Radiating Love

When Neha Vapiwala, MD, and John P. Plastaras, MD, PhD, met during the Perelman School of Medicine’s residency program in radiation oncology, Neha left a huge impression on John.

“She was a year ahead of me and gave me the lay of the land on my first day,” said John. “Her organization and thoroughness were simply remarkable.”

Little did they know, the guidance she showed him during his first disorientating days of residency would set the tone for the friendship that developed as co-residents, the courtship that followed, and their life together as colleagues, husband, and wife.

The only glitch to this sweet "meet-cute?" Neha doesn’t remember it.

But that’s okay, John remembers for her. And therein lies the secret recipe for how Neha and John make their busy lives work.

A Team with Support and Love

They are a consummate team and rely on one another to be sounding boards for help, advice, support, and guidance.

Now married with two children, they use the foundation of deep friendship and trust they built as co-residents to help navigate their duties as partners, parents, and faculty members in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Penn Medicine.

“We have a very unique situation,” Neha explained. “Every day we benefit from working on the same team and sharing many of the same overarching goals.”

“The commonality of our work allows us to really support and promote one another in ways most couples cannot,” John went on to say.

While the delicate balance of John and Neha’s personal and professional lives doesn’t come easy, it is the end product of the quintessential yin and yang of their personalities working together in harmony.

John’s happy-go-lucky, "it’s all going to be okay" philosophy balances the more regimented approach to life that first drew him to Neha.

But, ultimately they believe their inherent differences, complimentary personalities, and shared passion for radiation oncology has made them stronger as a couple than they would be individually.

“While we approach the practice of medicine from different angles, helping patients and families along their cancer journey is an incredibly rewarding, and emotionally draining, privilege,” Neha said. “We are fortunate in that we both understand what a profound effect our patients have on our daily lives.”

“We also love and engage in the same things, our city-life with our daughters dictates our fun,” John said. “We take advantage of what Philadelphia has to offer and are always out walking to parks and museums, visiting with friends, or trying out new restaurants.”

By far, what they are most in sync about are their children. While medicine brought them together, they are in total agreement to not put pressure on their children, to follow in their footsteps.

“We want to give them the best possible education from an early age,” they said. “But we will give them the space to make up their own minds as to what they feel passionate about.”

Neha and John fell in love with medicine independently and then found love with one another while training to help better care for cancer patients. The one thing they do know is how lucky they were to find each other and build their academic careers together.

“It didn’t have to work out this way, but fortunately for us, it did!”

Philanthropy is a powerful tool to advancing research, care, and education - in an environment where love and hope go hand in hand.  

Make an online gift today or contact Karrie L. Borgelt at kborgelt@upenn.edu or 
215-898-9931 to learn more about the impact of your support.