By: DoM Communications
In this month’s Chair Spotlight, we feature Shrinkhala Khanna, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UMass Chan.
From a young age, Dr. Khanna knew she wanted to become a physician. Inspired by the opportunity to build personal connections with patients, she was drawn to the field of hematology/oncology.
“I had two pediatricians as parents, so there were always medical conversations at the dinner table, and from a young age, I wanted to be a doctor and help people the way my parents had helped them,” shared Dr. Khanna. “My parents actually dissuaded me from being a doctor because it’s a long road, but I persisted and made it to where I am today.”
Dr. Khanna is an attending physician in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Chan Medical School, where she specializes in hematology and treats a diverse population of patients with both benign and malignant hematological disorders in academic and community settings. Currently, one of Dr. Khanna’s major focuses is health care delivery.
“Access for patients waiting to see a benign hematologist has been a challenge, and wait times can be several months,” explained Dr. Khanna. “For this reason, we explored a pilot project where we utilized electronic consults for a 20-month period from 2023 to 2024. I led a project where we analyzed all the reasons for e-consults, the turnaround time, and the number of in-person visits averted by utilizing this strategy, as well as its impact on wait times.”
Dr. Khanna has also worked to improve patient access at Health Alliance Clinton Hospital, where she helped establish the first-ever Fellows’ Community Hematology clinic in 2024.
“I precept three fellows once a month in that clinic and arrange didactics for them,” said Dr. Khanna. “The clinic has received excellent reviews from both the trainees and the referring providers who benefit from expedited care for their patients by increasing the number of available hematology appointments.”
She is also currently leading a project to design triage algorithms to help schedulers and nurses manage incoming referrals to her clinic.
“I have independently designed evidence-based algorithms and arranged meetings with the clinic leadership to operationalize referrals,” said Dr. Khanna. “To help our surgical colleagues with expedited surgical clearance for their complex patients, I started an urgent clinic slot in my schedule to avoid delays in perioperative management.”
Dr. Khanna finds the most rewarding aspects of her work in daily patient interactions.
“My patients teach me a lot about appreciating life and letting go of things that don’t matter,” said Dr. Khanna. “They really become appreciative of all the time they have and being the one to make sure they are comfortable and with their loved ones during their last few months or days is very gratifying.”
At UMass, Dr. Khanna also serves as a mentor for medical students and fellows and participates in a variety of educational initiatives. She is the co-founder of the Oncology Student Interest Group, assisting residents and students with an interest in hematology/oncology. For her excellence in mentoring, she received a UMass Department of Medicine Citizen Award in 2025. Dr. Khanna also collaborates with primary care and family medicine by giving educational lectures and working on projects to bridge the gap between hematology and primary care. She is passionate about women’s health and is working on establishing a Hematology-Obstetrics clinic to expedite evaluation of pregnant patients referred to hematology.
Outside of UMass, Dr. Khanna serves on the International Medical Graduate Trainee Subcommittee under the American Society of Hematology. She also serves on the DEI committee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis. She is known nationally and internationally for her contributions to advancing academic opportunities and collaboration in hematology, particularly for women physicians. Dr. Khanna founded the national social media group SHE-roes in 2024, which brings together 130 trainees and faculty across the country to discuss challenging cases in real time via WhatsApp.
“This initiative allows us to collaborate on opportunities for professional advancement, and discuss challenging cases in real time, without sharing any patient details,” explained Dr. Khanna.
Beyond her clinical and academic responsibilities, Dr. Khanna is passionate about improving cancer outcomes by advancing research at UMass and recently raised $1,755 by teaching dance class and donating all proceeds to the UMass Cancer Walk.
Dr. Khanna earned her medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India, and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at UMass Chan. She additionally completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at UMass Baystate.
We thank Dr. Khanna for her continued support of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, her patients, UMass, and beyond!