Dr. Deepshikha Ashana's research focuses on understanding and addressing mechanisms of differences in serious illness care among vulnerable patients. She uses mixed methods to study epidemiologic trends in national health claims data and understand patient perspectives on serious illness care, with a particular focus on modifiable clinician and health system factors.

She received her undergraduate, medical, and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, before moving to Los Angeles to complete her internal medicine residency at the University of California, Los Angeles. She subsequently worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company where she gained experience in health system operations and change management. She completed her fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, during which time she received support from the PAIR Center to obtain a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Duke University.

Dr. Ashana lives in Raleigh with her husband and son where they enjoy cooking, hiking, biking, and watching international films.