About
Titles
Hospital Resident
Biography
Vy Tran Plata, MD grew up in a small village in Vietnam and immigrated to a diverse community in Atlanta when she was 9. She has been gifted with many opportunities to reflect on power and privilege as a first-generation and low-income background person in higher education/medicine. She graduated from Stanford University in 2016 with a B.A. in Human Biology focusing on Creativity, Innovation, and Change, and in 2018 with an M.S. in Community Health and Prevention Research. From her time being part of various communities (be it in Vietnam, the U.S., Mexico, or India), she’s learned that well-being comes in many different forms. In a doctor's prescription, yes, but also in our inner strengths, in neighbors caring for one another, and in our resilience in making ends meet each day. Dr. Tran Plata sees these strengths as the untapped potential that she hopes to leverage as a future physician. She aspires to co-create community programs and policies helping patients overcome behavioral and systemic challenges in their environment. In addition, she is interested in transforming medical education to reflect the diverse backgrounds of learners and to infuse it with the humanistic values so fundamental to good care.
PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS: primary care/HIV training, medical education, mentoring, community-based participatory research (CBPR), health equity and advocacy, palliative care, writing
HOBBIES: Pyrography, poetry, gratitude journal, yoga, meditation, hiking, biking, running, nature walks, feng shui, cooking, baking, cake decorating
Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- MD
- University of Michigan, Medical Humanities; Diagnostics and Therapeutics (2022)
- MS
- Stanford University, Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR) (2018)
- BA
- Stanford University, Human Biology with Honors: Innovation, Creativity, and Change (2016)
Research
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
The 14th Dalai Lama
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News & Links
Media
- I received a Fulbright grant to conduct community health research in San Crisanto, México, a rural village of Maya ancestry. I was humbled by the insights that emerged from a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project to build a health clinic. I explored how the community members fought for the much-needed health services. During my 9 months in México, I witnessed the daily struggles and triumphs of an under-resourced community, much like those I hope to serve as a physician. Among my most inspiring experiences was my time with the CBPR women participants, who called themselves “luchonas por la comunidad,” or the “fighters for the community.” Their successful advocacy for the health clinic confirmed my theory that when a strong community unites, they can successfully petition for their right to healthcare. Having experienced firsthand the power of community-engaged research, I hope to facilitate more of these efforts as a physician leader and advocate to tackle health inequities upstream.