President’s Award Researcher Shares Personal Impetus Behind Project in India

From left to right: Shelby Hobohm, Rosaleen Xiong, Nima Rahman, Shilpa Rajagopal

Computer science student Rosaleen Xiong is the lead developer for a mobile app to help Indian LGBTQ+ patients receive healthcare free of stigma. With her team’s research, she wants to make a difference in both the Indian LGBTQ+ community and the field of computer science.

“Being a queer woman, it was hard to feel like I belonged,” she said of the largely non-queer and male-dominated field. “So, I became an advocate for myself.”

Her experiences led her to create the first student organization serving LGBTQ+ technology students. She later won the President’s Award for Global Learning in 2019 and plans to take her passion abroad to Chennai, India this summer to continue serving LGBTQ+ people with her team’s app.

“Our app aims to bridge the gap between what health care providers seek to provide and what queer patients need,” Xiong said. “Right now, they lack the tools and resources to do it resourcefully and mindfully. That’s where our team comes in.”

Read Xiong’s story on UT News.