Harsh Moolani
A medical student who enjoys solving interesting problems
About Me
Hi there! My name is Harsh Moolani, and I'm a 4th year MD/MPH student. My long-term goal is to practice neurology for 60+ years as I build organizations that solve fascinating problems in healthcare.Before medical school, I graduated from ...
Press
For a kid raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, the greatest honor is to be in the Messenger Inquirer.
Photos
With U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy after a conversation about loneliness.
Projects
Create Circles - to address long-term care loneliness
PIEMed - to treat fecal impaction in patients with spinal cord injury
Couples Match Tool - to help medical students with couples match
Med Interview Prep - to help students prepare for interviews
Localize the Lesion - to help students improve at localizing neuro lesions
Boston Maraton Qualifier - to make sure I did not peak in high school
and more
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Photos
Snapshots from Match Day 2025 - where my fiancee and I learned where we will do our training. I matched at NYU Neurology and she matched at Cornell Anesthesiology.
A small group conversation with the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about loneliness and mental health in America. The best part was talking to his parents afterwards.
Moments on Old North Bridge in Concord, MA with my fiancée and our families.
A 26.2 mile stroll that became sweeter with each mile (featuring a trianing run too close to a gator)
One of the first older adults enrolled in Create Circles, a nonprofit I started focused on reducing older adult loneliness.
More About Me
Hi there! My name is Harsh Moolani, and I'm a 4th year MD/MPH student. My long-term goal is to practice neurology for 60+ years as I build organizations that solve fascinating problems in healthcare.Before medical school, I graduated from Washington University of St. Louis with a degree in Neuroscience. At WashU, I was selected as a Rhodes Finalist and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In May 2019, my junior year, I founded Create Circles, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to address older adult loneliness in long-term care. This work continues today and assists thousands of people weekly funded by a $495K grant from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in the Office of Inspector General of Kentucky and Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (2022-2025).I am a proud graduate of the Gatton Academy for Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. While studying here, I was selected as a Siemens Semifinalist for my research on combatting antibiotic resistance with gold nanoparticles.In my free time, I enjoy watching and playing most sports, reading, and reflecting.
Projects
Create Circles - 501(c)(3) non-profit I started to help reduce loneliness in nursing homes
Before starting Create Circles, i spent 100s of hours in nursing homes speaking with residents in hospice.
Tried to better understand the challenges from policy/business/health perspectives by working with state Ombudsmen programs/Area Agencies on Aging/ Alzheimer's Association/ etc
Ultimately developed a curriculum and program to reduce loneliness by
Currently focused on our $495K grant from CMS
Here is a talk I gave a few years ago
PIEMed - medical device company that treats fecal impaction in patients with spinal cord injury
After interacting with patients with spinal cord injuries, I was shocked by the difficulty of their bowel routines. They spend hours daily hoping for a bowel movement.
The PIE Device uses pulses of water through a speculum to help break up the hardened stool in the colon and have it exit the body through a speculum, all while the patient rests comfortably in bed.
Working on making this the gold standard for all patients with spinal cord injury.
Couples Match Tool - easy tool to help couples create their residency couples match rank list
During the couples match process, my fiancée and I had many emotional conversations on how to approach our rank list. How do we balance our relationship and careers?
Ultimately, everything changed once we brought in some objectivity to our rank list. We started assigning scores and created our own algorithm to create multiple versions of our rank list, and ultimately, create the perfect one.
This tool makes our complicated process available to couples everywhere.
Med Interview Prep - medical education tool I created to help students prepare for interviews quickly
A little interview preparation goes a long way, so I created this tool first for myself. But, then my friends wanted to use it. Shortly after, I just made it available for everyone
Within the first 72 hours, over 3,000 premeds and med students had used it from around the world.
Localize the Lesion - medical education tool I created to help students localize neurological lesions
Coming soon! If you want to be emailed when it is ready, sign up here.
Boston Maraton Qualifier - ambitious goal that I was closest to 9 years ago.
In high school, I forced to give up soccer in order to attend the Gatton Academy. So I picked up running to stay fit.
I ended up running a half-marathon at a Boston Marathon Qualifying pace.
Ever since I have run 4 half marathons and 2 marathons but have not been able to get back to that pace.
So, on a mission to make it happen.
Notion for Students - 30k+ member community for students to learn and share how to best use the note-taking tool Notion to their advantage
Honestly, I just made this on a whim one day and people flocked to it.
Could use some help in organizing and running it if anyone is intersted
Press
US Surgeon General urges connection to combat mental health struggles - 2/26/2024Excerpt: “We as a society have lost our ‘social muscle’ and need more ways to spend unstructured time with others to build this muscle,” said Murthy. “If I can tell you one thing about what I’ve learned my whole life in general, it’s that it is captured by the lessons I picked up from patients at the end of their lives. They always talked about their relationships. The people who brought them joy, the people that they loved, and the people who broke their hearts.”Link to Full Article
Student’s Nonprofit to Alleviate Loneliness Expands to Pregnant Women - 4/17/2023Excerpt: According to Lindsey Finch, M.D., a fourth-year OB-GYN resident at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, “Whether in a nursing home or a hospital, a lot of the agency you have as a person — when you eat, when you get your vitals taken — feels outside of your control. When I learned about Harsh’s organization it made me think of our long-stay patients.”Link to Full Article
Dual-Degree Medical Student Wins Nearly $500K for Nonprofit - 8/23/2022Excerpt: Moolani is now a second-year M.D./M.P.H. student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and his nonprofit has received a $495K grant from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to advance its mission.Link to Full Article
The Miller School’s physicians of tomorrow bring a variety of experiences to their common goal - 7/29/2022Excerpt: By the end of his junior year, Moolani had launched Create Circles, a nonprofit that pairs trained students with seniors to work on longitudinal projects. “Companionship is not enough to address loneliness,” he said. “A visit is brief respite, but afterward the loneliness sets in again. However, when we help develop a sense of purpose, the patients feel like they permanently belong.Link to Full Article
Owensboro native named Rhodes Scholar finalist - 1/10/2021Excerpt: Owensboro native Harsh Moolani has been named a Rhodes Scholar finalist. Moolani, who attended Daviess County High School, graduated from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in 2016. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis. He plans to practice medicine.Link to Full Article
Three Washington University scholars were Rhodes finalists - 11/22/2020Excerpt: “Deep human needs require the comfort and confidence of belonging,” Moolani wrote in his Rhodes application. “The psychosocial challenges like loneliness and social determinants of health for older adults are given little attention despite grave consequences. Seeing how research aligned with my in-person experience of witnessing a shortage of caregivers, inadequate reimbursement systems, poor aging policy and social perceptions as contributors to the challenges in elder care only compounded my fascination for the field and obsession with its intricacies.”Link to Full Article
Unprecedented challenge. Unprecedented collaboration. - 11/12/2020Excerpt: A neuroscience grad trained student volunteers for a program called Students to Seniors, so they could do virtual visits with older adults who were now more isolated than ever, cut off from family visits and eating meals in their rooms. “We must guard their humanity and dignity,” founder Harsh Moolani said, adding that “now, more than ever, we can all benefit from their wisdom.”Link to Full Article
Nursing home residents in Daviess Co. stay connected thanks to volunteers - 5/12/2020Excerpt: Moolani says they typically meet with the seniors in person, but he says after COVID-19 hit they had to shift gears. He says now, volunteers schedule a visit, either by phone or a virtual meeting like Zoom or Facetime. He says this provides them with some sort of comfort during a crazy time. “With COVID and trying to decrease human interaction to keep them safe, we’re stripping them of their entire social support system," said Moolani. "And so yeah, people are terrified. A lot of these residents are really talking about. It is so hard to see my loved one. Rather than coming through the door they’re like standing at the window.””Link to Full Article
Friendship Village and Create Circles Collaborate to Combat Negative Side Effects of Social Isolation - 4/28/2020Excerpt: “We want to get students involved in helping combat the isolation happening for our older adults, now more than ever,” says the Director of Create Circles, Harsh Moolani. “We have over 260 volunteers signed up who are trained in topics including: how to have meaningful and engaging conversations with older adults, how to make the older adults feel valued and validated, things to avoid when speaking with older adults, creating a lasting impact on the older adults that they work with, and much more.Link to Full Article
Washington University comes together to support the St. Louis community - 4/7/2020Excerpt: “We want to get students involved in helping combat the isolation happening for our older adults, now more than ever,” says the Director of Create Circles, Harsh Moolani. “We have over 260 volunteers signed up who are trained in topics including: how to have meaningful and engaging conversations with older adults, how to make the older adults feel valued and validated, things to avoid when speaking with older adults, creating a lasting impact on the older adults that they work with, and much more.Link to Full Article
WashU entrepreneurs respond to coronavirus - 4/23/2020Excerpt: As an undergraduate, Harsh Moolani founded Create Circles. The nonprofit organization strives to reduce social isolation and cognitive decay of older adults in longterm care by pairing them with young volunteers to produce creative projects such as articles, videos and podcasts. Moolani, who graduated in December with a degree in neuroscience, is currently training 190 volunteers, including 80 Washington University students, through his platform Students to Seniors to “visit” residents of area long-term care facilities virtually via phone and tablet.Link to Full Article
Former DCHS student creates nonprofit - 3/3/2020Excerpt: As an undergraduate, Harsh Moolani founded Create Circles. The nonprofit organization strives to reduce social isolation and cognitive decay of older adults in long-term care by pairing them with young volunteers to produce creative projects such as articles, videos and podcasts.Link to Full Article
Graduating senior to stay in St. Louis, expand nonprofit - 12/11/2019Excerpt: “What I like about Create Circles is that it tackles the stubborn issues of stigma and alienation that older adults can face in our culture by bringing generations together,” Carpenter said. “In this program, older adults are valued for their experience and wisdom, and younger adults are prized for their energy and creativity. Both generations learn about and from each other to break down stereotypes and enhance their mutual sense of purpose and meaning.”Link to Full Article
2 Gatton Students Semifinalist in 2015 Siemens Competition - 10/22/2015Excerpt: “Harsh has impressed our entire research group with his maturity and charisma,” Dakshinamurthy said. “He displays a remarkable intelligence, and he has a tireless work ethic. It is my sincere belief that Harsh has the potential to become a fantastic researcher, and will most assuredly achieve great things wherever his passion and curiosity take him.”Link to Full Article
2 Gatton Students Semifinalist in 2015 Siemens Competition - 2/19/2014When the fun reallly began.Link to Full Article