Shreya Jha: Pediatric resident by day, playwright by night

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author Kit Pearson’s novel into an original musical. Set to premiere at the Hamilton Fringe Festival this month, the production follows Theo, an 11-year-old navigating poverty, family instability and the complicated realities of growing up. While medicine and musical theatre may seem worlds apart, Jha sees them as two ways of exploring the same question: How do children experience the world? “I always knew that I wanted this music-science interface in my career,” she says. “I wasn’t sure exactly what that would look like.” Curiosity and empathy Jha’s journey began nearly a decade ago at the University of Toronto, where she completed degrees in music and neuroscience simultaneously before pursuing medical school. Her earliest musicals explored scientific themes — from the discovery of DNA to Alzheimer’s disease — but pediatrics eventually offered a new perspective. Now a McMaster...