I am a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan State University. Over my career, I have compiled a noteworthy record of teaching and training accomplishments in academic and community medical settings and throughout the healthcare delivery continuum.

My work has centered around serving minorities nationally and internationally. APA has shaped the trajectory of my life and career as a young Brown Muslim psychiatrist. Because of the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) minority fellowship awarded to me from 2008-2010, I used the grant to develop the Muslim Mental HealthConference. This was the first conference of its kind nationally and in the world, and is nowin its 15th year.

Not only did this APA award help make this move towards destigmatizing mental health and helping the Muslim community feel more integrated, the award helped us branch out to countries internationally. In that light, I worked with researchers and clinical providersi to launch conferences in Jordan, UK, Pakistan, and Malaysia. I recently was invited to present this work at a panel for Alumni for the 50th-anniversarycelebration of SAMHSA.

I served on the 2018-2020 Committee on Minority Mental Health, American Psychiatric Association. American Psychiatric Foundation acknowledged my work and awarded me on Promoting Minority Mental Health. My works of services have recently been recognized by the Secretary General of theUnited States Xavier Becerra in Washington DC in addition to multiple internationally recognized organizations (Lansing Mayor, All Pakistanis Physician of North America,and National Alliance of Mentally Ill).

I have been committed to teaching culturally responsive methods for the clinical training of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and public health educators. In additionto teaching courses at Michigan State University, I am a core faculty on multidisciplinary programs at Michigan State University including Asian Studies, theCenter for Gender in Global Context, and the Institute of International Health as my work lies on the intersections of faith and spirituality, ethnicity, and race as well public health. I have been a speaker at multiple organizations that aim to foster mental health awareness in minoritized populations of different faiths (e.g., World Alliance Clergy Interfaith Organization, Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, and Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) Scholars)

I continue to be committed to social justice and create awareness of how implicit bias and trauma play in creating health disparities. I work relentlessly to lift thevoices of minorities and ensure that American Muslims and other minoritized groups from all over the world are represented in research and clinical care. I am currently focused on fighting the stigma in the BIPOC communities that have become the biggest barrier to accessing services. I have launched a campaign “Avail to Prevail” to promote the 988-crisis hotline in minority communities.