Usama Irshad, MD

Dr Irshad’s interest in infectious diseases first developed during their time volunteering at a local LGBTQ+ affirming sexual healthcare center in Lahore, Pakistan. There, while providing queer men and trans women, khwaja sira, healthcare around STIs and witnessing the rollout of PrEP for HIV infection among a deeply minoritized community, they felt most at home.

After completing their medical education at King Edward Medical University in Lahore, Pakistan, Dr Irshad pursued residency training in primary care and social internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine - one of the oldest programs in social medicine in the country, training physicians in providing social justice-focused healthcare in the Bronx, NY.

Dr Irshad is interested in exploring the intersection of social medicine and infectious diseases in immunocompromised patients and how sociostructural factors drive important healthcare outcomes in minoritized patients undergoing solid organ and stem cell transplants and those living with non-suppressed HIV. They write about intersectionality, the power of visibility, and vulnerability in academic medicine. Their work has appeared in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Open Forum Infectious Diseases and Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Outside of work, they can be found making leisurely trips to Zabar’s, enjoying a book at Christopher Street Pier or exploring kink-positive queer spaces.