Aysha Akhtar is an American neurologist, public health specialist and animal ethicist.[1][2] Akhtar is co-founder, CEO, and President of the Center for Contemporary Sciences.[2] She is a US veteran.
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Biography
editAkhtar has a master's degree in public health and is double board-certified in both neurology and preventive medicine.[1] She was a Medical Officer for the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats and Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service.[3] She was previously Deputy Director of the Army's Traumatic Brain Injury Program.
Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and is a consultant editor for the Journal of Animal Ethics.[1] She is a long-term advocate of animal rights and attended animal protection events from a young age.[4]
In 2019, Akhtar authored Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies which combines medicine, social sciences and personal stories.[5] Her book explores how empathy with animals deeply affects humans' health and well-being. Akhtar argues that animals are co-equals, worthy of compassion and respect.[6] She has stated that "I am on a mission to show how treating animals with kindness is not only good for animals, but also good for us."[7]
She was a speaker at The Rethinking Animals Summit and the DC VegFest in 2019.[8][9]
Personal life
editAysha Akhtar is married and lives in Maryland. She is a first generation Pakistani American and is a contemporary artist. Akhtar is a vegan.[10]
Selected publications
edit- Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better is Critical to Human Welfare (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)[11]
- The Need to Include Animal Protection in Public Health Policies (Journal of Public Health Policy, 2013)
- The Flaws and Human Harms of Animal Experimentation (Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2015)
- Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies (Pegasus Books, 2019) ISBN 978-1-64313-070-5[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c Cronin, Kelly. (2019). "An interview with Dr. Aysha Akhtar". compulsivereader.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Aysha Akhtar M.D., M.P.H., Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Ex Officio Board Member" Archived 2022-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. contemporarysciences.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Our Symphony with Animals On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". pegasusbooks.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Dr. Aysha Akhtar's Lifelong Commitment to Animal Advocacy. unboundproject.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Lubbers-Payne, Mercedes. (2019). "Dr. Aysha Akhtat On Developing Her Book, Our Symphony With Animals". spinemagazine.co. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Litzinger, Sam. (2020). "A physician explores why loving critters makes us better people". washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Kramer, Pamela. (2019). "Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". bookreporter.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Summit Speakers". thinkinganimalsunited.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "'Doctors Can and Should Care About Anyone's Suffering:' an Interview With Main Stage Speaker Dr. Aysha Akhtar". dcvegfest.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "'Doctors Can and Should Care About Anyone's Suffering:' an Interview With Dr. Aysha Akhtar". animaloutlook.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ DeGrazia, David (2013). "Reviewed Work: Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better Is Critical to Human Welfare by Aysha Akhtar". Journal of Animal Ethics. 3 (1): 108–109. doi:10.5406/janimalethics.3.1.0108.
- ^ "Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.