( photos clockwise) Dr. Kartha with husband, Ganesh Kartha, MD, and friends Josh Christensen, MD, and Supra Parthasarathy, MD, vacationing in Santa Barbara, CA; Dr. Kartha with the UofL Division of Dermatology in Bernheim Forest; Dr. Kartha with sister Evelyn Ronkowski and mother Fran Haselden; Dr. Kartha with former co-residents and dermatologists Meagan Huelsman, MD, and Lacey Vence, MD, at the Kentucky Oaks; Dr. Kartha skiing on Rough River Lake.
( continued from page 35)
“ It’ s a three-year program, so it’ s not that long,” she said.“ Seeing people come in not knowing much about dermatology and three years later being able to practice independently, that’ s what I’ m looking forward to.”
Outside of work, life is full – joyfully, and sometimes overwhelmingly so. Ganesh is now a urologist at First Urology and together they have three children: an 8-year-old son, Kitt, and 4.5-year-old twins, Franny and Louis. They also have a dog named Popcorn. Their story together has spanned cities and states, long drives to Columbus for weekend meetups, joint devotion to medicine and the complexities of building careers and a family simultaneously.
Despite the busy life of a physician, educator and parent, Dr. Kartha still carves out time for the things she loves. She still plays the piano sometimes, and summers often take the family to her parents’ lake house at Rough River, where she water skis. She and Ganesh love live
music and comedy shows and have season tickets at The Palace and for UofL basketball. They’ re also passionate about Louisville’ s food scene.
Dr. Kartha doesn’ t pretend to know exactly what the future holds. She didn’ t expect to end up in dermatology. She didn’ t expect to take on a leadership role this soon. But her path has always unfolded through curiosity, hard work and saying yes when something feels right.
“ I want to continue to learn and get better at teaching,” she said.“ And I want to hone my skills so I can be the best dermatologist I can be.” Mostly, she’ s excited to grow alongside her patients and her trainees.“ As we all get older together, I’ m really looking forward to that.”
In the end, she may not have predicted her path, but she has fully embraced it and made it her own.
Kathryn Vance is the Communications Manager at the Greater Louisville Medical Society.
36 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE