Aysha Akhtar is an American neurologist, public health specialist and animal ethicist."Aysha Akhtar M.D., M.P.H., Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Ex Officio Board Member" . contemporarysciences.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022. Akhtar is co-founder, CEO, and President of the Center for Contemporary Sciences. She is a US veteran.
Biography
Akhtar has a master's degree in public health and is double board-certified in both neurology and preventive medicine.Cronin, Kelly. (2019). "An interview with Dr. Aysha Akhtar". compulsivereader.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022. 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."Our Symphony with Animals On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". pegasusbooks.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022. 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. She is a long-term advocate of animal rights and attended animal protection events from a young age.Dr. Aysha Akhtar's Lifelong Commitment to Animal Advocacy. unboundproject.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
In 2019, Akhtar authored Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies which combines medicine, social sciences and personal stories.Lubbers-Payne, Mercedes. (2019). "Dr. Aysha Akhtat On Developing Her Book, Our Symphony With Animals". spinemagazine.co. Retrieved 30 May 2022. 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.Litzinger, Sam. (2020). "A physician explores why loving critters makes us better people". washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022. 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."Kramer, Pamela. (2019). "Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". bookreporter.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
She was a speaker at The Rethinking Animals Summit and the DC VegFest in 2019."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.
Personal life Aysha Akhtar is married and lives in Maryland. She is a first generation Pakistani American and is a contemporary artist. Akhtar is a vegan."Doctors Can and Should Care About Anyone's Suffering:' an Interview With Dr. Aysha Akhtar". animaloutlook.org. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
Selected publications
Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better is Critical to Human Welfare (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) 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) "Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
References
External links Ayshaakhtar.com