Aasim I. Padela, MD, MSc, FACEP
Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Scholarship
Contact Information
Biography
Dr. Aasim I. Padela is Professor with Tenure of Emergency Medicine, Bioethics and the Medical Humanities at MCW. In addition to being Vice Chair for Research and Scholarship in the Department of Emergency Medicine, he co-leads the Community Engagement Core for the Comprehensive Injury Center, serves on the Council of Faith for the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at MCW, and holds a faculty appointment in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the Institute for Health and Equity. Dr. Padela is an internationally renowned clinician-researcher with scholarly foci at the intersections of healthcare, bioethics, and religion. In addition to maintaining an active clinical, research, and bioethics practice at MCW, he provides public health and bioethics consultation to international organizations, legislative bodies, and in court.
Dr. Padela holds an MD with Honors in Research from Weill Cornell Medical College, completed residency in Emergency Medicine with Research Distinction at the University of Rochester, and received an MSc in Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan. He also completed a clinical medical ethics fellowship at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago, and a research fellowship at the University of Michigan. Prior to that, he received a Bachelor of Science with Highest Distinction in Biomedical Engineering, and a Bachelor of Arts degree with Magna Cum Laude in Classical Arabic and Literature from the University of Rochester. His other notable scholarly training includes visiting fellowships at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and the International Institute for Islamic Thought, research career development as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar and as a John Templeton Foundation Faculty Scholar, and leadership development as a Health Equity Leadership Institute Fellow, a Warner-Reynolds Leadership Fellow, and a Society of Behavioral Medicine Mid-Career Leadership Fellow.
Research Interests
Dr. Padela is an internationally-recognized thought and research leader, as well as a widely-sought after lecturer, in the fields of Muslim health and healthcare disparity research, and Islamic bioethics. His overall scholarship aims at improving health and healthcare through better accommodating religious values in healthcare delivery. Using Muslim Americans and Islam as a model, he studies how (i) religion impacts patient health behaviors and healthcare experiences, (ii) informs the professional identities and workplace experiences of clinicians, and (iii) furnishes bioethical guidance to patients, providers, policymakers, and religious leaders. This knowledge is subsequently mobilized towards educational and policy interventions. His current projects span behaviors related to cancer screening, organ donation, end-of-life care, and the intersection of religion and science, and are funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the Health Research and Services Administration, and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, 3 books, and serves in an editorial capacity for the Encyclopedia of Islamic Bioethics, American Journal of Bioethics, BMC Medical Ethics, International Journal of Islam, BETIM Journal of Medical Humanities, and TAHFIM Journal of Islam and the Contemporary World. His work and expert commentary has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, National Public Radio, the Chicago Sun-Times, and CNN.