Dr. Altaf Saadi (LAC DHS Scholar) is a neurology Chief Resident at the Partners Neurology Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School, where she completed a thesis about preventive health practices among refugee women at a local Boston community health center. Her community involvements included leading a student group providing social services to refugee families and serving as a counselor for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. In recognition of her work, she received the Harvard Medical School Dean’s Community Service Award.

In residency, her interest in health equity has led her to work in resource-limited settings in Zambia, Tanzania, the Navajo Nation, and locally at the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. Her passion for enhancing diversity in medicine led to important changes in her residency program, such as the creation of a diversity and inclusion certificate program and increased didactics on neurologic health disparities. Because of her leadership and community involvement, she was selected to participate in the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum and the Enhanced Residency Leadership Program at the AAN annual conference.

She received her undergraduate degree from Yale College, where she double majored in psychology and international studies. She received the Nakanishi Prize for enhancing race relations and the David Everett Chantler Award for high moral character and purpose.

Career Interests: Dr. Saadi believes in promoting social justice through equity in health care, and hopes to become a leader-advocate for marginalized communities in the United States and abroad, by combining her interests in health disparities, health services research, and implementation science. She is also interested in promoting diversity in medicine.

Research Interests: Dr. Saadi is interested in health services research that identifies and addresses challenges faced by low-income, minority, immigrant, refugee, and limited English proficient patients in obtaining neurological care. She hopes to translate clinical research into improved public health and healthcare delivery on the local, state, and national levels.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬