Abdul El-Sayed

Abdul El-Sayed
Born (1984-10-31) October 31, 1984
Michigan, USA
Education BS, MD, DPhil
Alma mater University of Michigan
University of Oxford
Columbia University
Occupation Health Commissioner, Detroit
Awards Rhodes Scholarship
Marshall Scholarship
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed (born October 31, 1984) is an Egyptian American physician, epidemiologist, and public health advocate. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the City of Detroit. At 31, he is the youngest health commissioner in a major US City. Previously, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University. He is an internationally recognized public health expert, and the author of over 100 scholarly articles, abstracts, and book chapters on public health policy, social epidemiology, and health disparities.[1] His essays on public health policy have also been published in the New York Times,[2] CNN,[3] the Hill,[4] the Huffington Post,[5] the Detroit News,[6] and the Detroit Free Press.[7]

Early life

El-Sayed was born in metro-Detroit to parents who immigrated to the US from Egypt.[8] He grew up in metro-Detroit with his father, Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed, and stepmother, Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed, both engineering professors. His mother, Dr. Fatten Elkomy, is a nurse practitioner in Missouri.

Education

El-Sayed graduated in 2003 from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School, where he was a three-sport athlete (football, wrestling, and lacrosse) and captain. He attended the University of Michigan, where he majored in Biology and Political Science, and played for the University’s men’s lacrosse team.[9] Winning several awards, including the William Jennings Bryan Prize for Political Science, he graduated with Highest Distinction and delivered the student commencement speech alongside President Bill Clinton in 2007.[10]

He was awarded a full-tuition Dean’s scholarship to attend the University of Michigan Medical School, where he completed his first two years of medical school.[11] There, he led a student medical mission to Peru and founded a student organization which raised money and coordinated community service for a local free clinic.[12] He was awarded the Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship in 2009 as a second year medical student.[12] He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2009,[13] where he competed a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health in under two years in 2011.[14] While at Oxford, he earned a full blue as captain of Oxford’s men’s lacrosse team.[15] He completed his MD at Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons in 2014 on a Soros Fellowship for New Americans[16] and Medical Scientist Training Program fellow funded through the National Institutes of Health.[17]

Career

Public Health Professor

In 2014, he joined the faculty at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health as Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. He served as director of Columbia’s Systems Science Program and Global Research Analytics for Population Health.[7] As a researcher, he has authored over 100 scientific publications, including articles, commentaries, book chapters, and abstracts, about health disparities, birth outcomes, and obesity. His research has been cited over 600 times.[18] He is the recipient of several research awards, including being named one of the Carnegie Council’s Policy Innovators.[19] He created and taught the Mailman School’s first ever course on systems science and population health.

Health Commissioner of Detroit

El-Sayed was appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan as Health Officer and Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department in August, 2015, making him at 30 years old, the youngest Health commissioner in a major US city. In his role, he was charged with rebuilding the Detroit Health Department after it was privatized during the City of Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy in 2012.[7] In his first year as Director, El-Sayed led efforts to oppose increases in sulfur dioxide emissions by Marathon Petroleum’s Southwest Refinery, which resulted in reductions in overall emissions.[6] He also led efforts to test Detroit schools for lead in the wake of Flint’s Water crisis.[20] In view of his leadership on lead poisoning reduction, he was appointed to the governor’s statewide Childhood Lead Elimination Board.[21] He also led a transformation at the City’s troubled Animal Control department.[22]

Personal

El-Sayed lives in Detroit, Michigan with his wife, Sarah Jukaku, also a physician.[23] El-Sayed had a sandwich named after him (“the Abdul”) at Ricardo’s, a sandwich shop in Oxford’s Covered market, while a student at Oxford University.[24][25]

References

  1. ↑ "Abdul El-Sayed - Google Scholar Citations". google.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Link Between Weight and Health". The New York Times. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Health of Muslims, Arab Americans another victim of 9/11". cnn.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Picard, Joe (11 March 2015). "Invest in American science". thehill.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Abdulrahman El-Sayed". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Detroit health chief: Don't let Marathon up pollutants". freep.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "A native son brings Detroit's health department back to life". statnews.com. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Helms, Matt (24 November 2015). "Detroit's new public health director aims to innovate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "U-M dual MD/PhD student named Rhodes Scholar". University of Michigan News. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Abdulrahman El-Sayed Commencement Speech". YouTube. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Haidostian, Lisa (24 November 2008). The Michigan Daily https://www.michigandaily.com/content/2008-11-24/u-student-wins-prestigous-rhodes-scholarship. Retrieved 7 July 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 1 2 "U-M dual MD/PhD student named Rhodes Scholar - University of Michigan News". umich.edu. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Abdul El-Sayed". rhodesscholarshiptrust.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  14. ↑ M., El-Sayed, Abdulrahman (1 January 2011). "Inequalities in obesity in England : an agent-based systems approach". bl.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "LACROSSE - Varsity Match 2011 - Cambridge University Sports Department". cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Meet the Fellows". pdsoros.org. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Alumni Directory". columbia.edu. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Abdul El-Sayed - Google Scholar Citations". google.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "Abdulrahman M. El Sayed". policyinnovations.org. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  20. ↑ http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2016/04/05/detroit-schools-dps-lead-copper-testing/82679668/
  21. ↑ "Snyder - Gov. Rick Snyder appoints members to new Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board". michigan.gov. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Detroit official goes to bat for public health". detroitnews.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Detroit's new public health director aims to innovate". freep.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Abdul El-Sayed - The "Abdul" special. The newest official... - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Places for Halal Food : Oxford University Islamic Society : GroupSpaces". groupspaces.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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