Doctor Diwata Saensuk MD

Name Diwata Saensuk MD

Position Chief Medical Officer

Rank Doctor


Stats

  • 4 Mission Posts

Last Post

Sun Nov 2nd, 2025 @ 3:31pm

Character Information

Gender Female
Species Human
Age 53
Date of Birth August 3, 2103

Physical Appearance

Height 158 cm (5'2")
Weight 58 kg (128 lbs)
Hair Black
Eye Color Brown

Personality Profile

Strengths Creative: Saensuk does her best to approach situations with an open mind, looking for the possibilities rather than focusing only on limitations. Whether it involves cooking, meeting new people, or dealing with some strange illness, she has a knack for seeing the potential. She is willing to try new things to achieve an outcome, even if it means using something not for its intended purpose (or stretching the bounds of what is considered ‘common’ practice).

Self-Motivated: From an early age, Saensuk realized she had to be the driving force in her life (i.e. no one else was going to do it for her). She learned to identify what is needed, figure out the steps to get it, and then make it happen (either on her own or with the help of others). This has not only given her some independence, but also the ability (as she has come into different communities) to take the initiative in reaching out and making connections.

Purpose-Driven: For Saensuk, the reason for something is often as important (if not more) than the thing itself. She cares deeply about making a meaningful difference, and is the most confident when she feels a strong sense for why things are. When her purpose is unclear (or her role in a given situation is ambiguous), she can find it more difficult to engage. Still, she does her best to find (or actively make for herself) a way to be useful.

Authentic: Saensuk regularly puts a lot of time and effort into how she engages with others in the world. Because of this, she prefers to invest herself most in those spaces and people with whom she can share both presence and authenticity. She can tell when others seem to be holding back, and has very little patience for those who seek to deceive. She values most the bonds that are strengthened by honest sincerity and true vulnerability.
Weaknesses Ambivert: Saensuk has long known one of her growing edges is “putting herself out there” to connect with folks and form relationships. While she has gotten better at it over the years, it can still be quite draining. She continues to make the effort to be intentional about “dialing up” her ‘people skills’ when interacting with others, while balancing that with time away (by herself or with close friends) to “recharge” her “batteries”.

Secondary Trauma: Saensuk lives with secondary trauma, meaning that she occasionally experiences certain physical and psychological effects (e.g. minor headaches, disturbed sleep, heightened anxiety) that are typically brought on by prolonged periods of high stress, such as those involved with mass triage and disaster response. As hostilities with Romulans have increased, these effects have begun to manifest themselves once more.

Reluctance to Open Up: Generally speaking, Saensuk’s ability (and willingness) to be open, authentic, and vulnerable with others has improved significantly from when she was young. Despite this, however, she has chosen to keep her struggles with secondary trauma largely to herself, in part because she believes she needs to be present and solid for those around her who might be dealing with their own fears (and sharing could undermine that).
Hobbies & Interests * hiking
* animal watching
* music
* storytelling
* Peruvian cooking
* xenophysiology
Goals From an early age, one of Saensuk’s goals has been to help people. Her experience growing up and living among the remote towns and villages of the Amazon basin led her to pursue a vocation in medicine. The time she spent as part of the Interspecies Medical Exchange has directly contributed to her desire to teach and mentor others in xenophysiology. Being part of the NX program is, for her, a way to bring these two desires together and to contribute to humanity’s exploration of the stars. However, she does see herself serving aboard starships forever. In time, she may well return planet-side to take up a more explicit teaching position, and to help prepare the next generation of medical professionals.

Languages

Native Language English, Spanish
Familiarity UESPA Linguacode

Certifications

Academic Degrees B.S. Biology (Pre-Med) | Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (Arequipa, Peru) (2125)
Doctor of Medicine | Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru) (2129)
Residency (General Medicine) | Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza (Lima, Peru) (2132)
Starfleet Certifications Basic Orientation | UESPA Starfleet Academy (2151)

Family

Parent(s) Marikit Saensuk (nee Andrada) (mother); Amphon Saensuk (father)

Unrelated Ties


Personal History

Homeworld Earth
Pre-Academy Life Diwata Saensuk was born August 3, 2103, in the Ucayali region of Peru, the only child of two scientific researchers. Much of her childhood was spent accompanying them on expeditions through remote towns and villages of the Amazon basin, giving her the chance to see (and to interact with) different peoples as they moved from community to community. She had many opportunities to make friends (and be mentored by elders). She also witnessed the struggles many of them continued to face. As she grew older, these experiences made her want to do something that would help them, ultimately leading her to pursue a vocation in medicine.

Because Saensuk had spent so much time in the more rural areas of the Ucayali region, she had to adapt to the sights, sounds, and systems of “city life” when she arrived in Arequipa to begin her undergraduate work. It wasn’t long, however, before she found the connections she needed to make herself at home in the new environment. Fellow classmates quickly became friends, and they would regularly venture into different parts of the community (as well as the surrounding countryside), especially on the weekends.

During those early months at Universidad Nacional de San Augustín, Saensuk experienced her first (albeit limited) introduction to xenophysiology, and she was immediately ‘hooked’. Though very little of the available curriculum, either in undergraduate or her doctoral work, emphasized this field (which was still very new to Earth medicine), she grabbed hold of anything and everything she could to further her understanding.

Upon completing her residency, she was offered a position as an attending physician at the same hospital, where she continued to serve for six years. Her dedication, care for patients, and willingness to take others under her wing did not escape notes. Mindful of her interest in learning more about extra-terrestrial medicine, two of her supervisors recommended her for application to the Interspecies Medical Exchange. It was a highly competitive process, and she was passed over twice before being accepted into the program as a fellow in 2138, kicking off a nearly twelve-year period of study and practical experience working alongside colleagues from different worlds.

Saensuk’s experience with the Interspecies Medical Exchange was marked, not only by living among alien cultures, but also forming connections with fellow medical professionals from several different species. This, along with the knowledge of xenobiology she gained while in the program, put her on the radar of United Earth Starfleet. While working at the University of California – San Francisco Medical Center, she was approached and asked if she would be interested in taking a position with the new NX Program. She agreed, seeing it as opportunity to put her own medical skills to use while also helping mentor others.

It would be nearly four more years before a position opened up aboard an actual, NX-class starship. Saensuk spent that time serving aboard other vessels, learning the ins and outs of shipboard life while providing medical services to the crews. When the Xindi probe attacked Earth, she was among the thousands of personnel dispatched to the surface as part of the massive relief effort. The work went on for weeks before she was finally pulled and put on mandatory leave (as was typical practice for disaster response). She went back for another cycle before eventually returning to a shipboard posting.

With the destruction of the Xindi weapon, and the growth of interspecies cooperation around the developing Coalition of Planets, more earth starships were leaving the home system (to patrol and to explore). As a result, Saensuk saw more opportunity to interact with (and to provide medical services to) alien species. Finally, in early 2156, word came through that she had been tapped for the position of chief medical officer aboard the third NX-class starship: Challenger. It was the chance she had been waiting for, ever since entering into her contract with Starfleet, and she looked forward to what new possibilities it might bring.

Service Record

Service Record Student | Biology (Pre-Med) | Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (Arequipa, Peru) (2121-2125)
Student | Doctor of Medicine | Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru) (2125-2129)
Resident | General Medicine | Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza (Lima, Peru) (2129-2132)

Attending Physician | General Medicine | Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza (Lima, Peru) (2132-2138)

Fellow (IME) | Xenophysiology | Eesni Medical Complex (Dekendi III) (2138-2145)
Fellow (IME) | Xenophysiology | Xedrah Medical Center (Tiburon) (2145-2149)
Fellow (IME) | Xenophysiology | UCSF Medical Center (Earth) (2149-2151)

Civilian | Basic Orientation | UESPA Starfleet Academy (2151)

Civilian | Chief Medical Officer | Othman (NV-12) (Intrepid-class) (2151-2154)

Civilian | Chief Medical Officer | Clavius (NV-18) (Intrepid-class) (2154-2156)

Civilian | Chief Medical Officer | Challenger (NX-03) (NX-class) (2156-present)