The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) will welcome Sanjay Kishore as keynote speaker for its May 10 commencement ceremony.
A physician and health care access advocate from Southwest Virginia, Kishore will challenge graduates to use their medical training in service of all patients — especially those often left behind by the health care system.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Kishore said of the invitation. “This is a really important moment for doctors and clinicians to be thinking about our responsibilities to our communities.”
Lee Learman, dean of the medical school, emphasized the alignment between Kishore’s message and the school’s values.
“Dr. Kishore embodies the values we hold dear at VTCSOM, affirming our common humanity and the inherent dignity and worth of each individual in our community. His journey will no doubt inspire our graduates as they enter a profession that urgently needs their leadership,” Learman said.
A focus on the underserved
Kishore, a hospitalist and assistant professor at the University of Virginia, brings extensive experience delivering primary care in some of the nation’s most underserved communities. He and his wife, Margaret Hayden, also an internal medicine physician at that university, helped launch a clinic and mobile health program in Alabama to serve individuals recently released from incarceration.
Working with the Equal Justice Initiative, Kishore’s team built systems to connect these individuals to consistent primary care — often for the first time in years.
“The therapeutic value of medicine isn’t just in the prescriptions,” Kishore said. “It’s about listening, attention, handshakes — being seen as a whole person. That’s often more powerful than any medication.”
Among the program’s successes was a pilot effort to treat hepatitis C, a curable but expensive condition, in this high-risk population. Kishore’s team made the treatment accessible to those who otherwise wouldn’t have received it.
“There’s a narrative that treating these patients is too hard or too expensive,” he said. “But we found a way. And that’s what this next generation of physicians can do, too.”
Deep ties to Southwest Virginia
A native of Radford, Kishore grew up watching his physician parents care for patients throughout the New River Valley.
“Medicine wasn’t just something they did at work. We’d go to the grocery store and run into their patients all the time. It showed me how meaningful those relationships can be.”
His father, Anand Kishore, a gastroenterologist with Carilion Clinic, shared his pride in his son’s work.
“True greatness lies in the ability to serve others selflessly and my son exemplifies this in every sense,” he said. “His unwavering dedication for uplifting those around him reminds us of the transformative power of compassion and service. He is the beacon of kindness and inspiration.”
His mother, Lakshmi Kishore, a retired primary care and geriatrics physician, spoke of her family’s guiding values.
“Service to mankind is service to God. God is love, love is God. By love serve one another,” she said. “Irrespective of the caste, color, creed, religion, nationality, rich or poor all are children of God and the name of the God is Love. I instilled the above values to my both physician sons as their physician mom. Both sons practice these principles in the practice of medicine every day. I am grateful and thankful to Almighty for his kind blessings.”
Inspiring the next generation
Kishore’s message to graduates is one of humility, purpose, and possibility.
“There’s no playbook for what medicine will look like even a year from now,” he said. “That’s scary, but it’s also empowering. This is our moment. We must be intentional and make sure the benefits of science and innovation reach everyone.”
As medical school graduates prepare to enter careers in clinical care, research, policy, or advocacy, Kishore urges them to lead with creativity and courage.
“Don’t be afraid to take the less traditional route,” he said. “Sometimes that’s exactly where the need is. And if your heart’s there, it’s worth following.”
Having begun their medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the medical school’s Class of 2025 understand firsthand the critical importance of equitable care. With Kishore’s words as inspiration, they carry forward a vision of medicine rooted in justice and human connection.
“Sometimes,” he said, “the highest form of care we can offer is simply our attention.”
The commencement ceremony will take place at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke. More information, including a livestream link, is available on the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine commencement event page.
By Josh Meyer