymaker focused on eliminating disparities in maternal-child health.

He currently serves as an abortion doula at Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio as he counsels and aids patients through their procedure and recovery periods. In 2023, he was a Field Organizing Fellow at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, working on the successful Issue 1 campaign—making Ohio the first red state to pass a citizen-led abortion legalization initiative. He now serves on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s National Student Leadership Cohort and previously worked in the Cincinnati Mayor’s Office, researching innovative policy solutions to prenatal care access.

Harshman’s academic interests lie in implementation science and evidence-based reproductive health policy. His research spans infant mortality reduction initiatives (Cradle Cincinnati), medical mistrust and abortion access (Ohio Policy Evaluation Network), and decision-making in fetal congenital heart defect cases (Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine).

He is a Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!) Fellow, University Honors Program Research Scholar, UPRISE Scholar, BS/MD Connections Student, Victory Institute Congressional Intern, and American Heart Association EmPOWERED to Serve Scholar. In his free time, he enjoys reading realistic fiction and experimenting with Asian-fusion cooking.

A UC News article on Harshman's Truman Scholarship win can be found here.