Niranjan Ramesh is trading his couch for running shoes and will be tackling the Dunedin 2024 half marathon on 15 September to raise funds for those suffering from mental health issues.
Niranjan Ramesh
Passionate about mental health, the Anatomy Teaching Fellow has helped organise various workshops in the Anatomy department and raised over $1500 in the past five years with the Movember Foundation to support their programmes in creating mental health awareness.
Niranjan is a newcomer to running, his first competition being the five-kilometre section of last year’s Dunedin Marathon. Running has since become an interest and he has been out training over the winter months with the hope of completing the half-marathon this year.
“I wanted to combine the physical challenge I’ve set myself and use this as an opportunity to encourage conversations about mental health. In the process I want raise funds for the Mental Health Foundation of NZ who do phenomenal work in improving the mental health outcomes in Aotearoa,” he says.
“One in five of us will face mental health challenges but with the right tautoko support, people can and do recover.”
Niranjan is from India, where mental health is rarely discussed, and many who struggle therefore suffer in silence. This ignited his passion for pursuing mental health awareness.
Since moving to Otago in 2016 for his PhD studies, he says he was fortunate to have supportive friends and mentors.
“Living far from family, this support has been invaluable, and I aim to share it by promoting open conversations about mental health.”
Niranjan has been a Teaching Fellow in Anatomy since 2021. He teaches in the health science first year and also second-year anatomy papers.
He is also a member of the department’s Equity, Diversity, and Belonging Committee.
He was a member of Silverline, a student mental health awareness initiative at the Social Impact Studio. And now, as a Teaching Fellow he advocates for mental health awareness among students and staff.
If you would like to support Niranjan’s fundraising efforts, click here.