Dr. Mugdha Deshpande

I chose nutrition because, to me, it is one of the most tangible forms of preventive medicine. I have always loved food, from ukdiche modak and varan-bhat-tup to a good Del Barone pasta followed by tiramisu, and I never believed that nutrition should take the joy out of eating. What fascinated me was the possibility that something so ordinary and deeply personal could also shape growth, metabolism, disease risk and health across the life course.

Clinical practice made that idea real. Two people can have the same diagnosis and still need completely different approaches because their investigations, routines, preferences, family circumstances, culture and ability to make changes are different. That is why I have never seen nutrition care as simply handing over a standard diet chart. For me, the real work is understanding the person first, then finding an approach that is clinically appropriate, nutritionally sound and realistic enough to live with.

Research grew out of the same curiosity. Working in health made me want to understand not just what happens, but why, how reliably we can measure it, whether the methods truly answer the question, and whether the conclusions are genuinely supported by the data. I enjoy that process of questioning assumptions, looking at evidence from different angles and finding the structure within what can initially look like a wall of numbers.

Over time, my work has naturally extended beyond nutrition alone. While nutrition and maternal and child health remain important areas of my expertise, I also support statistical analysis, interpretation and scientific communication across broader health and allied-health research. The common thread is simple: ask the right question, choose methods that genuinely answer it, and communicate the evidence responsibly.

Perhaps that is why I still feel like I am choosing this profession every day. There is always another person with a different story, another research question that refuses an easy answer, or another dataset that needs to be looked at from one more angle. And when I am not with patients or at my desk doing exactly that, you will most likely find me with a hot mocha and a dark chocolate sea-salt cookie.

Science should make us more thoughtful about food and health, not less human about either.