Thought Leaders Series:
Muslims in Science and Medicine: Navigating the Currents of COVID-19
CCMW’s Thought Leaders - Celebrating Muslim Excellence series kicks off on August 7 with a COVID-19 based panel.
Muslims in Science and Medicine: Navigating the Currents of COVID-19 will feature Dr. Abdu Sharkawy and Dr. Fatima Kakkar and will be moderated by Dr. Fariha Khan. The event will be streamed on The Ismaili on August 7 at 2pm. You can also view it on this page.
The panelists will talk about their roles as medical professionals and what life has been like from them during COVID-19 from a professional and personal perspective. They will speak about specific challenges, triumphs or prejudice they have faced and address work-life balance and lessons learned from the pandemic. They will also discuss their identity as Muslims and the inspiration they derive from their faith and speak about any specific challenges faced by Muslim health practitioners with regards to the pandemic.
The Thought Leaders series is taking place in collaboration with MAX Gala and Institute of Islamic Studies, and is co-presented by Ismaili Centre Toronto and Ismaili Centre Vancouver.
The event was streamed on The Ismaili on August 7 at 2pm. You can also view it below and on the CCMW Live page.
Dr. Abdu Sharkawy
Dr. Abdu Sharkawy is an Infectious Diseases Specialist with the University Health Network and an Assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. He has a keen interest in communicable diseases and providing public education across multiple platforms to raise awareness and offer guidance for best practices. He has been a leading voice in Canada's medical community while fulfilling this role, particularly via a prominent media presence as CTV's lead Infectious Diseases analyst and medical correspondent since the onset of the pandemic.
Dr. Fatima Kakkar
Dr. Fatima Kakkar is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist and clinical researcher at Sainte-Justine University Health Center, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Montreal. She trained in pediatric infectious disease at the university of Toronto, and obtained her masters of Public Health at Harvard. Since 2011 she has worked as clinician-researcher in infectious diseases, providing expert guidance on perinatal infections to provincial, national and international guidelines committees. Through the course of the pandemic, Dr. Kakkar has been a treating physician for women and children affected by COVID-19, and has been leading epidemiological research on health outcomes among infants and children affected by the virus, and on the immune response to infection in children vs. adults.
Dr. Fariha Khan
Dr. Fariha Khan is a practicing physician in Bolton Ontario. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto, followed by her Doctor of Medicine degree from McMaster University. She completed her Residency in Family and Community Medicine and Fellowship in Low Risk Obstetrics at the University of Toronto, and has been in practice since 2006. Along with being a busy married mother of 4 young boys, she is deeply involved in volunteer community service work, which has taken her from urban Toronto, to First Nations communities in Yellowknife to refugee camps in Bangladesh. She has held formal positions at organizations such as Naseeha Mental Health, Islamic Relief Canada, Conquer Covid 19 and the United Way of Peel Region. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), and the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), and is on the Advisory Council of UNHCR Canada, leading the Islamic Philanthropy Subcommittee. Dr. Khan has been dedicated to addressing both the scientific and social determinants of health & wellness, especially for our most marginalized and vulnerable groups, through both her volunteer and professional commitments.
The Thought Leaders; Celebrating Muslim Excellence series
The Thought Leaders series is designed to provide a platform for Muslims from across Canada who are thought leaders in their areas of expertise and professions to share their ideas and showcase their contributions to Canadian society.
Thought Leaders is taking place in collaboration with MAX Gala and Institute of Islamic Studies, and is co-presented by Ismaili Centre Toronto and Ismaili Centre Vancouver.
The series will feature online panels that will bring Muslims of diverse backgrounds together to share knowledge and ideas and promote discussion on topics of relevance to Canadian society, with a particular emphasis on emerging issues, such as the response to COVID-19. The panels will be available for online viewing and CCMW & Ismaili Canada will be taking turns with the video uploads. Find out more here.