Aga Khan University Alumni Association of North America

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AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Task Force calls for unprecedented fundraising for flood victims

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Aga Khan University Alumni Association of North America (AKUAANA) Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund: Let’s make a difference!

Dear alumni and friends,

Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented flooding and its catastrophic aftermath calls for urgent help. Southern Texas is home to approximately 100 AKUMC Alumni. While some AKU Alumni’s homes were flooded and several had to follow orders for mandatory evacuations, other AKU Alumni have already set highest examples of civic duties by opening their homes for friends and assisting other flood victims.

AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Task Force has carefully deliberated the means by which to support and help those who are affected. Alumni directly affected were thankful for our outreach to them. They felt confident that they could cope with the damages and suggested that any fundraising efforts be extended to community in general.

The Task Force has recommended that AKUAANA, with the help of fellow Alumni, offer support to the City of Houston. As the initial phases of disaster recovery continue, this next phase of Community Development will support the local community and provide opportunities for long-term engagement. Mayor Sylvester Turner and County Judge Ed Emmett have established the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund that will accept tax-deductible flood relief donations for victims affected by the recent floods. The fund will be housed at the Greater Houston Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

We have set an initial goal of $50,000/- – to be raised within 15 days due to the immediate need.

Suggested Minimum Donations

  • $500 [Practicing Physicians]
  • $100 [Fellows]
  • $50   [Residents]

Please note that all donations will be TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

Credit Card: (Preferred)

  1. Visit: https://ghcf.org/hurricane-relief/
  2. To track our collective effort please MENTION AKUAANA IN THE FUNDRAISING CODE

Check

  1. Write checks to: GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
  2. For (MEMO): AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
  3. Mail to:

AKUAANA
C/O Faisal H. Cheema
1711 Old Spanish Trail, #130
Houston, TX 77054

We are confident and hope that all AKU Alumni will support us in this great opportunity to give back to our fellow citizens of our adopted homeland.

AKUAANA HURRICANE HARVEY TASK FORCE MEMBERS

Current Executive Council: Habib Chotani ‘95, Rehan Khan ‘94, Amber Syed ‘94, Namirah Jamshed ‘96
Incoming Executive Council: Noor Afshan Khan ‘96, Faisal Cheema ‘00 (Houston, TX)
Houston-based AKU Alumni: Abbas Jafri ‘97, Azam Kundi ‘92, Nooruddin Punjwani ‘95, Athar Qureshi ‘96, Homayon Sidiq ‘92
AKUAANA Web Manager: Abdul Basit Saeed ‘07
APPNA Secretary: Rizwan Khalid ‘99

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AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Task Force: 08/30/2017 Update

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Dear alumni and friends,

The AKUANNA Hurricane Harvey Task Force continues to work hard to assist those affected by the flood. Following is an update of our meeting last night which included the Alumni residing in Houston.

PHASE 1 – Assuring safety of, and offering immediate assistance to our alumni 

With the assistance of the Houston Alumni, other alumni and AKU, we have identified those who reside in the affected area including Alumni, Fellows and Residents. We are also in the process of identifying any AKU medical students in Houston for electives.

94 Alumni have been identified who live in Houston or surrounding areas. Only 15 AKU alumni remain that we have been unable to contact. At least three Alumni have significant damage to their house. All three are safe, Alhamdulillah.

Alumni in the area continue to provide accommodation for any who need assistance.

PHASE 2 – Medical Volunteering

We are proud of our AKU Alumni who are assisting in rescuing people locally, and providing medical care at the local medical centers.

Additionally, AKU Alumni have volunteered in the local cities to assist with medical care for the evacuees at the Convention Center and others are raising funds through the city and local mosques.

APPNA continues to provide opportunity for volunteering as well for the same purpose.

PHASE 3 – Public Donations

AKU Alumni have donated to multiple organizations to assist with flood relief. With our assistance, APPNA is able to provide food bags for those affected and seeking shelter.

The AKUANNA Hurricane Harvey Task force, with the Houston Alumni’s help, is also identifying any further funding needs for the local community. We will keep you updated regarding this effort.

Thank you to all those who have assisted us in making this happen, especially the alumni in Houston. We are proud of what you do.

Stay Safe.

AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Disaster Task Force

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AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Task Force

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Dear alumni and friends,

Hurricane Harvey has brought devastation to Texas of a magnitude not seen before. It has affected many, including our AKU Alumni and the Pakistani community. As the storm continues, our thoughts are with them and all affected by the hurricane. A large number of people are displaced and seeking shelter in other cities. Hospitals are being evacuated in an effort to keep patients and the vulnerable safe.

The AKUAANA Executive Council had an emergency meeting tonight, which was also attended by the incoming Executive Council. We were also able to get a few Alumni from Houston on the call, including Nooruddin Punjwani (’95), Faisal Cheema (’00), Athar Qureshi (’96) and Rizwan Khalid (’99). An AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Task Force has been formed on an urgent basis, which is in communication with alumni in the affected areas around the clock, and are working on supporting our alumni who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Task Force has formulated a working plan, divided into two phases.

PHASE 1 – Assuring safety of, and offering immediate assistance to our alumni

AKUAANA’s immediate response is to make sure our alumni are safe and to help them in any way possible in this difficult situation. AKU Alumni residing in Houston have volunteered in helping other AKU alumni with immediate relief including accommodation. Nooruddin Punjwani ’95, Athar Qureshi ’96, Faisal Cheema ’00 have volunteered to help in this regard. Any AKU alumni in need of help or who would like to volunteer, please contact me directly at president@akuaana.org

We are also developing a list of all the AKU alumni in Houston and surrounding areas. We would greatly appreciate if alumni living in the affected areas who get our message to please reach out to us with their information and also give information of other alumni in their area. This will help AKUAANA’s current efforts to reach out to our alumni by calling them individually, and making sure that they are safe or whether they need help and assistance.

PHASE 2 – Medical Volunteering

Some of us may want to participate in medical volunteering. For those who do, one option available to us is through APPNA via their Medical Corp Volunteer Program which may include medical assistance or distribution of goods etc. To sign up as a volunteer, please visit: APPNA Medical Corps Volunteer Registration for Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief (link expired).

PHASE 3 – Public Donations

If you wish to support relief efforts in the region you can donate through APPNA and indicate your AKU alumni status at:

https://www.instantreg.com/appnatemplate2/public-donations-2017

OR

There are several reputable organizations accepting contributions. These include:

American Red Cross
United Way of Greater Houston
The Dallas Foundation
SPCA of Texas

Our thoughts are with the AKU families and thousands of people who have been directly impacted, as well as with those whose families and friends live in the region.

Stay safe.

AKUAANA Hurricane Harvey Disaster Task Force

Habib Chotani: President, AKUAANA

Namirah Jamshed: President Elect, AKUAANA

Rehan Khan: Secretary, AKUAANA

Amber Syed: Treasurer, AKUAANA

Noor Afshan Khan: Incoming Secretary, AKUAANA

Faisal Cheema: Incoming Treasurer AKUAANA (residing in Houston)

Athar Qureshi: AKUAANA member (residing in Houston)

Nooruddin Punjwani: AKUAANA member (residing in Houston)

Abdul Basit Saeed: Web Manager, AKUAANA

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Annual Alumni Meeting, 2017

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Dear Alumni,

Congratulations on a very successful AKUAANA Reunion in Orlando, FL on Friday July 7th, 2017. We again hosted one of the largest gathering after Washington, with over 200 participants and graduates from every class from 1988 to 2014. The classes of 1997 and 1992 celebrated their class milestones.

This year our Dean, Dr Farhat Abbas could not attend but did send us a video message.

 

The General Body Meeting was separated from the Reunion Dinner and was held just prior to the start of the Reunion Dinner. This was done to allow for alumni-only discussions and crucial decision-making. The General Body Meeting was an alumni only session. Current progress of AKUAANA was presented, including the Treasurer’s Report, increase in membership, new selection of Board of Advisor and AKUAANA project(s). Open discussion was held for new projects. Minutes of the General Body Meeting are available on the website.

We were the 4th largest group of alumni present at the APPNA convention and we remain the 4th largest component society at APPNA and the fastest growing in terms of numbers. The leaders of APPNA highlighted our continuing influence on the larger society when they visited with us during dinner. Rehan Khan ’94 and Habib Chotani ’95 received the presidential award for the APPNA National Food Pantry Project.

After a lively dinner, we sang and danced the night away with Rabat Fateh. The classes of 1997 and 1992 hosted their private celebrations on Saturday. The evening banquet was very well attended, highlighted by a great performance by Atif Aslam. Please visit our Facebook Page to view pictures from the reunion, tag yourselves and like the page as well.

The next reunion will be held on July 6th in Dallas , Texas.

We look forward to seeing you there, and remember to buy tickets and book hotel reservations as soon as they become available.

Thank you again!

Our best regards,

Habib Chotani, President
Rehan Khan, Secretary
Amber Syed, Treasurer

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AKUAANA Regional South-Eastern Reunion in Atlanta, Mar 2017

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Regional Reunion 2016-05

Dear AKU Alumni,

We are planning on hosting an AKU Alumni Regional Reunion in Atlanta, GA for the alumni residing in Atlanta and vicinity on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 7 PM. Other alumni in the neighborhood or visiting during the event date are also welcome to attend.

Please join us for an evening of fun, socializing and it goes without saying, networking with fellow alumni. Details of the venue will be circulated soon. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Amyn Malik (Class of 2010) at amyn.malik@gmail.com or Saad B. Omer (Class of 1998) at somer@emory.edu. Please RSVP by March 3, 2017 if you plan to attend.

See you on March 12!

Saad and Amyn

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AKUAANA Regional Reunion in Dallas, Texas – Apr 2017

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Regional Reunion 2016-02

Date: April 15th, 2017
Time: 1 PM – 4 PM, CDT
Venue: Curtis Park in University Park, 3501 Lovers Lane, Dallas TX 75205

Please save the date for an AKU Medical College Alumni Regional Reunion in Dallas, Texas!

We would like you to join us on Saturday, April 15th, 2017 at 1:00 PM, CDT for an afternoon of fun, socializing and networking. Bring your family and kids. We had a great reunion last year playing cricket.

If you plan to attend, please join us on our Facebook Event or RSVP at your earliest convenience to Faisal Qureshi (’93) at faisal.qureshi@utsouthwestern.edu, or Namirah Jamshed (’96) at drjamshed@gmail.com.

Please help us spread the word by inviting other AKU alumni. We hope to see you soon.

Hosts:
Faisal Qureshi, Class of 93
Namirah Jamshed, Class of 96
Arshad Malik, Class of 93
Sadia Malik, Class of 93

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Volunteers for Regional AKU Reunions, 2017

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AKUAANA Reunion 2014

Dear AKU Alumni,

We are looking for volunteers across US and Canada who can help coordinate regional reunions for AKU Medical College Alumni.

The role of the coordinators will be to help invite AKU Alumni within an approximate 100-mile radius of the venue. They would also be instrumental in arranging the program details for the event.

To clarify, the coordinators will not be financially responsible to host the events. For example, the arrangement can be made at a restaurant and people can pay for themselves. If any coordinator wants to host any event themselves, they are welcome to do so but there is no obligation to do so.

In 2016, successful mini reunions were arranged in Minnesota, Dallas, Northern Virginia, St. Louis, Atlanta and the New York / New Jersey area. Snaps from these reunions can be viewed on our Facebook Page.

This year, we are looking for volunteers so we can have similar and even more successful events in the US and Canada.

The reason for having these mini reunions is to promote not only social and professional networking, but also to explore the future of our alumni body and collaboration in possible future community and charitable projects (in the US or Pakistan) using the AKUAANA platform.

We hope that you consider becoming a volunteer to expand the number of local reunions. If you would like AKUAANA or its officers to help in anyway, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thank you.

Habib Chotani
President, AKUAANA (2016 – 17)

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AKUAANA President’s Message to Alumni: January 2017

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It has been another great year for AKUAANA, the Aga Khan University Alumni Association of North America. Our website, AKUAANA.org and Facebook page have both become excellent resources for our alumni members. We have some of the youngest professors, most successful academicians and brightest entrepreneurs in the country! We have featured many prominent alumni on our website/Facebook page and this has been a runaway success.

Our membership continues to flourish and Lifetime Membership has increased significantly. The number of recent graduates who are now actively participating in AKUAANA has grown, which is a great success as we have been able to engage our fresh graduates. There are currently over 1900 AKU graduates in North America and our goal is to bring as many of these graduates into the AKUAANA family and harness their incredible potential. We continue to grow and mold our association to tackle the most pressing issues of our times.

Last year we had a great meeting in Washington DC. Our medical college Dean, Dr Farhat Abbas and our beloved professor Dr Zulfikar Bhutta were in presence. The official signing of class gifts to AKU by the Class of ‘89 ($250,000) and Class of ‘90 ($500,000) took place. We were actively involved in various activities at APPNA including the CME and young physician coaching. This year for the first time in the 39-year history of APPNA, an AKUAANA Lifetime Member ran and won the election for Secretary APPNA. Rizwan Khalid, Class of ’99, will be the APPNA Secretary for the year 2017. This is a great achievement from our alumni body.

For community building and networking, regional reunions were held at 6 locations throughout the US (Minnesota, Dallas, DC/Maryland/Virginia, St Louis, Atlanta and New Jersey) and this has been directly tied to the incredible efforts of the local alumni.

We now have a functioning Board of Advisors. Their roles are defined by our Constitution and Bylaws Committee and have been approved by the General Body.

We also have started a charity project with AKU, Karachi, Pakistan. In the past, many individual projects have been done with AKU and outside AKU (like TCF) by various graduating classes. The AKUAANA Outreach Clinic Initiative at Ibrahim Hyderi, Karachi, Pakistan, is the first AKUAANA project that has been adapted by various graduating classes. This project will focus on treatment of anemia in pregnant females in the area. We have already collected approximately $70,000 for this initiative to date and the outreach clinic is fully functional since August, 2016.

As we look to the future, our hope is to leverage our individual successes and use AKUAANA as a platform to launch larger philanthropic endeavors. We will continue organizing regional reunions throughout the US and help grow the organization. We also hope to collaborate further with AKU and APPNA on its various platforms.

To do so, we will continue to engage our alumni and give them a platform to bring forth their ideas and eventually a mechanism to give these ideas life. Clearly, none of these goals can be accomplished without active alumni involvement. This participation has to begin with becoming an AKUAANA member and then active participation in all the decisions that we have to make over the next 25 years. We start the membership drive this month, so please join us, encourage others and get excited about the possibilities!

We thank you again for this opportunity to serve the organization and hope that we can live up to your expectations. If you have any questions, comments or thoughts, please reach out to any member of the team.

AKUAANA Administration, 2016 - 17
DesignationNameClassEmail Address
PresidentHabib Ahmed Chotani1995
SecretaryMuhammad Rehan Raza Khan1994
TreasurerAmber Hameed Syed1994
Web ManagerAbdul Basit Saeed2007

Best wishes,

Habib Chotani, 1995
President, AKUAANA (2016-17)

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Annual Alumni Meeting, 2016

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Dear Alumni,

Congratulations on a very successful AKUAANA Reunion in Washington, DC on Friday August 5th, 2016. We hosted one of the largest gatherings in Washington, with over 180 participants and graduates from every class from 1988 to 2014. The classes of 1996 and 1991 celebrated their class milestones.

The reunion was very well attended by University leaders including Dr. Farhat Abbas (Dean, AKU Medical College), Mr. Zahir Janmohamed (Director General, Resource Development). Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta also attended the meeting. In fact, Dr Bhutta has just received the Pride of Performance by President of Pakistan.

The General Body meeting was separated from the Reunion Dinner and was held just prior to the start of the reunion dinner (minutes available). This was done to allow for alumni-only discussions and crucial decision-making. The General Body meeting was an alumni only session. Current progress of AKUAANA was presented, including Treasurer’s report, approval of constitutional amendment, increase in membership, new selection of Board of Advisor and AKUAANA project(s). Open discussion was held for new projects – APPNA merit lecture series (AKUAANA members to commit for 10 lectures in a year) lead by Rehan Khan ‘94, PGME Conference at AKU for career counselling in October 2016 lead by Junaid Razzaq ’94, volunteer/internship opportunities for AKUAANA members children at AKU Karachi.

We were the 3rd largest alumni present at the APPNA convention and we remain the 4th largest component society at APPNA and the fastest growing in terms of numbers. The leaders of APPNA highlighted our continuing influence on the larger society when they visited with us during dinner. Rehan Khan ’94 received the award from the President of APPNA for his work on getting expedite visa approval for J1 applicants.

After a lively dinner, we sang and danced the night away with Sunidhi Chauhan. The classes of 1996 and 1991 hosted their private celebrations on Saturday the 6th. The evening banquet was very well attended, highlighted by Zikr Khan and his wife, address by Governor Terry Mcauliffe and entertainment by Rahim Shah and Fariha Pervaiz. Please visit our Facebook Page to view pictures from the reunion, tag yourselves and like the page as well.

The next reunion will be held on July 7th in Orlando, Florida.

We look forward to seeing you there, and remember to buy tickets and book hotel reservations as soon as they become available.

Thank you again!

Our best regards,

Habib Chotani, President
Rehan Khan, Secretary
Amber Syed, Treasurer

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Featured Alumnus: Dr. Anita Zaidi, AKU ’88

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Dr. Anita Zaidi Photo credit: (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

It has been a while since we have had an alumnus highlighted on our website. To restart this feature, we are highlighting Anita Zaidi, Class of 1988, who is currently the Director of the Enteric and Diarrheal Disease program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Haider Warraich, Class of 2009, one of our past featured alumni put this interview together.

Faisal Qureshi
Immediate Past President, 2016 – 17

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When asked about the event that defines who she is, Anita Zaidi (AZ to those who have the privilege of knowing her well) doesn’t talk about how she was recruited by Bill Gates himself to join his foundation, nor does she tell me about when she was nominated the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at AKU, or when she graduated at the top of her class in medical school. She instead tells me of how, after graduating from medical school, she spent a year in Gilgit working to improve the health facilities there.

“I always had the seeds of interest in research but this brought it all together. We live such a sheltered life in Pakistan and are not exposed to the problems of poor people. I stayed in Booni, where they had a Shigella epidemic that was traced to a chashma (stream). There was a Measles outbreak in the Waacaan corridor right next to the border and I had to stay there too. This was my calling.”

Knowing AZ, this wasn’t surprising, but what I really wanted to know was how her parents allowed her to go in the first place. “I don’t even remember asking my parents, I remember just telling them. We were an all girls family and our parents really wanted us to reach our full potential. If anything, they were always trying to slow me down because I worked all the time, studied all the time.”

The role AZ’s parents played in her life is clear. Her father was an anesthesiologist by training but his true passion was sports. He trained himself in sports medicine and became an international authority on doping and performance enhancing drugs. He would eventually become a judge for the International Hockey Federation. It was her father who nudged her into picking AKU over Dow, a considerable risk given that AKU hadn’t yet finished the facility to house the students in. “I found out that I was the first person to come in and give my application.” She recalled the staff member who received her application telling her, “Hum baray khush hoye koi apply bhi kar raha hai (We are pretty happy that at least some one is applying).”

After graduating from AKU and after her year in Gilgit, AZ went to Duke University for a residency in pediatrics. At that time, her husband, Dr Saad Shafqat was completing his PhD in neurosciences. After finishing her residency, the couple moved to Boston for an Infectious Diseases fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston. Once this concluded, she moved back to Pakistan where she joined AKU as a faculty member, and moved up the ranks until she was elected the Chair of the Department.

During her time at AKU, she was well-known as one of the best faculty mentors and helped many students such as myself advance their careers. Even as she got busier and busier, she made it a point to keep mentoring students and residents. “I really enjoy working with young people. Infectious Diseases was not an established field back then. Inspiring young people to go into this field and helping people in Pakistan develop interesting careers was very gratifying.”

Anita Zaidi

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013: Anita Zaidi (center) who heads the pediatrics department at AKU, shows a project plan to her colleagues. She won a $1 million grant to fight early child mortality in a small fishing village in southern Pakistan in a contest financed by an American entrepreneur to find innovative ways to save lives, the Caplow Children’s Prize announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

But it was an innocuous email, which she only glanced at before boarding a flight to Maldives, which lured her back to North America. The email was from the Bill & Melinda Gates Fund who were hoping to recruit her to be the Director of their global enteric diseases program. After months of deliberation, it was only after she flew to Seattle when she realized how much of an impact she could have in this position. A big selling point was Bill Gates himself who she spent an hour with. “He (Bill Gates) is a really amazing person – he knows so much it is mind blowing. Our conversation was very wide ranging.” She paraphrased him asking, questions from, “In Pashtun culture, it is completely alien to beat women; so why are they (the Taliban) attacking female polio workers?” to “What do you think of KESC as a consumer?”

In her current position based out of Seattle, AZ is leading an initiative with the bold ambition of ridding the world of diarrheal deaths in children by 2030. She told me that currently, diarrheal deaths affect 4 in 1000 live births and that their goal is to bring that down to 1 in 1000. While this sounds radical, countries such as Sri Lanka have already achieved rates of less than 1 in 1000.

While her strategy involves spreading the use of effective vaccines against rotavirus and developing new vaccines for other common organisms, she also hopes to understand the mysterious process of stunting – in which kids’ bodies and brains stop growing, primarily manifest as a lack of appetite. “We don’t understand it biologically: how does living in a fecally contaminated environment affect your gut leading to the syndrome in which you don’t get hungry? We think it is related to the exposure to highly contaminated environments leading to bacterial overload, leading to overcharged immune system, leading to appetite suppression.”

As we age, not only do we start to grow into our future selves, we also start to outgrow those people or things we looked up to. When I was young, the most imposing thing I had ever seen was the fridge. If my mother wanted to prevent me from having something (candy, chocolates etc.) she would place them on top of the fridge. Soon though, I was tall enough to see the top of the fridge, and it turned out to be much dustier and boring than I had initially envisioned it. Something similar happens to the people we look up to, whose imperfections and inadequacies only become more evident as we grow older. Anita Zaidi, however, is one of the few people I know who only seems to get taller and more remarkable as time goes by.

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The AKUAANA website features an AKU alumnus every quarter. We want profiles to highlight various aspects of alumni careers/lives – academic and research, clinical, private practice, political achievements, social activism, philanthropy etc.

Profiles of other alumni highlighted on the website over the time can be viewed under the “Featured Alumni” category.

In order to nominate someone or self-nominate, email your nomination and information by email to secretary@akuaana.org.

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