Aasim I. Padela, MD, MSc, FACEP
Chairperson and Director of Initiative on Islam and Medicine
Dr. Aasim Padela is an internationally-recognized thought and research leader in the fields of Muslim health disparities and Islamic Bioethics. In addition to leading the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, he maintains an active clinical, research, and bioethics practice at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Dr. Padela holds an MD from Weill Cornell Medical College and received an MSc in Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan. He completed residency in emergency medicine at the University of Rochester, and clinical medical ethics training at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. He also holds Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Classical Arabic from the University of Rochester, and has studied Islamic theology and law in seminary and academic settings nationally and abroad.
As a scholar, Dr. Padela’s focus is on the intersections of healthcare, bioethics, and religion. Overall, his scholarship aims at improving health and healthcare through better accommodating religious values in healthcare delivery. Using Muslim Americans and Islam as a model, he studies how (i) religion impacts patient health behaviors and healthcare experiences, (ii) informs the professional identities and workplace experiences of clinicians, and (iii) furnishes bioethical guidance to patients, providers, policy-makers, and religious leaders. This knowledge is subsequently mobilized towards educational and policy interventions. His projects cover critical issues related to cancer screening, organ donation, end-of-life care, and the intersection of religion and science. This work has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, the American Cancer Society, the Health Research and Services Administration, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Greenwall Foundation, the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding, and other foundations.
Dr. Aasim Padela is an internationally-recognized thought and research leader in the fields of Muslim health disparities and Islamic Bioethics. In addition to leading the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, he maintains an active clinical, research, and bioethics practice at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
As a scholar and thought-leader, he has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and three forthcoming books on Islam and Biomedicine and Ethics. He has also delivered dozens of keynote lectures and seminars across the globe, and has consulted with religious and health authorities on topics related to policy and ethics. Critically, his work and expert commentary has been featured in multiple leading media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, National Public Radio, BBC, and CNN. As a service to the profession, he holds editorial positions for the Encyclopedia of Islamic Bioethics, the American Journal of Bioethics, BMC Medical Ethics, Global Bioethics, the International Journal of Islam, BETIM Journal of Medical Humanities, and TAHFIM Journal of Islam and the Contemporary World.
Adel Syed, MPPA
Chief Executive Officer, UMMA Clinic
Mr. Syed joined UMMA in 2013 and served as Chief Operations Officer for UMMA prior to accepting his current role as President/CEO. Mr. Syed holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Service from the University of California, Davis. Mr. Syed has also completed notable fellowships including the Blue Shield of California Foundation Clinic Leadership Institute Emerging Leaders Program, the New Leaders Council Institute, Los Angeles (2011) – a non-partisan organization that engages a diverse, national network of political entrepreneurs – and the Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellowship (2013). He is also the co-founder and President of New Leaders Council, Orange County.
Faisal Qazi, DO
President, MiNDS
Dr. Faisal Qazi currently serves as the President of MiNDS, a community service and development organization based in southern CA that provides charitable healthcare and focuses on community empowerment programs. He is an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Bioethics and Spiritual Care at Claremont Lincoln University – Bayan College. He was honored as Professor-of-the-Year award by its student body in 2013. He was the President of American Muslim Health Professionals in 2009, a national Public Health group and was the architect of AMHP’s health policy initiatives as its President in 2009. Dr. Qazi founded and became the first CEO of HUDA (Health Unit on Davison Avenue) free clinic in Detroit in 2004. He conceived the idea of the Muslim Free Clinics Council; a loose coalition of 35 Muslim operated charitable clinics from across the country. He had the distinct honor to present the works of these institutions at a Congressional briefing in October of 2008 in Washington DC, where he proposed opportunities for safety net clinics in the health reform process. Dr. Qazi’s speaks frequently on issues ranging from community services, religion and spirituality, mental health and health policy.
Fatema Mirza
Co-Founder, Worry Free Community
Besides being a co-founder of Worry Free Community, Fatema Mirza has initiated and led several community health projects in past 12 years and provided healthcare and IT consultation to health care entities on electronic medical records, Accountable Care/Managed Care regulations, JCAHO and Medicare accreditations. She helped set up the Senior Health Insurance Program sites for faith-based and community-based organizations and designed Community health training programs to support the projects in mosque communities.
Najam Fasiuddin, DO
Najam was born & raised in New Jersey. He graduated the University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology. Like many from the Garden State, he then moved to Florida. After graduating from LECOM-Bradenton, he completed a 4-year Emergency Medicine Residency at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn and was Chief Resident. After living in Michigan for a dozen years, he has returned to the warmth of the Sunshine State.
Sondos Al Sad, MD, MPH, NCMP
Associate Clinical ProfessorFamily and Community Medicine Department Women’s Health Primary Care University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Dr. Sondos Al Sad is currently an associate clinical professor at the Department of Family and
Community Medicine, UCSF. She is a nationally certified Menopause provider. She is a part of
The Family & Youth Institute’s Research Team, a member of the North American Menopause
Society (NAMS) Education Committee (NEC), a speaker at the Islamic Network Group
intercultural speakers’ bureau (ING ICSB), a mentor at Zakat Foundation mentorship program, a
mentor at Jordanian American physician(JAP) and American Board Certified Doctors for Egypt
(ABCDE), and a provider in a free APNA clinic Bay Area.
