It’ s clear that this grounded, structured approach not only made medical school manageable, it shaped how she approaches her work today.
“ I liked studying, I like learning and I like reading,” she says.“ I felt really prepared since I’ d had the two years off and I was just a little bit older. That gave me more perspective on my goals.”
In her third year of medical school, the mystery of specialty selection loomed. But instead of narrowing, her interests grew.
“ I really liked all of them. I liked internal medicine, I liked OB- GYN, I liked surgery, I liked peds,” she said.“ Then I did a dermatology rotation, and I felt like it had everything. You see really old patients, you see pediatrics, you see infectious diseases, you see skin cancer, you see autoimmune issues. It keeps things interesting and fun.”
After graduating from UofL, she completed her intern year at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She and Ganesh married at the end of medical school, and during her intern year he finished his residency. They moved back to Louisville shortly afterward, where she completed her dermatology residency at UofL.
“ Dermatology residency is very small,” she says.“ There are two residents per year. It was me and Meagan Huelsman, also in my med school class, and we’ re good friends now.”
The closeness of the program, and the faculty who shaped her, would later become more meaningful than she ever expected. After residency, she joined Associates in Dermatology, a practice intertwined with the UofL program and home to many of her mentors.“ I feel like I had really good mentors at UofL and then I got to join practice with them,” she said.“ It was full circle.”
She has now been with the practice for six years, and the continuity suits her.
“ I like seeing a lot of different things, never knowing who or what is going to walk through the door,” she said.“ And I love the continuity,
( photos l to r) Dr. Kartha with children Frances( 4), Kitt( 8), and Louis( 4); Dr. Kartha with husband Ganesh Kartha and children Kitt( 8), Frances( 4) and Louis( 4); Dr. Kartha hosting a Derby party with friends.
getting to know people over time is really special to me.”
She sees general dermatology patients of all ages and takes call several weeks per year. Most days include a medical student or resident shadowing her in clinic. But teaching didn’ t come naturally immediately, it was gradual.
“ When I first graduated, I wasn’ t as interested in teaching because I still felt like I needed to learn more myself,” she said.“ As time has gone on, I have more I want to teach. It’ s satisfying. And it keeps you on your toes.”
This year, Dr. Kartha will step into a role she once admired from a distance: Program Director for the UofL Dermatology Residency Program. Her predecessor and mentor, Dr. Courtney Schadt, had held the position for years.
“ Courtney has been amazing in this role,” Dr. Kartha said.“ It’ s an honor to walk in her footsteps.”
Her voice brightened when she talked about it, a mix of excitement and humility.
“ Learning about what’ s involved in running a residency is going to be a big learning curve,” she admitted.“ But it’ ll be interesting and a good challenge. I like learning new things.”
She also knows the weight of the responsibility. Dermatology is a competitive specialty everywhere, but Kentucky’ s limited training spots make the process especially high-stakes.
“ There are so many qualified medical students applying,” she says.“ I like everyone to be happy, so that part is going to be really hard.”
Still, the excitement outweighs the challenges. She’ s eager to watch trainees grow.
( continued on page 36) January 2026 35