Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist, with a background in public health. She is the CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, which is pioneering the transition to replace the use of animals in experimentation with effective human-based technologies.
Dr. Akhtar is the author of the recent book, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies. Combining medicine, social sciences, and stories, her book explores how deeply the well-being of humans and animals are entwined. She is also the author of Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for medical/health institutions to include animals as part of the “public” in public health.
Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Previously she served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program and Commander in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Dr. Akhtar has appeared in television shows and interviewed by national media. You can follow her on Facebook @DrAyshaAkhtar and visit her website www.ayshaakhtar.com