Raghu Kiran Appasani, MD is a Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, Mental Health Advocate, and Social Entrepreneur focused on bridging the gap between western and eastern practices to create a wholesome society. He was born and raised in the Boston, MA area for the majority of his life. As a one year old, he lived in rural India for two years. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 2012 with a Bachelors of Arts in Neuroscience & Behavior and Science in Society. While at Wesleyan, Raghu founded The MINDS Foundation, served on the University’s Academic Honor Board, was a Director of the Wesleyan Investment Group, founded a student committee for the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and was a member of Shakti (South Asian Student Group). Raghu received his MD Candidate from The University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was also awarded the Mick Godkin Award, was part of the Global Health Pathway, Treasurer of the Student Government, and founder of the Health Economics Group and Plastics & Reconstructive Surgery Group.

He is the Founder & CEO of The MINDS Foundation for which he has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, One Young World Delegate Ambassador, StartingBloc Fellow, Nexus Global Delegate, EchoingGreen, MassChallenge, Dell Top 40, and Kellogg Innovation Network Delegate. He has worked in the laboratories of Dr. Michael Greenberg, Dr. Laurie Jackson-Grusby, Dr. Eric Kandel, Dr. Jingyue Ju, Dr. Janice Naegele, Dr. Janice Lalikos, and Dr. Eric Nestler. Through his extensive scientific research, he has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles and edited five books and has been awarded with the Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist Award, the Sanofi-Aventis BioGENEius International Finalist Award, and the Genzyme Award. He has given over 50 talks on mental health, entrepreneurship, global health, and consciousness in parallel with authorship for ThriveGlobal, The Better India, and The Huffington Post. His commitment to wellness has led to the develop of initiatives focused on reliance and empathy in physicians, resulting in him receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society.

He continues to pursue career in that bridges the western and eastern practices of healthcare in order to best bring practices to those in every corner of the world including the most vulnerable population in Los Angeles County where is a Psychiatry Resident & Wellness Representative at LAC+USC Medical Center/University of Southern California. He is also a Research Psychiatrist at the USC Brain & Creativity Institute, where he has been awarded the Della Martin Research Foundation Grant to study the science of mindfulness-based therapies for mental illness.