Staff Spotlight: Otor Al-Khalili

Tell us about your role at Emory.
I am a research specialist supervisor in the Division of Renal Medicine.

How long have you worked at Emory? How long have you worked in the Department of Medicine?
I have worked for Emory for 26 years prior to retiring. After one year of retirement, I missed working for Emory and rejoined the Department of Medicine in October 2018.

How has the Department of Medicine helped you in your career development?
Dr. Douglas Eaton has been my role model, mentor, and friend for the past 27 years and has been my main motivator for success at Emory. I started out my career at Emory working as a research specialist within the DOM. Dr. Eaton, through the support of the department, helped me advance my career by allowing me to attend experimental biology meetings yearly, where I attended different lectures, seminars, and workshops on topics relevant to my work, and learned about new methods and techniques used pertaining to my job. Dr. Eaton also provided advice and support when needed and helped me publish several papers in different scientific journals.

What do you like most about Emory?
One of the main reasons I came back to work for Emory was because of the support of my boss, the campus life, and diversity of people and activities at Emory.

Any random facts you could share with us?
One interesting and random fact about my family and me is that my two daughters and husband attended and graduated from Emory undergraduate college and Rollins School of Public Health. We are a proud Emory alumni family.

How do you define success?
I define success as achieving goals you set for yourself in life.

Three words to best describe you:
Motivated, hard-worker, and happy.