Tina Aswani Omprakash

Tina Aswani Omprakash is a Crohn’s patient and award-winning patient expert and health advocate based out of New York City. She has had Crohn’s Disease for 15 years and has had numerous surgeries. Tina maintains a blog and advocacy platform called Own Your Crohn’s (http://ownyourcrohns.com) and recently co-founded IBDesis, a community for South Asians living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Her overarching aim is to normalize the rhetoric around chronic illnesses and disabilities in order to help diverse groups of patients own their ailments to live fuller, happier lives.

Via her writing, lobbying, social media advocacy, and speaking engagements, she spearheads public health causes, including those proposing research and creating awareness for IBD, life-saving ostomy surgery, gastroparesis, fistulizing disease, and initiatives supporting health equity for women and racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities.

Tina is pursuing her master’s degree in Public Health at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. Additionally, she has spoken at many premier GI conferences and does freelance work for non-profits as well as ostomy manufacturers, in addition to pharmaceutical and digital health companies. Her aim is to help companies recognize disparities and unmet needs in minority health populations.

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation recognized Tina in 2021 for her phenomenal leadership and powerful impact on the IBD community with the Above & Beyond Volunteer Award. Tina’s blog was also recognized as a 2020 Best Blog by Healthline, and she was awarded the 2019 Healio Gastroenterology Disruptive Innovator Award by the American College of Gastroenterology for moving the needle on GI care for patients.