Tell us about yourself.
I have spent three tiers of my life in three different continents: I grew up as a child in Iran until my teen years. I keep very good memories of a happy childhood, there. My parents were both educators and anchored our belief system in what really mattered in life. After the Iranian revolution, we moved to France. This was an exciting period of enlightenment and intellectual growth for me. I particularly appreciated the French literature and philosophy. After finishing high school at Lycee Montesquieu, I completed my medical school and residency training at the University of Bordeaux and worked for two years in Normandy. Finally, I moved to the US in 1999, where my dreams of professional growth have materialized. I had to redo my residency and fellowship trainings (in CT and at Emory) and became a Faculty member in 2006. I went back to school to obtain an MSCR degree from Emory in 2010. I am a clinical investigator in the fields of Polycystic Kidney disease and hypertension. I am so grateful to this country for having offered me these wonderful opportunities. Atlanta became my permanent home after I met and married my wife Lisa. She is an ER doctor at the Atlanta VAMC. We have two wonderful boys Cyrus and Daniel who are 10 and 8 years old.
Why did you decide to go into medicine?
At age of 7, I decided that one day, I will become a doctor because I did not like human suffering and wanted to help people feel better. The fact that my parents insisted that we (my brother and I) became doctors did the rest. After I started medical school, I naturally gravitated around Internal Medicine, because it presented the largest variety of diseases and required observational skills, critical thinking and also an analytical mind. Renal Medicine became my passion after having worked with Robert Schrier, former chairman of Medicine at the University of Colorado. I liked abstract concepts and numbers and becoming an “accountant of Internal Medicine” so Nephrology was the perfect fit for me.
What does “clinical excellence” mean to you?
It means to be there for our patients at 100 percent, by having the knowledge, communication skills, availability, empathy and the desire to improve our current state of knowledge through research. The ultimate goal is to make our patients feel better and live healthier lives.
Dogs or cats?
Dogs.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Home improvement, hiking, biking, and playing ping pong.
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